Surprises mark side events of PBA All-Star

Puerto Princesa City – KG Canaleta, Mark Macapagal and Jonas Villanueva stunned their highly-favored rivals on Friday to win the side events of the PBA All-Star weekend Puerto Princesa Coliseum in Palawan. Canaleta, the Derby Ace swingman, won his fourth slam dunk crown while Macapagal of Coca-Cola stole the show in the three-point shootout and San Miguel’s Villanueva excelled in the skills challenge. Canaleta reclaimed the 2007 slam dunk title after beating the league’s best rim-rattlers. He upstaged top favorites Kelly Williams and last year’s champion Gabe Norwood to rule this exciting event for the fourth time in six years. He won three straight, from 2005 to 07, while Williams won the crown the following year. Norwood was the 2009 slam dunk champion. Canaleta repulsed Williams’ challenge in a slam off after both high-flyers scored 96 points in the two-round finals match. Leaping over three Derby Ace ball boys, Canaleta completed yet another perfectly-executed dunk and his third perfect score (50) for the night, enough to beat Williams’ 45 points after a thundering double-pump slam. “It wasn’t part of the plan," said Canaleta after receiving the 2010 award. “But this year’s cast has a strong field. I cannot be more creative because I don’t want to get my rhythm off so I just kept on dunking and continued adding people one by one." Williams relied on his dunking prowess, completing slam after slam with authority. His signature double-pump jam carried him all the way to the finals. In the second-round of the finals, he executed a 180-degree slam that earned him his first perfect score. The former most valuable player (MVP) also showed his creative side and even used the Handy Fix Mascot as a prop. Williams dunked over him and the mascot candidly played along with the Sta. Lucia forward by collapsing on the floor to the delight of the overflow crowd. Canaleta, however, did it the old-fashion way. Canaleta used three people and jumped over them with ease to preserve a lasting image of somebody who could be the only player to win the award four times. “I don’t know if I would be back next year," said Canaleta when asked about the possibility of him returning for a shot at a fifth crown. “I may be back, but this time, in the three-point shootout contest." Norwood tried to be creative but could only manage 88 points after two rounds in the eliminations, which wasn’t enough to carry him to the finals. Other dunkers who competed were Canaleta’s teammate Rico Maierhofer and Barangay Ginebra’s JC Intal. Macapagal stuns favorites Macapagal was not among the favorites to win the crown but the former San Sebastian King Stag’s shots found its mark. Macapagal scored 17 points to place second to Barako’s Yousif Aljamal (19) in the elimination round. Jeff Chan had 16 markers to become the last finalist. Defending champion James Yap only scored seven while other favorites Dondon Hontiveros, Ren-Ren Ritualo, Jimmy Alapag and Willie Miller also failed to find their rhythm. In the finals, Macapagal scored 13 while Chan had 12 and Aljamal tallied 11. “I can’t believe I’m at center court receiving the three-point king award," said Macapagal. “I wasn’t among the favorites." Villanueva shines in skills challenge Villanueva bested a cast of speedy guards that include Ronjay Enrile, Willie Miller and defending champion Paul Artadi to win the obstacle challenge. Villanueva, who finished third in the opening round, completed the challenge in 31.7 seconds, three seconds faster than the one posted by two-time winner Miller. Artadie could not find the same spunk that earned him last year’s trophy. He finished the challenge more than one minute and even missed a lot of opportunities. Sophomores dominate Rookies in Blitz Game The Sophomores showed too much firepower against the Rookies, 106-87, in their Blitz Game. Chan scored 27 points to lead the second-year players, who led from the opening tip, while three others finished in double figures. Mark Yee, Jared Dillinger and Kelvin Gregorio added 24, 18 and 10 each for the Luigi Trillo-mentored Sophomores. – Rey Joble, GMANews.TV