IN his first few years in the PBA, little was known about Jammer Jamito, who was the third-string center of Barangay Ginebra, the team that drafted him in the second round in 2016.
Jamito, however, became a household name in 2017 when he participated in Slam Dunk Contest of the All-Star Game in Lucena not for his victory but for the comic relief he brought during the event.
In one of his attempts, the St. Clare product got the crowd excited when he brought Japeth Aguilar onto the court. From the looks of things, Jamito was about to pull off the unthinkable by dunking over the Ginebra’s main big man.
But the anticipation turned into laughter as Jamito didn’t went over Aguilar but did a euro-step around him and finished with an easy dunk. As the arena reacted to the attempt, Jamito then celebrated with Aguilar as well as LA Tenorio on the floor.

Jamito drew a 37 from that dunk.
More than three years after that famous moment in the All-Star Week Luzon leg, Jamito, now 30, recalled the event recently to SPIN.ph where he revealed he had already planned to do such act after being the replacement for Aguilar in the side contest.
“Dapat si Japeth Aguilar po kasi ‘yung mag-Slam Dunk noon. May iniindang masakit si Japeth. Sabi ni boss Alfrancis, ikaw na lang,” said Jamito. “Hinugot niya ako. Hindi naman ako high-flyer. Duma-dunk lang talaga ako.”
The 6-foot-5 Jamito said he had already made dunks in practices back in college after side-stepping to the rim, and he thought of pulling off that stunt but with a twist.
“Naisip ko ‘yung sidestep. Ginagawa ko dati ‘yun sa practice namin sa St. Clare. Ginagaya ko ‘yung kay Dwyane Wade dati, ‘yung suma-side step. Dati, sabi ni coach Richard (Del Rosario), mag-isip ka ng bago, ‘yung hindi pa ginagawa ng iba. Sabi ko, ‘Meron ako, coach.’ Pinakita ko sa kanya. Kinuha ko si Japeth, pinayuko ko sa practice,” said Jamito.
And then, the epic dunk.
“Akala niya tatalunan ko siya. Tawa siya ng tawa,” said Jamito.
Since the dunk was quite a hit to his coach and teammates, Jamito decided to pull it off this time in the actual contest. He said Aguilar and Tenorio already knew that Jamito was going to the side-step dunk, hence, their reaction on the court.
“Nung una maingay. Nung kinuha ko na si Japeth, biglang tumahimik. Pag-dunk ko, ang ingay na nila,” said Jamito with a smile.
Not everyone, unfortunately, was happy with Jamito, a stunt that even made it all the way to the United States through ‘The Starters’ program on NBA TV. Former PBA commissioner Chito Narvasa even chided his stunt for wasting his opportunity.
“Hindi na makakaulit ‘yan,” Narvasa was quoted as saying.
Jamito said he didn’t feel offended by the criticisms. Instead, he received the negative reaction with understanding due to him not able to meet expectations during the contest. Jamito didn’t make it to the finals with Chris Newsome winning the contest.
“May natutuwa, may naiinis. Sabi nila, binaboy ko daw ‘yung PBA,” said Jamito, without revealing names. “Sabi ko, ‘bahala na kayo diyan.’ Dunk din naman ‘yun. Hindi lay-up. Baka umasa lang talaga sila. Iba ‘yung expectation nila sa reality.”
A year after that incident in the All-Star Week, Jamito moved to a different team and signed with Meralco where he has found a home. Recently, he signed an extension after a solid performance as a role player for the Bolts.
Even though he is now with Meralco, Jamito still draws cheers from Ginebra fans particularly in his vlog where his content includes interviewing his former teammates during the bubble.
Jamito said he appreciates the love from the Ginebra faithful even though he is no longer with the Kings, not just from that comic dunk but also by just being part of the long list of players who suited up for the popular team.
“Sa akin naman, trabaho lang,” said Jamito, when asked about his decision to move elsewhere. “Ako rin naman, gusto ko rin makapaglaro. Nagse-search din ako kung saan ako bagay na team at kailangan ang talento ko. Malungkot at masaya. Bagong opportunity, new beginning.”
“Mababait ang mga fans ng Ginebra. Sabi nga nila, ‘Once a King, always a King,’” said Jamito.
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