RJ Abarrientos and Juan Gomez De Liano’s PBA All-Star team up has just been aborted.
The two young guards will instead play in the main All-Star game on March 8 in Candon, Ilocos Sur, calling off their supposed partnership as part of the Rookies/Sophomores team in the mid-season side event.
Both Abarrientos and Gomez de Liano were voted by fans as starters of the South and North teams, respectively.
READ: Converge has most number of players in PBA All-Star Game at five
The Barangay Ginebra sophomore will be playing together with teammate Scottie Thompson, Robert Bolick (NLEX), Calvin Oftana (TNT), and June Mar Fajardo (San Miguel) for the Solid South quintet of coach Chot Reyes.
The Converge rookie on the other hand, will don the Solid North jersey along with Japeth Aguilar (Barangay Ginebra), teammate Calvin Abueva, Stephen Holt (Barangay Ginebra), and CJ Perez (San Miguel) for coach Leo Austria.
Initially, Abarrientos and Gomez De Liano – who had a memorable match up during the Ginebra-Converge Philippine Cup quarterfinals series – were also selected by fans to lead the Rookies/Sophomores unit against the Juniors team.
But as per league rule, players voted and selected as All-Stars will have to play in the main game of the All-Star weekend.
It’s also the reason why the likes of Holt (Barangay Ginebra), Justine Baltazar (Converge), Adrian Nocum (Rain or Shine), CJ Cansino (Meralco), Caelan Tiongson (Rain or Shine), and Zavier Lucero are no longer listed in the Rookies/Sophomores vs. Juniors game.
With the exception of Holt, the five players mentioned were selected by the 12 PBA coaches as reserves for the All-Star game.
Baltazar, Cansino, and Tiongson were initially voted by fans as included in the Rookies/Sophomores squad, while Nocum, Holt, and Lucero were in the Juniors lineup.
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