Canaleta soars to fifth slam dunk crown, says it’s his last

LAOAG – Niño “KG” Canaleta of Barangay Ginebra jumped over a total of four people and scored two perfect jams in the final round of the Slam Dunk Contest to extend his unprecedented victories in the event to five earlier.

The 6-foot-7 creative high-flyer soared over three people in his final attempt, with 6-foot-9 Meralco slotman Asi Taulava being the last man in the formation as Canaleta nipped B-Meg’s JC Intal, 100-99.

“The original plan was for Asi to leave before my take off,” Canaleta said in Filipino shortly after receiving the plaque and P20,000 champion’s prize. “But you know Asi, he’d give everything to please the fans, even with the chance of him getting hurt.”

He later on declared, with finality this time, that his latest Slam Dunk stint would be his last.

“I have nothing to prove anymore,” Canaleta told reporters. “I was missing dunks already. Sumasabit pa sa tao. So that’s it for me (in the event).”

Canaleta, who also triumphed from 2005-2007 and then again in 2010, did clip Taulava’s head with his left thigh, but not after having flushed it down already.

Intal, cleared by team doctors to participate just the day before because of a left ankle sprain, was the surprise runner-up, with his final dunk – a full 360-degree turn going to the left – also eliciting a perfect 50. /inquirer