The 10 best shoes at the Bballnationals Shooting Contest
The first day of the boys’ side of Bballnationals has seen ballers from all over Canada arrive in Langley. On the Langley Events Centre’s South Court, some of the tournament’s best snipers got together to crown a champion in the Bballnationals Shooting Contest.
“The preliminary round is 10 balls on two racks, players have 30 seconds to make as many shots as possible,” said tournament coordinator Darcy Coss about the event. “In the final round, we’ll have four racks, three of them normal and the last one is a deep shot which is two points per ball and one minute to complete.”
The competition was fierce but eventually Live 2 Give’s Aidan Lee, Spotters Basketball’s Eli Smith, Team Finish’s Salvador Manzano and Vancity Basketball’s Gus Goerzen advanced to the semi finals. Manzano and Goerzen advanced to the finals after collecting 9 and 8 points, respectively, in the semis.
In the final round, Gus Goerzen got off to a hot start, hitting all his treys on the first rack and finishing with a score of 12. But it would be a frantic finish as Manzano saved as winning shot for last. His Team Finish teammates went crazy in the stands before eventually storming on the court to celebrate Manzano’s win.
And while the players turned the LEC’s South Court into a splash zone, they all came through with heat. So, without further ado, here are the ten best shoes at the Bballnationals Shooting Contest.
#1: Adidas D.O.N. Issue 1 – Venom
Worn by: Sailesh Sharma - Excel U-16
Donovan Mitchell’s new signature shoe is one of the coolest on the market. The pink and black colourway goes hard and the white fang detail and speckled outsole is elite.
#2: Nike PG 2.5 – Speckled Blue and White
Worn by: Irish Coquia - The Squad U-16
First of all, the white speckles on the blue outsole is gorgeous. The white strap on the blue shoe is *chef’s kiss* perfection. Enough said.
#3: Nike Kyrie 4 – All Star
Worn by: Salvador Manzano - Team Finish U-16
The one and only word to describe these kicks is hypnotizing. Actually wait, there’s another word – these shoes are fire.
#4: Nike LeBron 15 Low – Red and White
Worn by: Gavin Bassi - Delta Force U-14
The Lebron 15’s are one of the King’s better shoes and the Lows go hard. Big time 'Oh Canada' vibes on these with the red and white.
#5: Kyrie Flytrap
Worn by: Tyson Francisco - REFRESH U-14
The second appearance of a Kyrie shoe on the list, these kicks go with a way subtler colourway, but the devil is in the details. The gold Kyrie Irving logo, the glossy finish on the swoosh and the white strap all add up to make these a top 5 shoes on the list.
#6: Nike Zoom KD 12 – White Wolf Grey
Worn by: Nikolas Vulgaris - Dynamite U-16
Kevin Durant’s newest shoe makes great use of a transparent outsole. The white and grey combo with the Zoom details add a little flair to solid shoe.
#7: Jordan Why Not 0.2
Worn by: Shaanvir Sandhar - Dynamite U-14
Usually anything associated with Russell Westbrook is super experimental, and while this shoe has different colourways that are, there’s nothing like a clean and crisp white.
#8: Nike PG 3 – Black History Month
Worn by: Gus Goerzen - Vancity U-18
These Paul George shoes have the look of a shoe his former teammate, Russell Westbrook, would wear given the use of different textures and patterns. Even on this shoe, it all comes together in spectacular fashion.
#9: Nike Kyrie 5
Worn by: Tony Zejnulahovic - Northern Bounce U-18
