This Saturday, the War On The Floor “Above The Rim” Showcase brought out the best of the San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas for 4 all-star games that featured nearly 900 shots taken and resulted in more than 900 points being scored.
We have reports on all 4 all-star games, plus a report on a very competitive slam dunk contest that occurred at halftime of the nightcap. Here is that report, the 5th of our 5 reports:
By Dave Rogahn
Slam Dunk Contest:
Chibuzo Ikonte (Valencia) won his second San Fernando Valley area Slam Dunk contest in three weeks, edging Travis Patrick (Taft) for the title at the War On The Floor “Above The Rim” Showcase Saturday at Burroughs HS in Burbank.
In the contest, each of four contestants had 30 seconds in which to make one dunk, and that dunk was scored by a panel of judges seated courtside. Each contestant had 2 dunks in the first round, with the two highest scores earning a spot in the final round.
Jaquan Lightfoot (Taft) was the first contestant, but the judges gave him just 34 points for a pretty impressive windmill dunk on his first attempt.
And despite jumping over Patrick and Ikonte for his second dunk, which earned a score of 45, that low score kept him from advancing to the second round as his two-dunk total was just 79.
Ikonte was the second contestant, and he took off from just inside the free throw line for his first dunk. That earned him a score of 42. His second dunk was a one-hander that rated a 40 for a total of 82, earning him a spot in the final round.
Patrick went next, with some assistance from Shacquille Dawkins (Alemany), who lightly bounced the ball off the side of the backboard. Patrick caught it in stride and threw it down, earning a score of 45.
On his second dunk he finished with his elbow over the rim, earning a score of 43 and a total of 88, the highest total of the first round.
The final contestant, Tommie Groce (Dorsey), missed all three of his attempts in the first round before time ran out. That pretty much eliminated him from consideration for the final round.
In the final round, Patrick went first, but had trouble getting a dunk to go down on his first attempt. After three misses, he hurriedly made a simple one-hander that rated a score of just 30.
Ikonte answered with a one-handed throwdown that earned a score of 41 from the judges.
Patrick converted a strong right-handed slam on his second attempt that rated a 42, the highest score for a single dunk in the final round. His two-dunk total was 72 for the round.
Ikonte’s reverse jam earned a score of 40, and his two-dunk total of 81 was easily good enough to earn him the championship.
The title was the second in three weeks for Ikonte, who also won the slam dunk contest at Battle Of The Valley on April 9th. Ironically, the one dunk contest he didn’t win was his local one, the SCV Hoops Finale, in which Selom Mawugbe (Canyon) edged him for the title.
Dunk Contest Summary:
First Round (two dunks, scored by panel of judges):
Jaquan Lightfoot, Taft: 34 + 45 = 79
Chibuzo Ikonte, Valencia : 42 + 40 = 82
Travis Patrick, Taft: 45 + 43 = 88
Tommie Groce, Dorsey: 23 + 40 = 63
Final Round:
Travis Patrick, Taft: 30 + 42 = 72
Chibuzo Ikonte, Valencia: 41 + 40 = 81 – winner
