2023 PBA All-Star Weekend

The 2023 PBA All-Star Weekend was the annual all-star weekend of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)'s 2022–23 season.^[1] This was the first PBA All-Star weekend since 2019 as the event has not been held since due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Highlighting the weekend was the All-Star Game between Team Japeth and Team Scottie.

2023 PBA All-Star Weekend

Team Scottie Team Japeth 136 140
1 2 3 4 Total Team Scottie 28 37 39 32 136 Team Japeth 37 37 26 40 140
Date	March 10–12, 2023
Venue	City of Passi Arena, Passi, Iloilo
MVP	Paul Lee
Network	TV5, One Sports, PBA Rush, SMART Livestream and Radyo Pilipinas 2 918khz
← 2019 2024 →

Friday events

Obstacle Challenge

This edition was exclusive for big men (power forwards and centers).^[2]

Contestants

Pos.	Player	Team	Height	Weight
C/F	Christian Standhardinger	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	6–8	220
F	Ato Ular	Blackwater Bossing	6–4	196
C	Justin Arana	Converge FiberXers	6–7	231
C	James Laput	Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots	6–10	245
C	Raymond Almazan	Meralco Bolts	6–8	194
C/F	Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser	NLEX Road Warriors	6–6	220
C	JM Calma	NorthPort Batang Pier	6–6	193
C	Larry Muyang	Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters	6–6	220
C	Beau Belga	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	6–6	235
C/F	Jeepy FaundoREP1	San Miguel Beermen	6–6
C	Joseph Gabayni	Terrafirma Dyip	6–5
C/F	Dave Marcelo	TNT Tropang Giga	6–5	223
C	June Mar FajardoINJ1	San Miguel Beermen	6–10	268

Notes

• Gold represent current champion.

^INJ1 June Mar Fajardo was unable to participate due to a knee injury.^[3]
^REP1 Jeepy Faundo was selected as June Mar Fajardo's replacement.^[3]

	First Round					Semifinals
	Raymond Almazan (Meralco)		W
	Larry Muyang (Phoenix)		L
						Raymond Almazan (Meralco)		L
						Beau Belga (Rain or Shine)		W
	Joseph Gabayni (Terrafirma)		L
	Beau Belga (Rain or Shine)		W

	First Round					Semifinals
	Christian Standhardinger (Barangay Ginebra)		W
	Ato Ular (Blackwater)		L
						Christian Standhardinger (Barangay Ginebra)		W
						Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser (NLEX)		L
	Justin Arana (Converge)		L
	Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser (NLEX)		W

	First Round					Semifinals
	Jeepy Faundo (San Miguel)		W
	James Laput (Magnolia)		L
						Jeepy Faundo (San Miguel)		L
						Dave Marcelo (TNT)		W
	JM Calma (NorthPort)		L
	Dave Marcelo (TNT)		W

Final round^[4]

Pos.	Player	Team	Time
C/F	Dave Marcelo	TNT Tropang Giga	25.38s
C/F	Christian Standhardinger	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	27.47s
C	Beau Belga	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	29.80s

Three-point Shootout

Contestants^[2][5]

Pos.	Player	Team	Height	Weight	First round	Final round
G	Paul Lee	Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots	6–0	200	22	28
G/F	Marcio Lassiter	San Miguel Beermen	6–2	185	28	21
G	Juami Tiongson	Terrafirma Dyip	5–10	175	26	18
F	Arvin Tolentino	NorthPort Batang Pier	6–5	210	21	DNQ
G/F	Roger Pogoy	TNT Tropang Giga	6–2	180	21
G/F	Jeremiah GrayREP2	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	6–5	205	18
G	Aaron Black	Meralco Bolts	6–1	180	17
G	Tyler Tio	Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters	6–0	170	17
G	RK IlaganREP3	Blackwater Bossing	5–7	150	16
G	Kevin Alas	NLEX Road Warriors	6–0	170	15
G	Gian Mamuyac	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	6–2	165	15
G	Jerrick Balanza	Converge FiberXers	6–1	190	11
G	LA TenorioINJ2	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	5–9	151	DNP
G	Baser AmerWD3	Blackwater Bossing	6–0	170

Notes

^INJ2 LA Tenorio was unable to participate after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia.^[6]
^REP2 Jeremiah Gray was selected as LA Tenorio's replacement.^[6]
^WD3 Baser Amer was unable to participate for undisclosed reasons.^[7]
^REP3 RK Ilagan was selected as Baser Amer's replacement.^[7]

Slam Dunk Competition

Contestants^[2][8]

