Rey Guevarra slam king anew

BATANGAS, Philippines — Multi slam-dunk champ Rey Guevarra and one-time three-point king James Yap recalled their old fire while Beau Belga topped the initial staging of the Big Man’s Obstacle Challenge in the PBA All-Star Extravaganza at the Batangas City Coliseum here last night.

Guevarra never ran out of aerial tricks, showcasing old winning dunks and performing new exciting slams to overcome a surprise tough challenge from Blackwater rookie Renz Palma.

Pushed to a slam-off by Palma, a wiry six-footer with great athleticism, Guevarra performed his patented windmill off a bounce-and-catch to win the contest and become only the second PBA player to emerge as slam-dunk champ in at least four years.

KG Canaleta remains the barometer as five-time champ.

Meanwhile, Yap reemerged as the PBA best pistolero, nine years after his previous reign.

The Rain or Shine gunslinger fired 24 points to top the elimination round and tossed in the same score in the finale, winning by three over Stanley Pringle of the GlobalPort.

He became the latest member of an elite list of PBA players with multiple three-point shootout titles, joining Ricric Marata, Jasper Ocampo, Boyet Fernandez, Jimmy Alapag, Mark Macapagal and Terrence Romeo.

Belga also took the spotlight in ruling the Obstacle Challenge among big men, including two other finalists in Poy Erram and Gabby Espinas.

The ROS center/forward hurdled the course (with dribbling, passing and shooting challenges) in 21.7 seconds as against Erram’s 29.6 and Espinas’s 30.5.

Justin Chua, Kelly Nabong and Yousef Taha were beaten in the semifinals while Russell Escoto, Sonny Thoss, Aldrech Ramos, Ken Bono, Asi Taulava and Raymond Aguilar were out after the initial round.

Guevarra soared to glory with executions that included jumping past teammate JC Intal on his handsome motor bike.

“It’s tough because you have to think of new tricks. Otherwise, the fans would say I keep on repeating my old dunks,” said Guevarra.