The NBA All-Star Weekend was another remarkable success, once again transcending the boundaries of mere sports competition and pulling in another large mainstream audience on television and online. Each year, the All-Star break wins the league many more fans with a display of athletic talent rarely seen on the planet.
Over the years, the slam dunk contest has evolved from being a simple showcase of talent to a marketing tool and outpouring of creativity. At the turn of the millennium though, the league actually sought a replacement for this All-Star side event because the impression was that it had gone stale. The league created the NBA 2Ball contest, which has earned its own niche in the market, but did not really supplant the old staple.
For long-time observers like myself, the slam dunk contest has gone the way of many food products. Some of us feel that there are just too many artificial ingredients. We’ve seen players vault over tables, chairs, portraits of themselves and even a car, for goodness’ sake. These aren’t objects normally found on a basketball court now, are they? What happened to simply being creative in the air?
At the same time, many players are getting quite a bit of assistance. When the dunk contest started, a player took off with the ball, used his imagination, and executed a well thought-out dunk, completely on his own. Today, you have teammates, ball boys, even retired players passing the contestants the ball. Originally, the contest was not envisioned as a two-man or team event. At most, you could have someone standing in your way for you to jump over, as you might do in an actual game. If you recall, one-time PBA import Alex Coles leaped over five people in a spectacular display of elevation.
One other rule that has made the contest longer is the time rule: an unlimited number of attempts within a minute and a half. As commentators have correctly pointed out, once a contestant misses a dunk, even if the succeeding successful attempt is amazing, the judges tend to give a lower score, and this ultimately hurts the individual participant. If they had just three attempts within 45 seconds, for example, it would be more challenging. Some players obviously just want to escape the early rounds to save their best for the finale.
Lastly, I hope that eventually the game’s biggest stars at least make one appearance in the contest to really work the fans up. If Julius Erving, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins and even Kobe Bryant (1997) have taken part and won, and those were memorable years, why can’t today’s superstars do it? It should be considered something as a rite of passage, an item to be checked off your list if you were to be considered one of the all-time greats.
Then again, that’s just me. But wouldn’t you like to see that?
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After successful stints in the PBA D-League, businessman and sportsman Louie Gamboa joins the Millennium Basketball League (MBL). Gamboa, the owner of Erase (Erase Xfoliant), UK Resort and Leisure Park, Jaoming Marketing Corp, Essential Beauty Wellness, UK Direct Sales, Benzal Cosmetics Industry, LG Printing Enterprises and Smile Home Service Massage, teams up with the University of the East Red Warriors for a shot at an MBL title.
The self-made Gamboa, who got his feet wet in commercial basketball with his former Erase Plantcenta Erasers, had previously gathered players together from Mapua Institute of Technology and Olivarez College, and got attention, particularly since he was the first skin care product to jump into men’s basketball. Now, Gamboa is excited about his tie-up with the Red Warriors for this MBL’s new season, and is throwing the support of, in fact, together with the rest of Erase’s sister companies behind the team.
“It’s rare that you’d have the opportunity to partner with a legitimate UAAP contender, and I’m very happy for this opportunity to show my love for the game,†Gamboa said. “We have learned so much from our experience from the D-League and it has really helped us grow as an organization.â€
The intrepid resort owner also hopes to reach a wider audience with the Red Warriors’ glamour, fans and their higher level of competitiveness. The team will be called the Erase Xfoliant Red Warriors and will be led by veteran international head coach Boycie Zamar and will be built around the core of Chris Javier, Rhey John Sumido, Jairold Flores, Lord Casajeros, JM Noble and Warriors’ foreign player Moustapha Arafat. Zamar had previously coached the national teams of Indonesia and Vietnam, and had coached PBA Most Valuable Player James Yap and PBA slam dunk champion Niño Canaleta when they played for the Red Warriors.