Rain or Shine Elastopainters combo guard Maverick Ahanmisi dethroned reigning titlist Jeric Fortuna to become the new PBA Obstacle Challenge king in the PBA All-Star Weekend 2016 festivities Friday afternoon at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City.
“I’m just extremely blessed and thank you to the people here,” said the six-foot-two Ahanmisi, who was the competition’s tallest competitor.
This year’s skills challenge showcased a new format especially in the first round, which saw player match-ups similar to the 2016 NBA Skills Challenge. Winners were determined by who completes the full-court course first by making the course’s last stage, which is the three-pointer from the top of the key. The traditional fastest-time-wins format was applied in the final round.
Barangay Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson nailed the first slot of the final round after his opponent, Alaska guard Chris Banchero, got confused in the opening sequence of the course. Carlo Lastimosa of Blackwater followed suit after booting out Fortuna. Mahindra’s Paolo Taha was the third entry after leaving Meralco’s Chris Newsome. Phoenix’s Mark Cruz, Ahanmisi, and 2014 Skills Challenge crownholder and Star point guard Mark Barroca completed the final cast.
The final round, this time with the fastest-time-wins set-up in full effect, saw Thompson go first. But his five missed triples midway into the course proved costly, as he only clocked in a measly 49.38 seconds. Lastimosa came in second and became the round’s leader after completing the course in just 34.11 seconds. Taha was the third participant, but he failed to deliver after running with 46.11 seconds.
Cruz, the fabled Letran Knight, gave Lastimosa a run for his money after doing quick work of the course, but he was two seconds above the time set by the former St. Benilde cager, earning just 36.96 seconds. After Cruz, it was Ahanmisi’s turn, and he erased the record by clocking in 32.95 seconds. Barroca became a favorite to outshine the Fil-Am’s time lap, but missed three-pointers made him run the course with only 45.43 seconds, sealing Ahanmisi the title.
Ahanmisi, who will also play in the Greats vs Stalwarts game tonight, bags home 30,000 pesos with his victory in the side event.
RESULTS
First Round:
Scottie Thompson def. Chris Banchero
Carlo Lastimosa def. Jeric Fortuna
Paolo Taha def. Chris Newsome
Mark Cruz def. Emman Monfort
Maverick Ahanmisi def. Bryan Heruela
Mark Barroca def. Jai Reyes
Final round:
Scottie Thompson = 49.38 seconds
Carlo Lastimosa = 34.11 seconds
Paolo Taha = 46.11 seconds
Mark Cruz = 36.96 seconds
Maverick Ahanmisi = 32.95 seconds
Mark Barroca = 45.43 seconds
