2026 PBA All-Star Weekend
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| Date | March 6 and 8, 2026 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Candon City Arena, Candon, Ilocos Sur | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Japeth Aguilar | ||||||||||||||||||
| Network | RPTV, PBA Rush, Pilipinas Live | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2026 PBA All-Star Weekend, also known as the PBA season 50 All-Star Weekend, was the 33rd edition of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)'s All-Star Weekend. The event was hosted on March 6 and 8, 2026 at Candon City Arena in Candon, Ilocos Sur. It was the first All-Star Weekend since 2024 as the 2025 edition was cancelled due to security concerns, and the first to be held in Luzon since Calasiao's hosting in 2019.
Background
On September 13, 2025, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial announced the locations of the next two All-Star Weekends. The 2026 PBA All-Star Weekend was hosted by Candon, Ilocos Sur in March while the 2027 event will be hosted by Cagayan de Oro. He also stated that the 2026 All-Star Weekend had been awarded to Candon as early as 2023.[1]
All-Star Weekend side events
As was the case in 2024, the Slam Dunk Contest was not held as part of the 2026 weekend festivities. Instead, there was a second Obstacle Challenge.
Obstacle Challenge
The Obstacle Challenge was held on March 6. Alongside the traditional event for big men (power forwards and centers), a separate event was held for guards.[2]
Big men
One player from each team was selected to participate in the contest. JM Calma of the San Miguel Beermen was the defending champion of the Obstacle Challenge.
| Pos. | Player | Team | Height (ft. / in.) |
Weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Japeth Aguilar | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 6' 9" | 235 |
| PF/C | Abu Tratter | Blackwater Bossing | 6' 5" | 231 |
| C | Justin Arana | Converge FiberXers | 6' 7" | 231 |
| C | James Laput | Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots | 6' 10" | 245 |
| C | Brandon Bates | Meralco Bolts | 6' 9" | 231 |
| C/PF | Brandon Ramirez | NLEX Road Warriors | 6' 5" | |
| PF/C | Kai Ballungay | Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters | 6' 7" | 215 |
| PF/C | Leonard Santillan | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 6' 4" | 210 |
| C | JM Calma | San Miguel Beermen | 6' 6" | 193 |
| C | Geo Chiu | Terrafirma Dyip | 6' 10" | |
| C/PF | Damie Cuntapay | Titan Ultra Giant Risers | 6' 5" | |
| C/PF | Henry Galinato | TNT Tropang 5G | 6' 6" | 245 |
- Notes
- Gold represent current champion.
| First Round | Semifinals | ||||||||
| JM Calma (San Miguel) | L | ||||||||
| Japeth Aguilar (Barangay Ginebra) | W | ||||||||
| Japeth Aguilar (Barangay Ginebra) | L | ||||||||
| James Laput (Magnolia) | W | ||||||||
| Justin Arana (Converge) | L | ||||||||
| James Laput (Magnolia) | W | ||||||||
| First Round | Semifinals | ||||||||
| Damie Cuntapay (Titan Ultra) | L | ||||||||
| Henry Galinato (TNT) | W | ||||||||
| Henry Galinato (TNT) | L | ||||||||
| Brandon Bates (Meralco) | W | ||||||||
| Brandon Bates (Meralco) | W | ||||||||
| Abu Tratter (Blackwater) | L | ||||||||
| First Round | Semifinals | ||||||||
| Leonard Santillan (Rain or Shine) | L | ||||||||
| Brandon Ramirez (NLEX) | W | ||||||||
| Brandon Ramirez (NLEX) | W | ||||||||
| Geo Chiu (Terrafirma) | L | ||||||||
| Geo Chiu (Terrafirma) | W | ||||||||
| Kai Ballungay (Phoenix Super LPG) | L | ||||||||
| Pos. | Player | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Brandon Bates | Meralco Bolts | 22.88s |
| C/PF | Brandon Ramirez | NLEX Road Warriors | 27.26s |
| C | James Laput | Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots | 45.69s |
Guards
One player from each team was selected to participate in the contest.
