Jalen Green put on a show to bag the 2018 National Basketball Training Center Slam Dunk Contest, Friday afternoon at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Green beat four other competitors — including Justin Gutang of the CSB Blazers in the finale — scoring a perfect 50 on all four dunks during the side event.
The 16-year-old Fil-American capped off the contest with a 360 dunk that came off a pass to the side of the board by FilAm Sports USA teammate Kihei Clark.
“Me and Kihei, we talked about it before. It’s creative and it’s a good dunk so I just did it,” the top prospect in the 2020 class shared.
All five judges — Alaska Aces rookie Jeron Teng, former PBA cagers Danny Ildefonso and Kerby Raymundo, and UP Fighting Maroon tandem of Bright Akhuetie and Juan Gomez de Liano — gave Green a 10 in the final dunk.
Other competitors in the event were former UP Fighting Maroon David Murrell, professional dunker David Carlos, and teammate Elijah Jackson.
“That’s the biggest part right there, beating a professional dunker. I came to a different country to put on a show. I just love the energy here. I’m really excited to win this,” added Green.
Green’s performance in the slam dunk capped off an impressive week for the Fresno native, in which he lifted FilAm Sports USA to a quarterfinal finish in the tournament.
