Maverick Ahanmisi
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) All-Star Voting has always been a popularity contest. It has always been and it will remain so for the foreseeable future.
There’s no denying, however, that it’s become even more divisive in the age of internet and analytics — with personal stats now more accessible to fans, which could be devastating. Random arguments about who deserves a spot on the team.
“I admit it,” PBA commissioner Willie Marcial told the Inquirer about the buzz about the All-Star disparagement circulating on social media. “But the voting process is always the same — it is always controlled by the fans.
“It has been like that for a long time. And that is also the case of [National Basketball Association]” he added.
Terrafirma’s Juami Tiongson and Converge’s Maverick Ahanmisi — this season’s custodians — have emerged as the typical boys of those excluded from this year’s show.
crack protection
The duo, along with NLEX’s Don Trollano, have been deemed by some social media users worthy of All-Star nods while raising eyebrows at the inclusion of two-time former Best Player James Yap , who has barely competed this season, freshman Gian Mamuyac and Ginebra’s Nards Pinto, another point guard who has mostly come on from the bench as a defender for those loved ones of the crowd.
Tiongson said it would be great to be recognized in a competition where the league has the best play. But Ahanmisi just said frankly that he is not interested in taking part in the fun.
The Terrafirma player has maintained his fine play even a year after winning the Most Improved Player Award. Meanwhile, defender FiberXers is seeing a resurgence in its game after years of underutilization.
Despite the stark contrast of their predicament, the two reached the same chorus—a chorus similar to that of the head of the federation.
“Let’s be honest: People don’t like me that way,” Tiongson said on Saturday. “I’m not that famous. Guys like me don’t really win things like that. And that’s just the way it is. Fans decide who they want to watch and the players they want to watch. That’s just about it.
Pinto, meanwhile, said he is aware of the criticism surrounding his inclusion of other worthy players.
“What happened was simply beyond my control,” Pinto, in Filipino, told the Inquirer in a separate interview, minutes before Gin Kings played Blackwater Sunday night at PhilSports Arena. .
Location in question
Pinto collected 1,146,069 votes after a two-week voting ended February 15, placing 23rd out of 24 players selected to participate in the upcoming classics tournament after a four-year absence. ball.
This is despite Pinto’s numbers of 6.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals in the Philippine Cup and 2.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 0.6 steals in the race for the title of Commissioner of Ginebra.
“We all know that there are players who deserve my place, but I was voted for by the fans,” continued Pinto. “The people who feel that I don’t deserve to play, that’s their opinion and there’s nothing we can do about it. I am so lucky to have been voted.”
“This is exactly why I didn’t want to participate. It’s a popularity contest,” Ahanmisi said, also on Saturday. “The more deserving people didn’t even get to vote because it was overshadowed by the big names and I don’t support that.
“I don’t want to be a part of it,” the one-time and two-time Obstacle Challenge champion added. “That’s just me. There is no knock for those who want to be a part of it. But I’ve seen too many players who deserve it and they’re never in it. So I just don’t want to be a part of it.”
past casualties
The 2019 edition features even more prominent snubs for Sean Anthony, Matthew Wright, Christian Standhardinger and Ian Sangalang.
“What we were able to do was make each rig feel different, apply some tweaks to the format in terms of how it plays. But really, what do we do with the way the league’s fans vote?” Marcial said.
“Are we really going to put a limit on the list? Placing certain players in place of those who obtained actual votes? “I think that is even more problematic,” he added. request
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