Pos.	Player	Team	Height	Weight	First round	Final round
F	David Murrell	Converge FiberXers	6–4	195	92 (48+44)	92 (46+46)
F	Tyrus Hill	Blackwater Bossing	6–5	185	92 (42+50)	91 (41+50)
C/F	Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser	NLEX Road Warriors	6–6	220	89 (45+44)	DNQ
C/F	Chris Lalata	Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters	6–5	198	80 (43+37)
G	Encho SerranoREP4	Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters	6–0	176	DNP
F	Jamie MalonzoINJ4	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	6–6	210

^INJ4 Jamie Malonzo was unable to participate due to a shoulder injury.^[9]
^REP4 Encho Serrano was selected as Jamie Malonzo's replacement.^[10] However, Serrano was also unable to participate due to a sprained ankle.^[11]

Greats vs. Stalwarts

The Greats vs. Stalwarts format of the Blitz Game returned for the first time since 2016. Both teams were only composed of rookies, sophomores, and junior (third year) players. The game also introduced a four-point line and a three-point dunk.^[12]

Draft

2023 Blitz Game Draft

Pick	Player	Team
1	Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser	Stalwarts
2	Justin Arana	Greats
3	Calvin Oftana	Stalwarts
4	Ato Ular	Greats
5	Joshua Munzon	Stalwarts
6	Aaron Black	Greats
7	Encho Serrano	Stalwarts
8	Allyn Bulanadi	Greats
9	Anton Asistio	Stalwarts
10	Jerrick Ahanmisi	Greats
11	Tyler Tio	Stalwarts
12	Adrian Wong	Greats
13	Shaun Ildefonso	Stalwarts
14	Jerrick Balanza	Greats
15	Mike Nieto	Stalwarts
16	RK Ilagan	Greats
17	Matt Nieto	Stalwarts
18	Javi Gómez de Liaño	Greats
19	Aris Dionisio	Stalwarts
20	Isaac Go	Greats

Lineups

Stalwarts Pos Player Team R/S/J Starters G/F Joshua Munzon NorthPort Batang Pier Sophomore F Shaun Ildefonso Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Rookie C/F Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser NLEX Road Warriors Rookie G Tyler Tio Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters Rookie G Encho Serrano Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters Rookie Reserves G Anton Asistio Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Sophomore F Mike Nieto Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Sophomore G Matt Nieto NLEX Road Warriors Sophomore F Aris Dionisio Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots Junior F Calvin OftanaWD5 TNT Tropang Giga Sophomore G Andrei CaracutREP5 Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Sophomore Head coach: Caloy Garcia (Rain or Shine Elasto Painters)

Greats Pos Player Team R/S/J Starters G/F Adrian Wong Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots Junior F Javi Gómez de Liaño Terrafirma Dyip Rookie C Justin Arana Converge FiberXers Rookie G Aaron Black Meralco Bolts Junior G Jerrick Ahanmisi Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots Sophomore Reserves F Ato Ular Blackwater Bossing Rookie G Allyn Bulanadi San Miguel Beermen Sophomore G Jerrick Balanza Converge FiberXers Junior G RK Ilagan Blackwater Bossing Sophomore C/F Isaac GoINJ6 Terrafirma Dyip Sophomore G Alec StocktonREP6 Converge FiberXers Sophomore G Kent SaladoREP7 NorthPort Batang Pier Junior Head coach: Richard del Rosario (Barangay Ginebra San Miguel)

Notes

^WD5 Calvin Oftana was selected as a replacement to the All-Star Game and was subsequently removed from the Blitz Game.^[13]
^REP5 Andrei Caracut was selected as Calvin Oftana's replacement.^[13]
^INJ6 Isaac Go was unable to play due to a knee injury.^[14]
^REP6 Alec Stockton was selected as Isaac Go's replacement.^[14] However, Stockton was also unable to play due to a fractured nose.^[3]
^REP7 Kent Salado was selected as Alec Stockton's replacement.^[3]

Game

TV5 and PBA Rush

March 10 5:45 pm

Report

Stalwarts 138, Greats 158
Scoring by quarter: 39–32, 24–33, 34–39, 41–54
Pts: Serrano 40		Pts: Gómez de Liaño 30

City of Passi Arena, Passi, Iloilo

• Game MVP: Adrian Wong (Greats)^[15]

Sunday events

Shooting Stars

The Shooting Stars returned for the first time since 2019 with a different format. There was one PBA courtside reporter, one government official, one sportswriter and a lucky fan. Team Red led by courtside reporter Apple David won the Shooting Stars.

