PBA: Romeo bags All-Star MVP plume as smaller North squad slays South giants

The smaller North squad used their quickness to ruin Jimmy Alapag's retirement game as they beat the towering South team, 166-161, in the All-Star showdown held on Sunday in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

Japeth Aguilar, Greg Slaughter, Gabe Norwood, and Joe Devance entertained the Palawan crowd with entertaining dunks in the first half of the game as the South took a double digit advantage.

Shooters Terrence Romeo, Mark Barroca, Jeff Chan, and Stanley Pringle also put on a show with their outside sniping, but the North turned serious in the second half, blazing to an 18-2 run to turn the tables en route to victory.

Alapag, whose jersey was retired by Talk 'n Text in a simple ceremony during halftime break, scored 12 points, all off three-pointers, and dished 17 assists to his teammates for a fitting farewell performance.

The night, however, was stolen by Romeo, who bagged the Most Valuable Player award as he finished with 30 points during the game. Alaska forward Abueva also posted monster numbers for the North, topscoring with 37 points, 16 rebounds, and seven assists.

The game tallied the highest scoring output for each of the first three quarters in the All-Star record, as both teams defended loosely and allowed each other to score baskets in the first 36 minutes before going serious in the fourth.

Meanwhile, the South team won the All-Star Dance off after Devance twerked to Nicki Minaj's "Anaconda" and the team's well-choreographed mash-up performance. They topped the North squad, who stripped off their shirts and danced to "Katawan" by Hagibis. - RAF, GMA News

The scores:

NORTH ALL-STARS 166 - Abueva 37, Romeo 30, Aguilar 25, Santos 24, Pingris 19, Norwood 8, Belga 6, Tenorio 6, Castro 5, Lee 5, De Ocampo 2, Melton 0.

SOUTH ALL-STARS 161 - Simon 24, Slaughter 22, Chan 22, Hugnatan 17, Devance 16, Baguio 14, Alapag 12, Taulava 11, Pringle 11, Yap 6, Barroca 6.