When Hopedale's Justin Lewis and Barrett Dziok showed up at the St. John's gym in Shrewsbury two Saturday's ago, they didn't know what to expect.

Here's what they knew: the two seniors were trying out for a team that was supposed to be made up of the best senior basketball players in Central Mass.

The reality was that just about 25 players showed up for the Best 80 All-Star Game trials. And all it really encompassed was the players breaking up into four teams and playing glorified pick-up ball.

But the competition was fierce when the whistle blew. After Central district coach John Marderosian had five minutes to think about it at the end of the session, Lewis and Dziok were among the 10 names he called.

The pair of Blue Raiders will be on the court as their Central team takes on the West stars at Stonehill College on Sunday (1 p.m.)

"I was really shocked," said Dziok of making the team. "I didn't think I'd be one of the better players there."

But he was, and he and Lewis will be joined by a pair of local girls hoop players at the event. Waltham's Betty Dely will play for the North squad, which will take on the South stars, and Nashoba's Kerry O'Loughlin made the Central team to take on the West.

The Central-West game taps off at 10:30 a.m., while North-South matchup kicks off the day of basketball at 9 a.m.

While Lewis and Dziok had to survive a cut to make the squad, Dely didn't. Only seven girls showed up to the North tryout and those will be comprising this weekend's roster.

Dely, a Greater Boston League All-Star, had the credentials to compete for a spot regardless. And the lack of interest won't diminish being at an event that has lost top players because of the proliferation of AAU ball and other all-star games.

"Of course, I'm happy to be selected," said Dely. "I love playing basketball. I'm glad to be representing the Best 80."

Dely's coach at Waltham, Denise Nugent, served as the North district representative for girls basketball. She says that plans to revamp the game are under way but this year, the lack of a large pool to pull players from will hurt the quality of the games.

MBCA Publicity/Promotions Director Nick Papas concurred. He remembers when the game started in the 1976 and was a premier event. He also can recall when the first sign of trouble came.

"We knew AAU was around, but we didn't know what the interest factor was until after selecting the teams," said Papas, the head boys coach at Burlington High.

"There were 10 girls selected to a team in the late 1980's, and two or three days before the game, seven called to contact the coach and said they couldn't make it, because of AAU commitments."

The game is named Best 80 because it is meant to have 40 boys and 40 girls from the state's four regions. But this year, only 69 players will compete and just five of the eight rosters have the full 10 players.

"It's open to all seniors, and those that show up go through the tryout process," said Nugent. "That's the good thing about it, that it's open to everyone. The lousy thing is that kids are so busy, they can't make it (to the tryout)."

One of those who couldn't show was Framingham senior captain Niki Savageau, the Flyers' all-time leading female scorer.

Savageau said she would have liked to have been on the South team, but simply didn't have the time to attend the tryout. That didn't stop the Best 80 committee from naming her to the All-Academic team.

Savageau's carries a 4.29 GPA at Framingham, grades that helped her earn admission into Williams College, where she'll play basketball next year. The point guard hopes the recognition will set a precedent with her younger teammates.

"I think sometimes kids caught up in sports, and forget that they need to balance it with their school work," said Savageau. "(The award) shows the importance of stressing academics and sports. It's a good example to set."

So Savageau will be there in Easton to accept her selection. As for those who are playing, it will lend another chance to compete on the high school stage.

And for Lewis and Dziok, one final opportunity to play on the same team.

"We've played together since 6th grade, we play AAU together, so I'm happy about it," said Lewis, who is leaning toward playing basketball at Becker next year. "Going out there with (Dziok) one more time will be so much fun."