All-Star Game

The format of the all-star game was patterned after the NBA's version, wherein fans voted up to 24 players and two coaches. The two players with the highest number of votes became the team captains and selected their teammates via draft.^[16] The game also introduced a four-point line and a three-point dunk, similar to the earlier Blitz Game.^[12]

Rosters

The voting started on January 25 and ended on February 15.^[17] The final results were announced on February 17, with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel teammates Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson emerging as the top vote-getters and thus are the two opposing captains during the All-Star Game.^[18]

2023 PBA All-Stars

Pos	Player	Team	No. of selections
Players
C/F	Japeth Aguilar	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	8
G	Scottie Thompson	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	5
C	June Mar Fajardo	San Miguel Beermen	8
F	Jamie Malonzo	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	1
C/F	Christian Standhardinger	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	1
G/F	James Yap	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	17
G	LA Tenorio	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	10
F	Calvin Abueva	Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots	8
G	Mark Barroca	Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots	8
G	Stanley Pringle	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	6
G/F	CJ Perez	San Miguel Beermen	1
G	Paul Lee	Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots	9
G	Jayson Castro	TNT Tropang Giga	8
G	Gian Mamuyac	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	1
G/F	Jeremiah Gray	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	1
G	Terrence Romeo	San Miguel Beermen	6
G	Robert Bolick	NorthPort Batang Pier	1
G/F	Marcio Lassiter	San Miguel Beermen	7
F	Arvin Tolentino	NorthPort Batang Pier	1
G/F	Roger Pogoy	TNT Tropang Giga	4
G	Kevin Alas	NLEX Road Warriors	1
G	Chris Newsome	Meralco Bolts	1
G	John Pinto	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	1
G	Mikey Williams	TNT Tropang Giga	1
Coaches
	Tim Cone	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	9
	Yeng Guiao	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	6

All-Star reserve

Pos	Player	Team	No. of selections[a]
G/F	Gabe Norwood	Rain or Shine Elasto Painters	11
G/F	Jeff Chan	NorthPort Batang Pier	7
F	Calvin Oftana	TNT Tropang Giga	1
G	Jio Jalalon	Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots	4

The 25th up to the 28th-ranked vote-getters are named as the all-star reserve. They will replace the top 24 players in case a player misses the game due to injury.^[18] They are not officially All-Stars unless they actually play the game.

Draft

The PBA-All Star draft was held on February 20.^[18] A coin toss was first used to determine the head coaches for the teams, with Tim Cone going to Team Japeth and Yeng Guiao to Team Scottie.^[19] In another coin toss, Team Scottie won the flip and earned the right to draft first.^[20]

2023 All-Star Draft

Pick	Player	Team
1	Christian Standhardinger	Scottie
2	June Mar Fajardo	Japeth
3	CJ Perez	Scottie
4	Jamie Malonzo	Japeth
5	Calvin Abueva	Scottie
6	Chris Newsome	Japeth
7	Robert Bolick	Scottie
8	Roger Pogoy	Japeth
9	Arvin Tolentino	Scottie
10	LA Tenorio	Japeth
11	Kevin Alas	Scottie
12	Mikey Williams	Japeth
13	Jayson Castro	Scottie
14	Paul Lee	Japeth
15	Stanley Pringle	Scottie
16	Jeremiah Gray	Japeth
17	Marcio Lassiter	Scottie
18	Gian Mamuyac	Japeth
19	Mark Barroca	Scottie
20	John Pinto	Japeth
21	James Yap	Scottie
22	Terrence Romeo	Japeth

Lineups

All of the reserve players, except Jeff Chan, eventually played during the game as replacements to injured All-Stars, namely team captain Japeth Aguilar, LA Tenorio, Terrence Romeo, and Mikey Williams. Jeff Chan, despite being in the reserve team, begged off from the game and was replaced by Alex Cabagnot.^[14] This was Cabagnot's eighth All-Star appearance.

June Mar Fajardo was unable to play the game due to injury and was replaced by Raymond Almazan.^[21] This was Almazan's third All-Star appearance.

Reserve Gabe Norwood was also unable to play the game due to injury and was replaced by Arwind Santos.^[22] This was Santos's twelfth All-Star appearance.