| Pos. | Player | Team | Height (ft. / in.) |
Weight (lb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PG | RJ Abarrientos | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 5' 11" | 174 |
| PG | Dalph Panopio | Blackwater Bossing | 6' 1" | 180 |
| PG/SG | Juan Gómez de Liaño | Converge FiberXers | 6' 0" | 163 |
| PG | Jerom Lastimosa | Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots | 5' 11" | |
| SG | CJ Cansino | Meralco Bolts | 6' 2" | |
| PG/SG | Robert Bolick | NLEX Road Warriors | 6' 1" | 178 |
| SF | Francis Escandor | Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters | 6' 3" | |
| PG | Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 6' 1" | 190 |
| PG | Juami Tiongson | San Miguel Beermen | 5' 10" | 175 |
| SG | Jerrick Ahanmisi | Terrafirma Dyip | 6' 1" | 185 |
| PG | Fran Yu | Titan Ultra Giant Risers | 5' 9" | 154 |
| PG/SG | Rey Nambatac | TNT Tropang 5G | 5' 11" |
| First Round | |||
| Jerrick Ahanmisi (Terrafirma) | W | ||
| Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti (Rain or Shine) | L | ||
| First Round | |||
| Rey Nambatac (TNT) | W | ||
| CJ Cansino (Meralco) | L | ||
| First Round | |||
| Jerom Lastimosa (Magnolia) | L | ||
| Fran Yu (Titan Ultra) | W | ||
| First Round | |||
| Francis Escandor (Phoenix Super LPG) | L | ||
| Juan Gómez de Liaño (Converge) | W | ||
| First Round | |||
| RJ Abarrientos (Barangay Ginebra) | L | ||
| Juami Tiongson (San Miguel) | W | ||
| First Round | |||
| Dalph Panopio (Blackwater) | W | ||
| Robert Bolick (NLEX) | L | ||
| Pos. | Player | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| SG | Jerrick Ahanmisi | Terrafirma Dyip | 24.94s |
| PG | Dalph Panopio | Blackwater Bossing | 26.97s |
| PG/SG | Rey Nambatac | TNT Tropang 5G | 27.94s |
| PG/SG | Juan Gómez de Liaño | Converge FiberXers | 35.83s |
| PG | Fran Yu | Titan Ultra Giant Risers | 37.52s |
| PG | Juami Tiongson | San Miguel Beermen | 50.70s |
Three-Point Shootout
The Three-Point Shootout was held on March 6 as a single event rather than being split into two as was the case in 2024.[2] One player from each team was selected to participate in the contest.
| Pos. | Player | Team | Height (ft. / in.) |
Weight (lb) | First round | Final round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SG | Jerrick Ahanmisi | Terrafirma Dyip | 6' 1" | 185 | 22 | 30 |
| SF/SG | Marcio Lassiter | San Miguel Beermen | 6' 2" | 185 | 25 | 25 |
| PG/SG | Juan Gómez de Liaño | Converge FiberXers | 6' 0" | 163 | 22 | 18 |
| PF/SF | Ralph Cu | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 6' 4" | 210 | 21 | DNQ |
| PG | Andrei Caracut | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 5' 10" | 180 | 21 | |
| SF/SG | Javi Gómez de Liaño | Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots | 6' 3" | 193 | 19 | |
| SG | CJ Cansino | Meralco Bolts | 6' 2" | 19 | ||
| SG | Xyrus Torres | NLEX Road Warriors | 6' 0" | 17 | ||
| SF | Francis Escandor | Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters | 6' 3" | 16 | ||
| SF | Calvin Oftana | TNT Tropang 5G | 6' 5" | 186 | 16 | |
| SG/PG | Sedrick Barefield | Blackwater Bossing | 6' 2" | 190 | 14 | |
| SF | King Caralipio | Titan Ultra Giant Risers | 6' 2" | 176 | 12 |
- Notes
- Gold represent current champion.
Blitz Game (Rookies and Sophomores vs. Juniors)
The Blitz Game was held on March 6 as the final Friday event. The game returned to the Rookies and Sophomores vs. Juniors format used in 2019 instead of the Greats vs. Stalwarts format used in 2023 and 2024.
Since Leo Austria and Chot Reyes were selected as the All-Star Game head coaches, the two Blitz Game teams were coached by an assistant coach from either San Miguel Beermen or TNT Tropang 5G.[5] Notably, RJ Abarrientos and Juan Gómez de Liaño aren't part of the Blitz Game despite having enough votes to be selected, due to their inclusion in the All-Star Game.[6]
Game
March 6
7:00 pm |
| Juniors 150, Rookies and Sophomores 154 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 35–32, 29–31, 41–49, 45–42 | ||
| Pts: Rivero 30 | Pts: Lastimosa 27 | |
Candon City Arena, Candon, Ilocos Sur
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- Game MVP: Jerom Lastimosa (Rookies and Sophomores)[7]
Shooting Stars
The Shooting Stars commenced for the first time since 2024. There was one PBA courtside reporter, one PBA player, one government official, one sportswriter and a lucky fan. Team Blue led by Tiebreaker Times sportswriter Justine Bacnis won the Shooting Stars.
