Thursday, April 10, 2008 James Yap to lead South All-Stars
MANILA - Purefoods superstar James Yap topped all players selected to comprise the starting units of both the North and South squads in this year’s PBA All-Star game.
Yap, the soft spoken former league Most Valuable Player from Escalante, Negros Occidental, was the runaway choice to be one of two starting guards to man the backcourt for the South All-Stars with 50,763 votes—the best among players chosen by fans in the selection process that covered Feb. 1 to April 6.
The starting job is the fifth straight for Yap since entering the league in 2004.
Likewise, he’s the only player voted by fans, either through actual voting at the game venue or the league’s official website, www.pba.ph, to breach the 50,000 mark.
Two other starters from the South team received the next most number of votes after Yap. Sta. Lucia’s Kelly Williams, the leading contender for this season’s MVP award, amassed a second-best 38,832 votes to join Magnolia Beverage Masters’ Danny Seigle (38,448) in the frontcourt rotation of the South Stars.
Completing the roster for the South team are Coca-Cola big man Asi Taulava (36,312) and Jimmy Alapag of Talk ‘N Text (22,752).
Do-it-all Magnolia forward Mark Pingris meanwhile, emerged the fan favorite to lead the way for the North All-Stars, receiving a total of 35,578 votes.
First timer
Also getting the nod to fill in the North team’s forward-center slots are Purefoods slotman Kerby Raymundo (32,274) and another Magnolia player in Lordy Tugade (19,374).
A starter in the All-Star game for the first time in his eight-year career, Tugade earned the spot by taking over the slot of Purefoods’ Romel Adducul (21,903).
The former San Sebastian King Stag is out of commission after being diagnosed with the Big C.
Tugade finished fourth behind Adducul in the balloting.
A solid tandem at the backcourt for the North All-Stars is the Barangay Ginebra pair of Mark Caguioa (29,775) and Jayjay Helterbrand (26,244).
The remaining slots in both teams will be filled in by the votes of all 10 PBA coaches prior to the All-Star weekend in Bacolod City from April 24 to 27.
A coach however, can’t vote for players belonging to his team.
Helterbrand and Alaska’s Willie Miller sparked a big endgame comeback by the North All-Stars last year to prevail, 145-142. The two emerged co-MVP of the annual spectacle.
Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia and West Negros College president Suzette Agustin are making the staging of the All-Star festivities in the “City of Smile” possible. (PBA Media Bureau)
