The 2023 PBA All-Star Weekend was the annual all-star weekend of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA)'s 2022–23 season. This was the first PBA All-Star weekend since

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

as the event has not been held since due to the effects of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. Highlighting the weekend was the All-Star Game between Team Japeth and Team Scottie.

Friday events

Obstacle Challenge

This edition was exclusive for big men (power forwards and centers). ; Notes *Gold represent current champion. June Mar Fajardo was unable to participate due to a knee injury.
Jeepy Faundo was selected as June Mar Fajardo's replacement.

Three-point Shootout

; Notes LA Tenorio was unable to participate after undergoing surgery for a sports hernia.
Jeremiah Gray was selected as LA Tenorio's replacement.
Baser Amer was unable to participate for undisclosed reasons.
RK Ilagan was selected as Baser Amer's replacement.

Slam Dunk Competition

Jamie Malonzo was unable to participate due to a shoulder injury.
Encho Serrano was selected as Jamie Malonzo's replacement. However, Serrano was also unable to participate due to a sprained ankle.

Greats vs. Stalwarts

The Greats vs. Stalwarts format of the Blitz Game returned for the first time since 2016. Both teams were only composed of rookies, sophomores, and junior (third year) players. The game also introduced a four-point line and a three-point dunk.

Draft

Lineups

; Notes Calvin Oftana was selected as a replacement to the All-Star Game and was subsequently removed from the Blitz Game.
Andrei Caracut was selected as Calvin Oftana's replacement.
Isaac Go was unable to play due to a knee injury.
Alec Stockton was selected as Isaac Go's replacement. However, Stockton was also unable to play due to a fractured nose.
Kent Salado was selected as Alec Stockton's replacement.

Game

Sunday events

Shooting Stars

The Shooting Stars returned for the first time since

with a different format. There was one PBA courtside reporter, one government official, one sportswriter and a lucky fan. Team Red led by courtside reporter Apple David won the Shooting Stars.

All-Star Game

The format of the all-star game was patterned after the NBA's version, wherein fans voted up to 24 players and two coaches. The two players with the highest number of votes became the team captains and selected their teammates via draft. The game also introduced a four-point line and a three-point dunk, similar to the earlier Blitz Game.

Rosters

The voting started on January 25 and ended on February 15. The final results were announced on February 17, with

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The most popular team in the league, it is owned by Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.), a subsidia ...

teammates

Japeth Aguilar Japeth Paul Cabrera Aguilar (born January 25, 1987) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He first played college basketball for the Ateneo Blue Eagl ...

and

Scottie Thompson Susan Scott "Scottie" Thompson (born November 9, 1981) is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known as '' Jeanne Benoit'' in ''NCIS''. Early life Thompson grew up in Richmond, Virginia, where she attended Collegiate ...

emerging as the top vote-getters and thus are the two opposing captains during the All-Star Game. The 25th up to the 28th-ranked vote-getters are named as the all-star reserve. They will replace the top 24 players in case a player misses the game due to injury. They are not officially All-Stars unless they actually play the game.

Draft

The PBA-All Star draft was held on February 20. A

coin toss A coin is a small, flat (usually depending on the country or value), round piece of metal or plastic used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order t ...

was first used to determine the head coaches for the teams, with

Tim Cone Earl Timothy Cone (born December 14, 1957) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is the most accomplished coach in PBA history with ...

going to Team Japeth and

Yeng Guiao Joseller "Yeng" Medina Guiao (born March 19, 1959) is a Filipino professional basketball head coach, politician, commentator and sports commissioner. He is currently the head coach of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketba ...

to Team Scottie. In another coin toss, Team Scottie won the flip and earned the right to draft first.

Lineups

All of the reserve players, except Jeff Chan, eventually played during the game as replacements to injured All-Stars, namely team captain

, LA Tenorio,

Terrence Romeo Terrence Bill Vitanzos Romeo (born March 16, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He plays both the point guard and shooting guard positions. He played ...

, and Mikey Williams. Jeff Chan, despite being in the reserve team, begged off from the game and was replaced by Alex Cabagnot. This was Cabagnot's eighth All-Star appearance. June Mar Fajardo was unable to play the game due to injury and was replaced by Raymond Almazan. This was Almazan's third All-Star appearance. Reserve Gabe Norwood was also unable to play the game due to injury and was replaced by Arwind Santos. This was Santos's twelfth All-Star appearance.

Game

Prior to the game, Team Japeth won the traditional dance-off. * PBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award: Paul Lee

Notes

References

{{2022–23 PBA season by team Philippine Basketball Association All-Star Weekend All-Star Weekend PBA