Coaches Leo Austria, Chito Victolero, and Tim Cone will add another feather to their caps after being named to call the shots in the coming PBA All-Star.
The trio got the privilege to take part in the annual spectacle due to respective team’s impressive finishes during the Philippine Cup, which Austria and the San Miguel Beermen won for a record fourth straight season.
The All-Star teams will be playing in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao on My 23-27.
Unlike last year, Austria and Co. switch places this time as they bid to put one over the national squad during the mid-season spectacle which counts on Phoenix Fuel with Phoenix Pulse Technology as major sponsor.
Cone gets a first crack against members of the national pool as he handles the Mindanao selection that battles the Philippine side on May 23 in Davao.
Austria and the Luzon squad follow next on May 25 in Batangas City, before Victolero and the Visayas team get their turn on May 27 in Iloilo City to cap the five-day hoopla also supported by Peak sports apparel.
Last year, only Victolero did better out of the three coaches under the same tournament format as the Mindanao selection managed to hold the national pool team to a draw, 114-all.
Both Austria (Luzon) and Cone (Visayas) went home empty-handed after absorbing a 122-111 and 125-112 beating, respectively.
This year, Cone will have at his disposal a guard-heavy starting lineup composed of Barangay Ginebra player Scottie Thompson, and the Magnolia trio of Mark Barroca, Jio Jalalon, and Peter June Simon, with Blackwater’s Mac Belo as the sole big man in the middle.
