MANNY PACQUIAO suited up for the first time in close to nine months on Wednesday night, playing the final 2:59 of the first period for Mahindra in the PBA Governors’ Cup against Alaska.

Calvin Abueva used him as crosshairs of two straight triples from top of the key as the Aces, who had just a 20-18 lead when Pacquiao stepped in, closed out the first period sitting on a 31-23 lead.

Pacquiao, elected to one of 12 Senate seats in the May 9 polls, clearly was out of synch.

During the time he was on the floor, the lean crowd that watched what turned out to be a great game had a grand time jeering the eight-division world boxing champion — when he chased Alaska players on defense and when the Enforcers were trying to make something happen on offense.

He wound up contributing nothing, his stats line filled with zeroes, and missed the only shot he took, an awkward-looking 18-foot jumper in transition which he seemed to have launched because it looked like he didn’t know what to do with the ball.

Pacquiao was reactivated on Tuesday afternoon in place of starting point guard LA Revilla, who broke his nose in practice and was supposed to go under the knife on Thursday for a delicate procedure.

News of Pacquiao being reactivated was all over the web and on the papers on Wednesday morning,

Playing for a squad that was enjoying its finest start in its PBA life — 3-0 before the game against Alaska — was certainly big news, because Pacquiao was coming in and could disrupt the flow and chemistry of the Mahindra crew.

That stint by the “Pacman” touched off a searing Alaska run, as the Aces even went on to lead by as large as 16.

When Pacquiao got his minutes in, the other players in the Mahindra lineup, import James White and forgotten sophomore Keith Jasper Agovida, came up with brilliant performances in the final two periods that lifted the Enforcers to a 101-95 win.

The rest of the squad saved the day for the Enforcers, who got their reward from Pacquiao, who reportedly gave bonuses of at least P10,000 each after the game.

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Pacquiao, in website reports before the game, said that it was management’s decision to reactivate him in place of the injured Revilla.

He won’t only be taking Revilla’s place in the lineup, according to reports, as he will also be participating in the All-Star Weekend’s Obstacle Challenge, one of the side-events to be held on Friday night where Revilla was originally slated to compete in.

The Obstacle Challenge is a skills test of passing, dribbling, shooting and speed.

Jeric Fortuna won that last year, with the likes of Willie Miller, a former two-time MVP, and Paul Artadi some of the event’s past champions.

Pacquiao could certainly provide some interest in the event if he does decide to participate and it would be a great arena for him to display if he really has what it takes to play at the PBA level.

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The All-Star Game itself will be played on Sunday, but the event has undoubtedly lost some of its glamor and is reportedly struggling to sell tickets with very lean demand as of this writing.

The PBA should look at how the players for the game are selected, because there are a lot of truly deserving players who have been left out of the rosters and there are some starters who are there only because they are some of the more popular ones playing for the more popular teams.

Cliff Hodge, Willie Wilson, Sean Anthony, KG Canaleta, Vic Manuel and JP Erram are averaging close to double-double numbers for their respective squads as of last week but are not seeing action in the All-Star Game.

Anthony is turning in more than 17 points and close to 10 rebounds for NLEX; Hodge is averaging close to 12 and nine for Meralco; Erram is turning in 10 and seven for Blackwater; Canaleta is averaging 12 and Wilson has an average of 14 points and nine rebounds this season for Phoenix Petroleum.

Aren’t those numbers worthy of All-Star inclusions?

Fans vote for the starters and coaches name the reserves, but not seeing those five big men on Sunday speaks a lot of how the participants are named, leaving a lot to be desired as far as composition for those teams go.

Some players are in the roster because they remain popular — no offense to anyone — even though they have struggled the entire season.

Let’s not name names anymore, because it is easy to point them all out.

The league should look into the qualification of those who will be made to start and should be bold enough to introduce innovations to make the All-Star Game a classic like it was in the old days.

We will all see how the fans react to this when Sunday comes, most especially if ticket sales pick up.

Otherwise, the league will have some soul-searching to do to keep this event going.