MANILA, Philippines – Gilas Pilipinas own Gabe Norwood’s bid for the FIBA Dunk of the Decade came to an end following a tough loss against Iran’s Arsalan Kazemi in the Asia-Oceania bracket finale.
After two straights wins in the previous rounds, Norwood’s electrifying dunk against Argenitina’s Luis Scola during the 2014 FIBA World Cup found its match in name of Kazemi whose entry was a power slam in the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
The Iranian big man edged out Norwood, 60 percent to 40 percent, for the Asia-Oceania title and progressed to the full-bracket semifinals against Brazil’s Rafael Mineiro.
Mineiro bested Mexico’s Juan Tuscano in a close showdown in the FIBA America zone finale.
The other semifinal duel will pit Latvia’s Kristaps Porzingis and Angola’s Carlos Morais following their wins in the FIBA Europe and Africa brackets, respectively.
Porzingis overcame reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece for the European championship while Morais nailed the African jewel over Senegal’s Maurice Ndour.
The four semifinalists from each zone will battle it out in another four-day voting duration starting today with the survivors meeting in the overall championship for the bragging rights to claim the first-ever FIBA Dunk of the Decade crown.
For the Rain or Shine cager Norwood, it was still a worthwhile campaign after his big wins against Australia’s Mitch Creek and China’s Yi Jianlian in the previous rounds to qualify in the Asia-Oceania championship.