Sports Event Flashback : 1987 PABL Slamdunk Champion - Vergel Meneses

Sports Event Flashback : 1987 PABL Slamdunk Champion Vergel Meneses

Source : Assorted Magazines (PBA Archives Collections)

The "Slamma Jamma Fraternity" continues to experience a growth in membership. In the early years of the Philippine Amateur Basketball League, there was only Isabelo Jojo' Lastimosa who had the flair and grace and bounce to soar in the air, suspend himself there for a while and then stuff the ball into the hoop with impunity. And then seeing how Lastimosa had drawn the cheers for his feat, other cagers followed suit and integrated into their game this morale-sapping shot known as the dunk. The number of slammers increased through the years. And not even the professional league could boast of such a number of players with the penchant for the dunk shot. Proof that the present breed of cagers are of the high leaping variety.. Enter Vergel Meneses, the newest dunking sensation. The 6-2 Meneses, one of two collegiate cagers and perhaps the least known of eight finalists, astounded the gallery with superb stuff shots that gave him the championship of the 2nd Magnolia Quench Plus Slam Dunk contest. A Heavy Bomber in his sophomore year, Meneses beat a tough field which included the likes of 1st Slam Dunk champion Alvin Patrimonio, Lastimosa, Paul Alvarez, Nelson Asaytono, Alejandro de Guzman, Ariel Tizon and Jose Angeles as he garnered 168 points. Judges of the finals which were conducted during the halftime break of Game 2 of the championship series between Yco and RFM for the Freedom Cup at the ULTRA were BAP secretary-general Mauricio Martelino, Sports Weekly magazine editor-in-chief Sim E. Sotto, and Barecom's Romeo Fernandez. For his feat, Meneses took home P8, 000 in cash and P2,000 worth of Magnolia products. Lastimosa, who tallied 165 points, settled for second place and P6,000 cash plus P1,500 in kind. Patrimonio, the deposed champion; had a score of 163 and landed third pocketing P4,000 cash and P1,000 in kind.The scores of the other finalists as follows: Alvarez, 158; Asaytono, 156; Angeles, 141; De Guzman, 139; and Tizon, 119.

Long before he earned the monicker "Aerial Voyager" in the PBA, the high-leaping Vergel Meneses was just a gangling forward for the Jose Rizal College Bombers when he played for his alma mater during the 1986-87 NCAA cage wars.