A week after, the balloting for the Philippine Basketball Association All-Star Game took a major twist.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Japeth Aguilar formally dislodged San Miguel Beer counterpart June Mar Fajardo at the top spot in the second wave of All-Star Game ballot cast by fans from 1 to 7 February.
The 6-foot-9 slotman surged from his previous spot at No. 3 all the way to the top after getting 190,273 votes in the annual spectacle that will be held from 9 to 12 March in Passi City in Iloilo.
Teammate Scottie Thompson, on the other hand, kept his hold of No. 2 with 186,187 votes while the six-time Most Valuable Player Fajardo slid to the third spot with 183,903 votes.
Also making a giant leap is Rain or Shine rookie Gian Mamuyac, who barged into the Top 10 list at No. 6 with a total of 170,359 votes.
Mamuyac, a gunner from Ateneo de Manila University, made a strong impression with the huge turnout as he wasn’t part of the Top 24 in the initial tally that the league released last week.
Meanwhile, Jamie Malonzo of Ginebra and Calvin Abueva of Magnolia kept their respective slots at fourth and fifth with 174,112 and 172,383 votes, respectively.
Returning two-time MVP James Yap went a notch higher at No. 7 with 170,313, followed by Christian Standhardinger of Ginebra (169,718), CJ Perez of San Miguel, who fell three spots below at No. 9 (169,036), and LA Tenorio of Ginebra (166,317).
Voting online and onsite continues until 15 February.
Fans’ choices for the two coaching slots remain in favor of veterans Tim Cone (224,430) and Yeng Guiao (208,429).
Rookie coach Aldin Ayo is still at No. 3 with 142,155, while Magnolia’s Chito Victolero has overtaken Norman Black of Meralco at no. 4 with 129,590.
The rest of the players who made it to the Top 24 list were Stanley Pringle (163,595), Paul Lee (156,482), Jayson Castro (155,800), Terrence Romeo (155,651), Robert Bolick (150,241), Mark Barroca (147,995), Jeremiah Gray (146,966), Marcio Lassiter (145,335), Roger Pogoy (145,274), Arvin Tolentino (144,439), Chris Newsome (144,422), Mikey Williams (142,810), Kevin Alas (137,626), and Gabe Norwood (137,445).
Mamuyac also now leads the fans’ choices for the Rookie/Sophomores-Juniors game with separate votes of 205,616.
The duo of Malonzo (194,340) and Gray (179,800) occupy the next two spots followed by Tolentino (171,840), and Calvin Oftana (171,840).
Others who are in the Top 20 list include Shaun Ildefonso (170,635), Justin Arana (166,968), Aaron Black (166,539), Tyler Tio (165,989), Mikey Williams (165,778), Jerrick Ahanmisi (162,471), Brandon Rosser (152,100), Jerrick Balanza (151,865), RK Ilagan (151,145), Allyn Bulanadi (150,521), Isaac Go (148,919), Mike Nieto (146,878), Matt Nieto (146,583), Joshua Munzon (146,286), and Anton Asistio (146,058).
