College of St. Benilde rookie Yankie Haruna emerged as the Slam Dunk Champion yesterday in the NCAA All-Star at The Arena in San Juan City.
The 22-year-old Fil-American transferee from La Salle sealed the title with a dunk over international MMA fighter Brandon Vera in the finals to topple Nigerian Eugene Toba of San Beda in the final round.
“I’m just happy that I finally have something to share with the school,” said Haruna, who scored 49 points on his first two dunks to advance into the final round.
Toba tried to outclass Haruna with a dunk on a sitting Bright Akhuetie off an inbound pass from Davon Potts, but failed on all his attempts within the 30-second time limit.
San Beda’s AC Soberano also shared the spotlight with Haruna after winning the Three-Point Shootout with 21 points. (KS)