Who's flying the highest?
There is a saying a man can dream. Hoop heads who love high-flying slams and aerial acrobatics can dream, too, about the Ultimate PBA Slam Dunk Contest—an imaginary competition pitting the very best throwdown artists in PBA history.
Four previous winners headline this list. But some dark horses, including a fast-rising star, are equally capable of getting perfect 10s.
Niño Canaleta
KG at his athletic peak was a guaranteed show, and his five PBA Slam Dunk titles are proof of it. Canaleta elevated the contest into an art form, and he was so dominant that no one came remotely close to giving him a run for his money.
Rey Guevarra
Guevarra was Canaleta’s successor, and he stands with KG as the only other five-time winner of the PBA Slam Dunk Contest. And, like KG, Papa Rey was essentially in a different stratosphere far above his competition.
Vergel Meneses
The Aerial Voyager was one of the PBA’s OG high-flyers, and he won the first ever PBA Slam Dunk Contest in 1992. He is also the competition’s first ever repeat winner, winning it again in 1993. Today’s fans might not know much about Meneses, but with a nickname like that, you just know he can put on an aerial show.
Kelly Williams
Williams, at 41 years young, is still punishing rims and outjumping younger players. Imagine what prime Machine Gun Kelly can do with the runway cleared for takeoff. Oh, and he won the PBA Slam Dunk Contest twice back in the day.
Chris Ellis
Air Force Ellis made quite the impression in his lone PBA Slam Dunk Contest victory in 2013. We reckon he’s got more tricks up in his sleeves in case he needs to keep up with some master dunkers.
Jamie Malonzo
The PBA’s premier dunker today just pulled out of the 2023 PBA Slam Dunk Contest, and that’s a letdown for fans looking forward to the MalonShow. The man has hops and is crazy athletic, so hopefully, he'll join the competition next time.
So, who’ll reign as the most eminent Sultan of Slam in this imaginary dunk-off?
Catch this year's Slam Dunk Contest and all the other side events in the PBA All-Star Weekend this Friday at 3 p.m. live on TV5.