All-Star Game
The 2026 PBA All-Star Game featured the return of the North vs. South format last used in 2019.
Rosters
Voting ran from December 5, 2025 to January 18, 2026, and nominees were divided into North and South based on their place of origin. The starters for each team are decided through the fan voting system while the reserves are selected by the league's head coaches.
The North All-Stars was coached by Leo Austria of the San Miguel Beermen, who would be coaching in his fifth All-Star Game and first since 2018. Japeth Aguilar of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel was the leading vote-getter among North nominees. He was joined by Calvin Abueva and Juan Gómez de Liaño of Converge FiberXers, Stephen Holt of Barangay Ginebra, and CJ Perez of San Miguel in the starting lineup.
The reserves for the North include Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar of Converge, CJ Cansino and Chris Newsome of Meralco Bolts, Zavier Lucero of Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, Adrian Nocum of Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and Don Trollano of San Miguel.
The South All-Stars was coached by Chot Reyes of the TNT Tropang 5G, who would be coaching in his eighth All-Star Game and first since 2018. June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel had the most votes among South nominees. The rest of the starters includes RJ Abarrientos and Scottie Thompson of Barangay Ginebra, Robert Bolick of NLEX Road Warriors and Calvin Oftana of TNT.
Completing the South roster are reserves JB Bahio of NLEX, Jericho Cruz of San Miguel, Rey Nambatac and Roger Pogoy of TNT, Leonard Santillan and Caelan Tiongson of Rain or Shine and Alec Stockton of Converge.[8]
Abueva, Aguilar, and Fajardo are all selected for their tenth All-Star Game.
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- ^DNP1 Zavier Lucero did not participate.
- ^REP1 Gian Mamuyac played in place of Zavier Lucero.
- ^INJ1 Scottie Thompson did not play due to an injury.
- ^ST1 Leonard Santillan started in place of Scottie Thompson.
- ^INJ2 Jericho Cruz did not play due to an achilles injury.
- ^INJ3 Roger Pogoy did not play due to a hamstring injury.
Game
March 8
7:30 pm |
| North All-Stars 147, South All-Stars 142 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 50–36, 29–36, 39–49, 29–21 | ||
| Pts: Perez 32 | Pts: Stockton 29 | |
- All-Star Game MVP: Japeth Aguilar (North All-Stars)[9]
Notes
- ^ Abueva was still a member of the Titan Ultra Giant Risers during the voting period before being traded to Converge. He has not debuted for the team prior to the All-Star Game.
References
- ^ Beltran, Nelson (November 28, 2025). "PBA brings back All-Stars". The Philippine Star. Retrieved September 13, 2025.
- ^ a b Ballesteros, Jan (February 8, 2026). "Calvin Oftana, JM Calma out to retain titles in PBA All-Star Weekend". One Sports. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
- ^ Terrado, Reuben (March 6, 2026). "PBA ALL-STARS: Brandon Bates is new Obstacle Challenge Bigs champ". SPIN.ph. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
- ^ Ramos, Gerry (March 6, 2026). "Jerrick Ahanmisi joins brod Maverick as Obstacle Challenge champ". SPIN.ph. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
- ^ Ballesteros, Jan (February 13, 2026). "PBA All-Stars: Barefield leads Rookies/Sophomores vs Rivero, Juniors". One Sports. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
- ^ Ramos, Gerry (February 10, 2026). "RJ, Juan GDL won't play in Rookie-Sophomore vs Juniors showcase". SPIN.ph. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
- ^ "Rookies/Sophomores prevails over Juniors in All-Star side events". pba.ph. March 6, 2026. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
- ^ Ballesteros, Jan (February 13, 2026). "PBA All-Star cast complete as South, June Mar Fajardo take on North young bigs". One Sports. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
- ^ "Aguilar, Arana lead North past South in All-Star game". pba.ph. March 8, 2026. Retrieved March 11, 2026.