Having already appeared on SportsCenter after showing off his skills in Los Angeles, “Jus Fly” won this weekend’s Nike+ Basketball Showcase as a part of World Basketball Festival 2012 in Washington, D.C.
The Nike+ Basketball Dunk Showcase, open to participants internationally this summer, began with a powerful opening as Justin “Jus Fly” Darlington won the regional championship with judges including USA Basketball players LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Diana Taurasi. Darlington, a native of Ontario, Canada, won on a prolific final dunk with vertical jump of 43 inches.
Over the course of the summer, 16 finalists will advance, but only one will be crowned the inaugural champion. In addition to on-the-ground challenges taking place at Nike World Basketball Festival 2012 sites in London, Paris, Washington, D.C. and Barcelona, consumers who purchase the Nike Hyperdunk+ will have the chance to enter seven weekly on-line challenges. Each week, a professional Nike Basketball player will call on players worldwide to enter, players include:
July 14: DeMar DeRozan (Creative Dunk Challenge)
July 23: Scottie Pippen (Teammate Dunk Challenge)
July 30: Rudy Gay (Re-Enactment Dunk Challenge)
August 6: Paul George (Self Alley-Oop Dunk Challenge)
August 13: Nick Young (Prop Dunk Challenge)
August 20: Klay Thompson (Vertical Dunk Challenge)
August 27: Tyson Chandler (Destination Dunk Challenge)
Nike+ Basketball measures how high, how hard and how quick players compete. Players competing in the Nike+ Basketball Dunk Showcase must wear the Nike Hyperdunk+ shoe, which is connected to the Nike+ Basketball mobile application. After recording a Showcase Mode video within the Nike+ Basketball app, consumers will then upload their dunks to YouTube and submit them via the Game On, World site.
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Each week, the pro athlete that issued the challenge will announce the winner, who will win a spot in the final 16. The five remaining finalists will be chosen during Live Dunk Showcases at the Festival of Sport in China (August 23) and in Berlin (August 27), as well as wild cards from the United States, Europe and China. Lebron James will be the official judge for the Nike+ Global Dunk Showcase Finals.
The Nike Hyperdunk+ is now available at NikeStore.com and Nike retailers in the U.S., UK, France, Germany, and mainland China.
