Gilas Pilipinas is expected to have its hands full when it battles a team of PBA selection in a game that serves as the centerpiece event of the 2014 All-Star weekend at the Mall of Asia Arena.

This Sunday’s showdown marks the first time the national team will play full force competitively as it gears up for the FIBA-World Cup in Spain and the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea set later this year.

Coach Chot Reyes and the nationals last played together in front of basketball-loving Filipinos during the FIBA-Asia Men’s Championship when they lost to Iran in the gold medal match.

The PBA All-Stars are hoping to approximate the same competitive nature the FIBA-Asia meet provided to Gilas by vowing to give the nationals a good fight on a year the league celebrates the 25th year of the mid-season spectacle.

Coached by Tim Cone, the All-Star team won’t come in handy as it will be reinforced by two-time MVP James Yap, last year’s top rookie pick Greg Slaughter, reigning MVP Arwind Santos, last season’s Rookie of the Year Calvin Abueva, and former Smart Gilas team members Mark Barroca and Marcio Lassiter, among others.

A side bar to the All-Star game is the presence of both Slaughter and Lassiter in the PBA selection. The two players earlier declined their inclusion in the Gilas training pool, stressing the 12 members of the national team that suited up in the FIBA-Asia tilt last year deserved to be part of the official roster to the world basketball championship.*PNA

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