MANILA, Philippines - James Yap received 47,156 votes to lead nine other players picked by the fans to start for the North and South teams in the PBA All-Star Game scheduled April 23-25 in Puerto Princesa.
With the tremendous support he got from his fan base, the 2005-06 Most Valuable Player earned his sixth start for the South All-Stars dating back to his rookie season.
Yap was not on the roster of the South Team last year because he was a member of the PowerAde Philippine Team that played against the South and North Teams in the 2009 edition of the league’s annual classic.
Joining Yap on the backcourt is Cyrus Baguio, who also earned a starting spot with 26,238 votes. The South’s starting frontline is composed of Kelly Williams (33,136 votes), Erik Menk (29,106) and Asi Taulava (26,942).
Interestingly, Derby Ace and Barangay Ginebra have four players apiece in the starting lineup.
Mark Pingris took the most number of votes next to Yap with 35,480 to banner the North Team.
With Pingris in the frontline are Derby Ace teammate Kerby Raymundo (32,032 votes) and Ginebra’s JC Intal (28,530) while Jayjay Helterbrand (29,752) and Paul Artadi (25,292) will be the starting guards for the North.
The rest of the players who will comprise the North and South teams will be chosen by the league’s 10 coaches. A coach, however, cannot cast his vote on his own player.
Behind MVP Peter June Simon, the South edged out the North in overtime, 163-158 the last time the two teams met in the 2008 All-Star game in Bacolod City.