Team Scottie Pos Player Team Starters F Calvin Abueva Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots G/F James Yap Rain or Shine Elasto Painters C/F Christian Standhardinger Barangay Ginebra San Miguel G Scottie Thompson Barangay Ginebra San Miguel G Robert Bolick NorthPort Batang Pier Reserves G/F CJ Perez San Miguel Beermen F Arvin Tolentino NorthPort Batang Pier G Kevin Alas NLEX Road Warriors G Jayson Castro TNT Tropang Giga G Stanley Pringle Barangay Ginebra San Miguel G/F Marcio Lassiter San Miguel Beermen G Mark Barroca Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots Head coach: Yeng Guiao (Rain or Shine Elasto Painters)

Team Japeth Pos Player Team Starters F Jamie Malonzo Barangay Ginebra San Miguel G/F Roger Pogoy TNT Tropang Giga C Raymond Almazan Meralco Bolts G Paul Lee Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots G Chris Newsome Meralco Bolts Reserves F Calvin Oftana TNT Tropang Giga G Jio Jalalon Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots G/F Jeremiah Gray Barangay Ginebra San Miguel G Gian Mamuyac Rain or Shine Elasto Painters G John Pinto Barangay Ginebra San Miguel G Alex Cabagnot Terrafirma Dyip F Arwind Santos NorthPort Batang Pier Head coach: Tim Cone (Barangay Ginebra San Miguel)

Game

Prior to the game, Team Japeth won the traditional dance-off.^[23]

TV5 and PBA Rush

March 12 6:00 pm

Team Scottie 136, Team Japeth 140
Scoring by quarter: 28–37, 37–37, 39–26, 32–40
Pts: Alas 35		Pts: Lee 32

City of Passi Arena, Passi, Iloilo

• PBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award: Paul Lee (Team Japeth)^[24]

Notes

1. If they actually played the All-Star Game

References

1. Bacnis, Justine (January 17, 2023). "PBA All-Star festivities returning in March". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
2. Ramos, Gerry (February 21, 2023). "Belga eyes third straight Obstacle title, Malonzo heads field in dunk contest". spin.ph. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
3. "Narito na ang latest replacements para sa paparating na PBA All-Star Weekend. #PBAGameTayoDito #PBAonOneSports #2023PBAPassiAllStar". Twitter. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
4. "Marcelo wins Obstacle Challenge". pba.ph. March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
5. "Paul Lee tops 3-point shootout". pba.ph. March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
6. Henson, Joaquin (March 10, 2023). "Surprise in Slam Dunk tilt?". The Philippine Star. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
7. Terrado, Reuben (March 10, 2023). "What you need to know about PBA All-Star Friday". spin.ph. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
8. "Murell rules slam dunk contest". pba.ph. March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
9. Bacnis, Justine (March 8, 2023). "Jamie Malonzo saddened as he can't join dunk contest due to shoulder injury". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
10. Alba, Katrina (March 10, 2023). "Phoenix Super LPG's Encho Serrano finds extra gas to join PBA Slam Dunk Competition". One Sports. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
11. Terrado, Reuben (March 10, 2023). "David Murrell overcomes Tyrus Hill's two 50s to win PBA slam-dunk contest". Spin.ph. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
12. Ventura, Sid (February 20, 2023). "Christian Standhardinger, June Mar Fajardo taken with first picks for 2023 PBA All-Star Game". ESPN. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
13. "#2023PBAPassiAllStars Team Stalwarts welcomes Alec Stockton while Team Greats adds Andrei Caracut to their lineup. As Calvin Oftana (Greats) now joins Team Japeth and Isaac Go (Stalwarts) is out with injuries. #PBAGameTayoDito". Twitter. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
14. Ramos, Gerry (February 25, 2023). "Reserves Norwood, Cabagnot, Oftana, Jalalon make PBA All-Stars". spin.ph. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
15. "GDL , Wong lead Team Greats past Team Stalwarts". pba.ph. March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
16. Magallon, Reynald (January 22, 2023). "PBA All-Stars set for grand return with new drafting format". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
17. Dalupang, Denison Rey (January 22, 2023). "PBA All-Star returns with draft system". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
18. "Aguilar, Thompson Top PBA All-Star Voting". pba.ph. February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
19. Terrado, Reuben (February 20, 2023). "Team Japeth gets Tim Cone as PBA All-Star coach after coin toss". Spin.ph. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
20. "Standhardinger, Fajardo top All Star Draft". pba.ph. February 21, 2023. Retrieved February 21, 2023.
21. Terrado, Reuben (March 9, 2023). "Raymond Almazan makes PBA All-Star game as June Mar Fajardo replacement". spin.ph. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
22. Terrado, Reuben (March 11, 2023). "Arwind Santos makes it to PBA All-Star Game as late replacement". spin.ph. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
23. Terrado, Reuben (March 12, 2023). "Team Japeth wins dance-off to complete PBA All-Star sweep". spin.ph. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
24. "Lee four-pointers highlight Team Japeth All-Star Game triumph". pba.ph. March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 12, 2023.