By JAY R. GOTERA
MANILA — A rookie-laden Gilas Pilipinas squad came from behind to beat the PBA Luzon All-Stars, 122-111, at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City on Friday night.
Behind by six points, 111-105, with less than five minutes left, Gilas went on a searing 17-0 for the win.
Matthew Wright, who was named the MVP in the Mindanao leg of the All-Star game Wednesday, again won the MVP title in the Luzon leg, leading his team to a mighty comeback after being down by as much as 17 points. Wright finished with 15 points and seven assists.
Rookie Jonathan Grey surprisingly topped all scorers with 19 markers for Gilas.
Japeth Aguilar led the Luzon All-Stars with 18 points and 10 boards. Calvin Abueva added 16 markers.
Final Gilas roster
After the Luzon All-Star game, Gilas head coach Chot Reyes named his final 12-man lineup for the Southeast Asian Basketball (SEABA).
Reyes announced that Jio Jalalon, Roger Pogoy, Matthew Wright, Raymond Almazan and Allein Maliksi will be the new faces of Gilas. They will join veterans Calvin Abueva, Japeth Aguilar, June Mar Fajardo, Terrence Romeo, Troy Rosario, and Jayson Castro in the May 12-18 championship that Manila will be hosting.
The 12th player in the team is naturalized player Andray Blatche.
Earlier Friday, Blatche finally broke his silence and declared his readiness to suit up anew for Gilas Pilipinas.
The 30-year-old American basketball star made the announcement in his Twittter account @drayblatche.
The 6-foot-11 NBA veteran is expected to arrive in Manila either Monday or Tuesday, enough time to blend in with the other 11 Gilas players in daily practice after the All-Star break.
Blatche last played for the national team during the Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Manila last July.
He is coming fresh from leading the Xinjiang Flying Tigers to their first ever Chinese Basketball Association championship following a four-game sweep of the Guangdong Southern Tigers in the finals.
Slam Dunk contest
Meralco forward Chris Newsome narrowly defeated GlobalPort’s James Forrester, 87-86, in the PBA All-Stars Slam Dunk contest.
Newsome’s victory ended the three-year reign of Mahindra’s Rey Guevarra as the sultan of slams.
In his last dunk, Newsome did a juggling act before tossing the ball to the board, catching it in the air then slamming it home. It got him only 44 points but enough to beat Forrester for the crown.
Forrester scored a perfect 50 in his first dunk in the finale where he soared above GlobalPort’s Stanley Pringle then converted a two-handed reverse slam.
He tried an even tougher act for his second dunk in the final round when he tried to do a Vince Carter dunk but missed his first two tries. He then settled for a less impressive dunk that got him only 36 points.
Three-point contest
Star’s Allein Maliksi narrowly defeated Barangay Ginebra’s LA Tenorio in a thrilling finale of the PBA All-Star Three-Point Shootout.
Playing in the contest for the first time, Maliksi collected 20 points, including the winning two-pointer from his final shot that shattered an 18-all deadlock.
Three-time Three-Point champion Terrence Romeo of GlobalPort failed to defend his crown but still made the three-man final round, scoring 17 points.
Obstacle Challenge contest
Rain or Shine guard Maverick Ahanmisi retained his crown with a flawless performance to start the Luzon leg of the PBA All-Stars festivities.
Ahanmisi first hurdled Kris Rosales in the matchup phase of the event before emerging the winner in the race-against-the-clock finale versus Alex Cabagnot, Eman Monfort, RJ Jazul, Sol Mercado and Simon Enciso.
Ahanmisi posted a winning time of 25.8 in the finale. Cabagnot came in second at 26.7, followed by Monfort at 27.1, Jazul at 29.4, Mercado at 28.1 and Enciso at 37.8.
Game Sunday: Gilas Pilipinas vs. PBA All-Stars.
