BOCAUE — Showing off his impeccable athleticism, Dmitry Krivenko ruled the dunk contest in the 2018 Fiba 3x3 World Cup Tuesday at Philippine Arena here.
The Ukranian showstopper scored 79 in the final round to best Frenchman and legendary dunker Guy Dupuy to win his second slam-dunk crown.
“This feels amazing,” said Krivenko. “Winning this means a lot for me because I do it for Ukraine. I don’t do it for anything else. It’s for the medal and for the country.”
Krivenko first completed an underhanded off-the-bounce, one-hander before following it up with a quick off-the-dribble one-handed slam.
He capped off his routine run with a 360-dunk off a between the legs pass from Ukraine teammate Vadim Poddubchenko.
Dupuy also delivered a show, completing his behind-he-back one-hander over three people and another stunning off-the-bounce, between-the-legs slam over a biking Mike Swift — both of which got a perfect 30 points.
However, his missed first attempt cost him the contest as he could only amass 60 points.
Krivenko later saluted the legendary Dupuy, saying, “He’s amazing.”
Filipino dunker David Carlos settled for the bronze medal with his 46 points. He first had an off-the-bounce dunk over the Chooks-to-Go Girls before doing a reverse slam off a tower of two people.
Poddubchenko placed fourth in the competitions with his 27 points, his only completed dunk a between-the-legs, off-the-bounce two-handed jam.