Guevarra repeats as slam dunk champ

PUERTO Princesa, Palawan -- Despite coming off a hamstring injury, Meralco forward Rey Guevarra was able to muster enough lift and retain the Slam Dunk title he shared with Justin Melton of Purefoods. 

Guevarra finished off the competition with a Kobe-esque between-the-legs dunk in the slam off against Brgy. Ginebra's Japeth Aguilar. He earned a perfect score of 50 points for his last dunk to win the title after Japeth Aguilar's take-off a step on the free throw line could only earn 46 points. 

Guevarra thus joined an elite cast of multiple slam dunk champions led by five-time champion KG Canaleta, Vergel Meneses, Don Camaso and Kelly Williams. 

Guevarra came from behind to nip Aguilar, who bounced back from his lackluster stint last year with an array of vicious dunks. Both ended up tied with 97 points after the final round. But in the slam-off, Guevarra went to his favorite dunk inspired by his NBA idol Kobe Bryant. 

Bryant used the same dunk to win the 1997 NBA Slam Dunk title that jumped off his stellar career. 

Guevarra, who regaled the crowd with his flair and an undershirt with "I love Palawan" emblazoned on his chest, was the clearly the crowd favorite after Melton missed out on his first dunk. 

His second slam dunk title came with P60,000 cash prize.