The Philippine Basketball Association hit two birds with one stone with its All-Star Game last night.

The Gilas-Pilipinas National Five got the workout that it needed and the fans were treated to some top-class cage action in an exhibition game that ended in a 124-all tie with the PBA Selection at the jampacked Davao Del Sur Coliseum here.

Jeff Chan hit a triple with six-tenths of a second remaining as the Nationals averted what would have been a disappointing loss in their very first game together by erasing an 11-point deficit early in the fourth quarter.

Arwind Santos, who wasn’t included in the pool of 17 men that National coach Chot Reyes named earlier in the year, was the biggest headache for the Philippine Five. Santos, the reedy 6-foot-4 swingman of Petron and perennial MVP contender, finished with 27 points to lead the Selection.

The game was very loose in the first three periods with practically no defense being played, before everything turned businesslike in the final frame that had the Selection racing to a 103-92 lead after two Santos free throws with under 10 minutes left.

Even with only one legitimate center in the lineup in Rain or Shine’s Beau Belga, the Selection used its speed and outside shooting to keep the Nationals at bay for most of the night.

Well, at least until the final 49 seconds when Team Philippines – which didn’t suit up naturalized 6-foot-10 center Marcus Douthit and the injured Jimmy Alapag – rallied like crazy to sew it all up.

“The character of this team is that we don’t give up, that’s what we built,” a very proud coach, Chot Reyes, told reporters in the din of the celebration. “That other team (Selection) played well.

“They had something to prove and they really made their case,” he continued. “A lot of those guys on that team deserve to be on this team as well.”

Incidentally, Santos, for his game-long brilliance, and Chan, for tying the score, were named co-winners of the MVP of the Game award.

“Those guys really gave us a hard time, and that is what this game is for,” Reyes said.

Larry Fonacier paced the Nationals in scoring with 18 and seven others scored 120 or more for Reyes, whose task is to finish at least in third place in Manila in the Fiba-Asia Qualifying in August to earn a berth for the Philippines in the World Basketball Championship in Madrid next year.

James Yap and Mark Caguioa, former MVPs who are hands-down the biggest draws in the league today, both suited up despite their injuries and played a combined 12 minutes together.

Each made a jumpshot but weren’t on the floor when the Selection played with control.

Reyes said that Douthit is nursing a slightly sore back and is being preserved for games against the Chinese Basketball Association’s Shanghai Sharks today and tomorrow.

Alapag, on the other hand, was down with a bruised calf and Reyes opted not to use him anymore because Talk ‘N Text is in the thick of a very close PBA Commissioner’s Cup Final Four series with Barangay Ginebra which resumes on Wednesday.