Cardona gets chance to show up RP team coach Guiao

MANILA, Philippines - Snubbed for a slot in the Powerade-Team Pilipinas, MacMac Cardona will have the coming PBA All-Star weekend to show he deserves to get a second look from national coach Yeng Guiao. Cardona emerged the top choice to man the backcourt of the North team that is set to clash with the nationals in the April 22-26 annual spectacle. Based on initial counting of fan ballots, Cardona appears to be a cinch for a starting role in the North squad of coach Chot Reyes after he paced all players in his position with 10,598 votes. The former La Salle mainstay was left out in the national squad despite winning Best Player of the Conference twice in the past. The top five picks voted by fans will comprise the starting units of both the South and North teams that play Guiao’s the national squad. San Miguel Beermen Jay Washington and Dondon Hontiveros got the most number of votes from PBA fans to start for the South, while their SMB teammate Mark Pingris also paced the pack in the same position for the North. Washington tallied 20,800 to top the center/forward spots while Hontiveros had 25,070 in the guard position. Pingris received 18,040 votes as the top preferred player for the nos. 4 and 5 slots. The figures so far counted are just half of the total voting game days and does not include yet the provincial votes conducted by the league during its out-of-town games in the Motolite-PBA Fiesta Cup. Fans still have one more week to vote their preferred choices as starting five for this year’s All-Star spectacle. Others gaining the fans’ nod include San Miguel’s Danny Seigle (20,430), Eric Menk of Barangay Ginebra (18,944), Alaska’s Joe DeVance (12,458), Beerman Dorian Pena (11,800) and Kings’ Sunday Salvacion (11,512) for the South frontcourt, while at the backcourt, it’s Talk N Text’s Jimmy Alapag (20,560), Ginebra’s Ronald Tubid (12,608) and the Purefoods duo of Peter June Simon (9,400) and Roger Yap (6,158). For the North, trailing Pingris are Lordy Tugade of San Miguel (11,976), Purefoods’ Rico Villanueva (9,998), Beerman Danny Ildefonso (8652) and Giants’ Romel Adducul (7,212) and KG Canaleta (6,866). After Cardona in the guard spot are Ginebra’s Paul Artadi (8,960), Bonbon Custodio of San Miguel (8,256), Sta. Lucia’s Joseph Yeo (7,466) and Beerman L.A Tenorio (7,264). The reserves of both the North and South teams will be selected by the rest of the PBA coaches. The two squads are also going to be reinforced by three imports handpicked by commissioner Sonny Barrios. Reyes and his North squad get the first crack against the nationals on April 22 in Victorias City, Negros Occidental, before Cone and the South selection take their turn on the 24th in Panabo City, Davao. The South and North starters then play together as one under Reyes and clash with the RP quintet on the 26th at the Araneta Coliseum. The four remaining imports not selected by commissioner Barrios in the first two games will reinforce the team. –GMANews.TV