Vincent Gaita is new NBA Coors Light Pop-A-Shot 2011 champion

The NBA arcade basketball game that has been taking Metro Manila watering holes by storm has a new champion.

Vincent Gaita, 29, a field engineer in a telecommunications firm, outshot the 35 best shooters from seven bar destinations all over Metro Manila to cop the 2011 NBA Coors Light Pop-A-Shot Challenge title. No other than NBA Legend and 10-Time All Star Clyde Drexler (who was in town for NBA Madness 2011 and the Finals of the Coors Pop-A-Shot Tour) witnessed the changing of the guards.

The beautiful dancers of the Portland Trailblazers and Orlando Magic were also on hand at the Metrowalk in Pasig to witness the shootout and cheer on the winners to give it their all.

Gaita made eyes pop with his record-breaking score of 600. Gaita received worthy competition from lady Pop-A-Shot artist and crowd favourite, Maria Elizabeth Lintingco who registered the second highest score next to Gaita in the Finals competition.

“I was really pressured in the semifinals up to the grand finals. I know the other contenders, I have seen them play in the other shooting competitions like this and they are really good. But I just told myself that I needed to stay focused and give my best. I was also inspired to see my childhood hero Clyde Drexler beside me; that helped me a lot to win,” Gaita added, smiling.

The NBA Coors Light Pop-A-Shot challenge became a hot YouTube sensation when Filipino busboy, Ricardo Reyes, beat NBA superstars Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Charles Barkley and Carmelo Anthony on the arcade-style hoop machine. With Gaita’s win, the impression that Filipinos are truly NBA Pop-A-Shot champs is gaining a lot of ground.

Joining Gaita and Lintingco in the Top 5 are last year’s Pop-a-Shot Champion Richard Ching (505), Mike Lester Calolot (494) and Erica Vi Gundayao (427).

Gaita received an NBA Pop-Shot 2011 Championship trophy, a classic NBA jersey, a basketball and limited edition trading cards autographed by Clyde Drexler, limited edition posters signed by the Portland Trailblazer Dancers and the Orlando Magic Dancers and VIP tickets to the interactive viewing party with Clyde Drexler at the SM Mall of Asia.

More than 700 participants, men and women, vied for the precious chance of qualifying in this thrilling hoop contest.

Other finalists from the other Pop-A-Shot legs were: Jericho Sy (435), Christian Ko (427), Erick Go (348), Patrick Alba (339) and Morris Relucio (332) from Flight Lounge, Tomas Morato; Raul de Leon (563), Edmund Bolino (227), Gioncarlo Chua (217), Donn Torres (199) and Arthur Campos (149) from Blue Onion, Eastwood; Maria Elizabeth Lintingco (562), Richard Ching (494), Erica Vi Gundayao (424), Christopher Bangate (418) and Myke Ang (327) from SM Mall of Asia; Lester Calolot (475), Kristina Corpuz (431), Roger Flores (421), Joven Tag-at (414) and Jade Azcueta (406) from Greens and Grills, Alabang; and, Bernard Loriaga (500), Juncor Vergara (431), Marc Yap (325), Brenn Fabros (245) and Angelo Natividad (224) from Metrowalk, Pasig; Ronald Omadley (340), Kiefer Avelino (295), Paul Elacion (247), Jimmy Reyes (238) and Ricky Villamor (237) from the Red Capz, Parañaque leg; Vincent Gaita (553), David Chua (145), Junby Santos (125), Perry Dadia (91) and Joel Paras (51) from Metrowalk last qualifying leg.

About the NBA

The NBA, founded in 1946, is a professional sports league and global business that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada. During the 2010-11 season, NBA games will reach 215 countries and territories in more than 40 languages. Official NBA rosters currently feature 83 players from 40 countries and territories. NBA merchandise is sold in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents. NBA.com averages more than 26 million page views per day, with more than 50 percent of the site’s visitors coming from outside of North America. The NBA is the No. 1 U.S. sports league on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, with the most fans, followers, and videos viewed on each, respectively.

About Coors Light Beer

Since 2008, as the Official Beer Partner of the NBA in the Philippines, Coors Light has been conducting a variety of NBA-themed retail promotions and marketing initiatives to promote its brand and basketball in the market. From April 15 to May 31, 2010, Coors Light launched a retail promotion “Coors Light NBA 3 Point Play Promo” and a sweepstake winner was rewarded with a trip to the NBA Finals for two persons.