But guess who’s waiting them at the other end of the rope?
It’s the run-and-gun tandem of Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand, both of whom will be back in another tour of duty to man the North backcourt.
All four major players in the past two editions of the annual extravaganza, presented by Hope cigarette and supported by Xtreme Magic Sing and Welcoat Paints, were voted by fans as starters for both the North and South teams set to lock horns in the three-day event — April 27-29 — to be hosted for the first time by the province of Misamis Oriental.
Eric Menk, Danny Seigle and hotshot James Yap complete the South team’s starting five while Romel Adducul, Danny Ildefonso and Enrico Villanueva fill up the rest of North’s starting unit of the league’s annual classic also supported by Sunbolt fun drinks, Chowking, Mentos, ACCEL and Air21.
"We’d like to thank all of the PBA fans who took their time to vote and choose among themselves the likely starters for both the North and South squads. Rest assured of another exciting and fun-filled basketball action come the All-Star weekend in Misamis Oriental," said commissioner Noli Eala.
In all, four players from Ginebra are included in the starting rosters of either North and South teams, San Miguel and Talk n Text have two each while Red Bull and Purefoods with one apiece.
Alapag and Taulava were voted co-MVP when Cebu hosted the 2004 All-Star in a game where the two Phone Pal stalwarts powered the South to a thrilling, 130-128, win over the North.
But Helterbrand and Caguioa, who comprised Barangay Ginebra’s dreaded backcourt, came back the following year in Laoag, Ilocos Norte as they carried the North to a 131-128 triumph. Helterbrand emerged the MVP of the meet after he torched the South team for 38 points — the third most output scored in the 17-year history of the mid-season spectacle after the 42 of Samboy Lim (1990) and 40 of Allan Caidic (1993).
The North currently enjoys a 3-2 edge over the South in their head-to-head match up.
Purefoods’ Kerby Raymundo led all players voted by fans in Misamis Oriental for inclusion in the North team while fellow Giant Roger Yap was the top choice for the South.
This year’s All-Star game marked the first time the host city was involved in the voting for the North and South starters.
The remaining slots on both squads will be chosen by the nine league coaches.
San Miguel’s Jong Uichico calls the shots for the South while Binky Favis of Coca-Cola makes his first All-Star coaching stint for the North.
The two were chosen as coaches after the Beermen and Tigers emerged as the two squads with the best record after the cutoff period of the Gran Matador Brandy-Philippine Cup classification phase for the All-Star weekend.