FORTUNA WINS ALL-STAR OBSTACLE CHALLENGE
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY. — In the end, the winner was decided by whoever drained the three-pointer.
San Miguel Beer’s Jeric Fortuna rose to the occasion and snared the 2015 PBA All-Star Obstacle Challenge trophy, besting four-time champ Jonas Villanueva of NLEX and rookie Chris Banchero of Alaska in the Finals on Friday at the Puerto Princesa Coliseum in Palawan.
“Nung nakita ko na namintis nila lahat ng three-points nila, yun ang nagbigay ng hope sa akin,” the San Miguel guard said. “Inisip ko lang, kailangan ko ma-shoot yung first threes.”
Coming in to the competition as a dark horse pick, Fortuna finished the course during the elimination only in 32 seconds, four ticks behind Banchero who had a near-flawless run of 28 seconds.
“Wala akong masyadong inisip kundi gawin yung best ko at maging confident. Inisip ko lang kung ano yung kailangang gawin,” added Fortuna.
He also thanked Villanueva and fellow competitor Simon Atkins who both gave him pointers coming into the contest.
“May mga nagbigay ng tip sa akin na nagkakatalo nga daw sa three point shooting. Ang ginawa ko lang talaga, maging confident sa takbo ko,” bared Fortuna, who also took home the champion’s P60,000 cash prize.
Doomed by their poor shooting from rainbow country, Villanueva, the 4-time winner from 2010 to 2013, finished as a runner-up with his 37.7 seconds, while Banchero could not sustain his streak in the first round as he wounded up with 44.9 seconds.
Mark Barroca’s bid for a back-to-back didn’t even make it to the championship round as the Hotshots guard could only muster 38 seconds in the eliminations. (RL)
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