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| Jayson Castro leads four Gilas players as North reserves. (file photo) |
By Ivan Saldajeno
PASIG--NLEX center Asi Taulava led the cast of the additions to the South All-Stars in the PBA All-Star Game at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Aug. 7.
Taulava, on Thursday night, was named the replacement to Ginebra's seven-foot star Greg Slaughter, who was declared out of the annual showcase due to an ankle injury. The said development made the six-foot-ten dominant force the new starting slotman for the Southern team.
Joining Taulava at the South as reserves are Rain Or Shine's JR Quiñahan, Jeff Chan, and Jericho Cruz, San Miguel's Chris Ross, Star's Mark Barroca and RR Garcia, and Blackwater's Carlo Lastimosa.
The eight players will play teammates to Star's James Yap, Scottie Thompson and Joe Devance, and San Miguel's Junemar Fajardo, who were named the South starters on Saturday.
[Related Story: Ginebra stars lead PBA All-Star starters]
On the other hand, four players who played for Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA OQT earlier this month were named into the North All-Star reserves.
TNT's Jayson Castro, Ranidel De Ocampo, and Troy Rosario and ROS' Gabe Norwood were named as reinforcements for the Northerners alongside San Miguel's Alex Cabagnot, ROS' Paul Lee, and GlobalPort's Stanley Pringle.
The said men will play backup to Ginebra's Mark Caguioa and Japeth Aguilar, GlobalPort's Terrence Romeo, Star's Marc Pingris, and Alaska's Calvin Abueva.
The inclusion of Castro, De Ocampo, Rosario, and Norwood to the North All-Stars means seven national team players will play for the North.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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