Norwood is PBA's new slam dunk king; Yap top gunner

MANILA, Philippines – Rain or Shine rookie Gabe Norwood rose to the Slam Dunk throne while Purefoods gunner James Yap crowned himself Three-Point Shootout king on Sunday in the PBA All-Star skills competition at the Araneta Coliseum. Norwood earned 91 points from the five judges for his final dunk to steal the title from three-time champion KG Canaleta of Purefoods who had 89. In his title-clinching jam, Norwood used the backboard before throwing the ball down with two hands to log 47 on his second dunk, good enough to nose out Canaleta in the final tally. Norwood’s ascension was made easier by the absence of 2008 champion Kelly Williams of Sta. Lucia who was downed by LBM during the All-Star’s stop in Negros. Talk N Text’s Jared Dillinger, who thrilled the crowd when he attempted – in vain - to jam the ball clad in Manny Pacquiao shirt, shorts and boxing gloves, finished third with 67 points. For his part, Yap rifled in in a record-tying 21 points to edge San Miguel’s Dondon Hontiveros (15), last year’s runner-up, for the three-point crown. Aided by a perfect clip right at the first rack, Yap’s output was the highest tally for a shooter since Will Antonio shut the lights out in winning the 2001 edition. In the special imports competition, Ginebra’s high-flying reinforcement David Noel posted 83 points, outsoaring San Miguel’s Gabe Freeman (72) and Sta. Lucia’s Anthony Johnson (57). He later faced off with local champ Norwood and got two perfect 50s as against the Fil-Am’s 94. In his second attempt, the 6-5 Noel did a backflip twice before getting the ball from teammate Paul Artadi and slamming it home with a 360-degree jam. This routine earned a perfect 10 for Noel, a member of the 2006 US NCAA champion North Carolina and a collegiate slam dunk champ. For his part, Norwood put on a Barack Obama shirt, a play on his uncanny resemblance to the US president, in his first attempt. He capped his performance by mimicking Noel’s tumbling antics, doing a cartwheel before slamming it home then kneeling and praying before the judges. Noel won the special dunk-off and finished off his showcase with a Jordanesque dunk from inside the free-throw line. Noel's Ginebra teammate Artadi did not disappoint earlier at the Obstacle Challenge, putting an end to the three-year reign of Alaska’s Willie Miller. Artadi finished the course in 36.7 seconds, highlighting his performance with a slam dunk. He edged out Aces’ LA Tenorio (37.4) and Whoppers’ Egay Billones (40.6), while Miller bombed out early. –GMANews.TV