The PBA has decided to scrap the Slam Dunk Contest in its 2024 All-Star festivities in Bacolod as the supposed participants are out due to injuries.
Commissioner Willie Marcial said that they had six players initially lined up to compete in the skills challenge’s pet event. However, all of them are hurt, including reigning champion Dave Murrell of Magnolia, who won last year’s tilt in Passi.
“Sa Slam Dunk Contest natin, panay injured,” the league chieftain said shortly after the All-Star Draft at the TV5 Media Center in Pasig, Monday night.
Still, the PBA will have three skills events for the March 22-23 extravaganza, with a Three-Point Shootout among big men taking the dunk contest’s place.
Jason Perkins leads the said competition which also features Sean Anthony, Mo Tautua’a, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Isaac Go, Keith Datu, JM Calma, Brandon Bates, Aris Dionisio, Keith Zaldivar, Christian David, and Ralph Cu.
Perkins, Calma, Datu, Tautua’a, Go, Ganuelas-Rosser, and Bates will also be seeing action in the Obstacle Challenge, which will pit centers and forwards against one another – a format that has been in use since 2018.
(C) PBA Images
Dave Marcelo will be defending the title he won in Iloilo last year against a field that also has back-to-back All-Star Game top overall pick Christian Standhardinger, Clifford Jopia, Justin Arana, and James Laput.
(C) PBA Images
A Three-Point Shootout among guards will be held as well, led of course by reigning king Paul Lee, who’s looking to become the first to win the contest in back-to-back since Terrence Romeo in 2015 and 2016.
Aiming to oust him, though, are two-time winner James Yap, Marcio Lassiter, Maverick Ahanmisi, Alec Stockton, Chris Newsome, Robbie Herndon, Arvin Tolentino, Tyler Tio, Andrei Caracut, Javi Gomez de Liano, and Calvin Oftana.
Lee won the Passi shootout last year by exploding for 28 points in the finale, which proved to be too high of a benchmark for Lassiter and Juami Tiongson.
The PBA All-Star Bacolod 2024 is set on March 23-24 at the University of Saint La Salle Coliseum, marking the event’s return to the city after 16 years.
