By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Negrense Bonn Daja and Rhiane Perez have earned their slots in New York after dominating the Manila leg of The One Global basketball tournament, hosted by Jordan Brand, recently at the Flight Deck in Taguig City.

Daja, a towering 6-foot-4 forward from De La Salle Zobel, stamped his class in the boys’ division finals, overwhelming Jose Marie Mabang with a commanding 13-3 victory.

“Ang advantage ko po talaga ay ‘yung height ko, tsaka ‘yung mentality ko po na gusto ko talaga manalo. I want to go to New York po talaga,” said Daja, an incoming College of St. Benilde Blazers cager.

In the girls’ bracket, Perez of the University of Santo Tomas Junior Growling Tigresses delivered a clinical performance against DAYO23 one-on-one champion Mako Namiki.

The Iloilo native needed just one minute and 55 seconds to complete an 11-0 shutout win in the finals.

With their victories, both Daja and Perez pocketed P20,000 each and secured slots in The One Global Finals set for this August in New York.

There, they will battle elite one-on-one players from more than 15 international cities, including basketball hubs like Chicago, Belgrade, Paris, Hong Kong, and Tokyo.

Nike’s country marketing head emphasized that the event reflected the skills and competitive spirit of Filipino youth on the basketball scene.

“These winners embody ‘The One’ mentality, and we’re thrilled to support them as they continue their journey to chase greatness in New York,” it said in a statement.

“We’re all eager to see them bring the Pinoy brand of basketball to the global stage,” it added./ASC, WDJ