MANILA, Philippines – The PBA All-Star Weekend is taking a different format in 2017, with the Gilas Pilipinas national team competing in three different games against stars from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao over the course of five days.
The change in format is one that Gilas Pilipinas Coach chot Reyes is thankful for, as it affords the national team a chance to "tune up" ahead of its stint in the 2017 SEABA Championships.
"I'm looking forward to it, because that's basically our only tune-up as a team before SEABA," Reyes told reporters following the national team practice on Monday evening.
In the new format, Gilas players who hail from Luzon, Visayas, or Mindanao will join the "home team" that will compete against the national team. Thus, June Mar Fajardo will suit up for the Visayas All-Stars when they take on Gilas Pilipinas on April 30 in Cebu City.
Jayson Castro and Calvin Abueva, meanwhile, will play for Luzon when the PBA travels to Lucena on April 28, and Mac Belo will be playing for the Mindanao All-Stars when the festivities open in Cagayan de Oro on April 26.
"That's better than nothing," Reyes said of the national team's situation.
"We're not going to have a chance to practice or play anymore until SEABA, so I thought it was good to take advantage of that opportunity. I thank the PBA for affording us the chance," he added.
The SEABA Championships is scheduled for May 12 to May 18 in Manila, with Gilas Pilipinas opening its campaign against Myanmar.
Aside from the much-welcomed "tune-up" against the PBA All-Stars, the national team is also set to ramp up its training starting April 10.
"We expect that starting April 10, it's going to be daily practices already," Reyes revealed.
(For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.)
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