BATANGAS City - Rey Guevarra reclaimed his throne as the PBA's slam-dunk king by outlasting Renz Palma in an electrifying finale on Friday here.
Guevarra soared high with a windmill dunk off the bounce to get a perfect 40 from judges Alvin Patrimonio, Benjie Paras, Atoy Co and Ed Cordero, wrapping up a fourth slam dunk title in five years.
The Phoenix reserve is now just one behind KG Canaleta's record five titles.
"Para sa akin ito yung pinakamahirap. Anticipated nila style ko. Siyempre sa mga tao kung pare-pareho gagawin ko di maganda panoorin. Napilitan ako gumawa ng bago dahil sa kanya," said Guevarra, pointing to the surprising Palma.
It sure wasn't easy.
Not even the stunt of jumping over JC Intal and a motorcycle was enough to put away the high-flying Palma who took off from near the free-throw line for one dunk, much to the delight of the Batangas crowd.
Palma looked to have sealed the title with an effortless one-handed 180-degree dunk from just outside the painted area, before Guevarra put the exclamation point with his final dunk.
"Nalabas ko yung mga dunk ko dahil sa kanya. Kailangan itaas mo talaga ang bar," he added.
Guevarra and Palma were head and shoulders above everyone in the elimination round, although defending champion Chris Newsome put up a spirited fight by putting some Filipino elements to his dunk after dancing to 'Tinikling' and jumping over Benjie Paras and a kid over a Sorbetes stand.
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