By Paulo Loreto Lim

Voting for this year’s Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) events commence today, February 16, with ballots available both online and at various playing venues.

The events will feature stops in Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao between May 23 and 27. While venues have yet to be named for 2018, last year’s event visited the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City, the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City, and Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan in Cagayan de Oro City.

Last year, three sets of All-Star teams, formed by votes from each region, faced off against the Philippine national basketball team, Gilas Pilipinas.

The All-Star event also holds other competitions featuring various professional basketball players.

During last year’s challenges, the slam dunk contest was won by Chris Newsome of the Meralco Bolts; the three-point shootout was won by Allein Maliksi, then a player for Star Hotshots, which has since been rebranded as Magnolia Hotshots; and the obstacle challenge was won for a second year in a row by Maverick Ahanmisi of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters./PLL, WDJ