Negros Occidental’s pride Winefredo “Daboy” Fernandez recently proved that he is indeed the province’s slam dunk king after nabbing the Adidas Slam Dunk contest during the SMART – National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) National Finals’ Skills Challenge at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday, March 23.
Fernandez, who flew to Manila on the day of the showcase, defeated two other contenders by scoring a perfect 10 on his last attempt.
Apart from Fernandez, Negros Occidental was also represented by Trinity Christian School/Davies Paint in the NBTC National Finals. The team played a thrilling Seeding Round game against Triple Threat NZ that featured 13 lead changes and 12 ties. Unfortunately, Trinity lost by 4 points against Triple Threat NZ, with a final score of 56-60.
Trinity then faced MAPUA in the Super 32 Round where the latter took a 39-point lead with a score of 46-85. In the Supreme 16 Round, Trinity succumbed to Arellano with a score of 68-83.
Despite the team’s losses, a few of the players have caught the attention of the organizers. Trinity’s John Llyod Martinez was chosen as one of the representatives of Team Visayas for Adidas Shooting Stars Challenge, along with Justin Cargo (SRIC – Iloilo), Janjan Peteros (Khalifa – Cebu), and Brent Sim (UNBL Don Bosco – Dumaguete). Martinez’s fellow teammate, Shannon Sealy, was also chosen to be part of the NBTC National Prospects Team roster for the Manila Showcase. The team played against the Manila Live Aspirants Team.
The Negros Occidental delegation was headed by Provincial Sports Coordinator Anthony Carlo Agustin. In connection with their participation in the national finals, Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson provided the team with financial support to defray the expenses incurred while in Metro Manila.
Other big winners in the SMART – NBTC National Finals dubbed #MadnessinMOA were Kieffer Alas and Team Global (Triple Threat New Zealand’s KC Loane, Fil-Euro Nation Select’s Tim Broth, Filcom Italy’s Lorenzo Dimayuga, and Top Flight Canada’s Allen Vergara) after winning the Adidas Believe that MVP and the Adidas Shooting Stars, respectively. Mick Geronimo of Pusong Pinoy Marinduque, on the other hand, won the Adidas Three-Point Shootout The Cheat Code challenge.
In the inaugural Adidas Girls All-Star Game, Karylle Sierba showed off her impressive basketball skills with a 21-point outing that let Team Pride win against Team Passion. Alas, the number 2 ranked high school player in the country, led Team Hustle to a victory against Team Heart with a score of 114-106 in the Adidas All-Star Game.
A significant milestone was also achieved by the NBTC Nationals Prospects after winning against the Manila Live Aspirants with a score of 104-97 during the Philippine National Under-19 Basketball Championship.
Meanwhile, the SMART – NBTC National Finals capped off on Sunday at the MOA Arena by featuring last year’s finalist, Fil-Am Nation Select, who took home the Division 1 champion title after ending the game with an 8-point lead against UAAP champion Adamson High School with a final score of 79-71. Top Flight Canada, on the other hand, scored the Division 2 championship crown following a close fight against Eco Green Technology-Makati with a score of 95-93.
Apart from the games, a 3-day Coaches Convention was also held at the CCF Center in Pasig City and the MOA Arena on March 21-23, featuring acclaimed speakers and coaches such Anthony Pangilinan, coach Alex Compton, LA Mumar, William Wilson, Russell Paypon, Noli Ayo, and coaches Topex Robinson, Chappy Callanta, Norman Black, Rajko Toroman, Jong Uichico, and Carlos Baroca.*
