CANDON CITY, Ilocos Sur – Solid North All-Stars leaned on Justin Arana in the final moments to beat its counterparts from the South, 147-142, on Sunday in the PBA All-Star Game 2026 at the Candon City Arena.
The Converge big man scored back-to-back baskets, coming to the rescue after North found itself trailing, 142-140, in the final minutes.
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Japeth Aguilar capped that game-winning run with a three-point dunk with 24.6 seconds left to secure the North All-Stars' sixth consecutive victory under this format that was used for the first time since 2019.
Aguilar was later named the All-Star Game MVP - the third of his career.
The Barangay Ginebra big man had 29 points, including a couple of three-point dunks that wowed the crowd in this bustling Ilocos Sur city.
Aguilar already had 20 points in the first half that saw the Leo Austria-coached Solid North grab a 43-25 lead, the biggest of the contest.
Solid South later had a comeback with Alec Stockon scoring a three-pointer to post a 126-118 lead, the biggest for their team.
Arana though helped North’s cause with 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter. He also hauled down 10 rebounds.
Cjay Perez produced 32 points to also lead Solid North along with five rebounds and five assists. Juan Gomez de Liano added 23 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists, in his first All-Star game. Adrian Nocum had 22 points.
RJ Abarrientos finished with 26 points and nine assists, Calvin Oftana added 23 points, and June Mar Fajardo collected 20 rebounds for Solid South, which only played with nine players as Scottie Thompson, RR Pogoy, and Jericho Cruz sat out.
The scores:
Solid North 147 – Perez 32, Aguilar 29, Gomez de Liano 23, Nocum 22, Arana 16, Baltazar 9, Trollano 8, Holt 6, Mamuyac 2, Newsome 0, Cansino 0.
Solid South 142 – Stockton 29, Abarrientos 26, Oftana 23, Tiongson 17, Santillan 14, Bolick 13, Fajardo 11, Nambatac 5, Bahio 4.
Quarters: 50-36; 79-72; 118-121; 147-142.
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