Jalen Green is the Slam Dunk king. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Even before Jalen Green claimed his rightful throne as the 2018 Darlington NBTC Slam Dunk king, he had already delivered one of his most memorable slams in the tournament.
The 6-foot-5 guard from San Joaquin Memorial High School went up for a tomahawk dunk over the 7-foot-1 Kai Sotto in the third quarter of the 2018 Darlington NBTC Division 1 All-Star Game Friday, sending everyone at Mall of Arena on their feet.
Sotto, however, downplayed the exchange and even asked his teammate Dave Ildefonso: “Bakit big deal yun? (Why is that a big deal?)”
Of course, whenever a 7-foot giant gets dunked on is sure to hit the headlines.
Green, who woed the crowd with his electrifying dunks in his run in the National Finals, though, said that all he wanted was to give the crowd a show.
“I was gonna come out and put on a show for people who haven’t seen me play. I owe it to the boys to put on the effort to come out and give it my all,” he said.
Unfortunately for Green, Sotto had the last laugh as Team Cherifer Hustle got the 99-91 win against Team Cherifer Heart.
Sotto chipped in 15 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks for his side against Green’s 11 markers, two boards, and two assists.
Still, the Fresno native relished this rare experience to compete with the best high school talents in the country.
“It’s been great. Since I came here, the competition has been good, better than the States, honestly. They don’t call ticky-tack fouls, they let you play and that’s what I like to do. I like to come out and play aggressive the whole time. Teaming up with the best players in the Philippines is always good,” he said.