Before the bright lights and shouts, Lennon “Flight” Albiso was driving cars into a parking lot in Makati, braving the heat as cars entered and left the lot.
In the same open space, there were hard concrete blocks and unused office and construction equipment, and Albiso decided to build his own gym – blocks intended for asphalt became weights for squats and lifting equipment, steel pipes were turned into time bells, and asphalt, although slippery, became his jumping place.
At 5-foot-5, Albiso does not fit the image most people associate with playing basketball. At 28 years old, he also does not come from an elite sports program, a well-funded training facility, or an organized athletic system. He came from a blue collar job, but continued to build something great from nothing.
Albiso is a Filipino dunker who has competed in high-level dunk contests in the Philippines. His journey is not just about flying high, but about making do with limited resources and refusing to let circumstances dictate what is possible.
His relationship with basketball started early. He tried running, badminton, and football, but basketball stuck, helped by a hoop that his grandfather installed so he could play and exercise.
“We had old Michael Jordan tapes when I was a kid, so I got to watch some of his highlights and his free throws,” Albiso said in Filipino. “That led me to play basketball in our state of Negros Oriental. My grandfather even made me a basketball hoop. That’s when my love for basketball really started.”
In high school, Albiso became a varsity player, surprising his teammates with a vertical jump that allowed him to touch the rim despite his height. For a while, he dreamed of becoming a professional basketball player. That dream faded when he lacked financial support to pursue college basketball.
“The biggest pain I felt with basketball was when my father didn’t support my dream of going to college after I graduated high school,” Albiso said. “I finally agreed, but it broke my heart at the time because I really loved basketball.”
Without the aid of attending college, Albiso worked various jobs, from parking lots to construction sites, while continuing to play and track basketball whenever he could. Somewhere between directing cars and moving equipment, he realized he could stay in the game by dunking.
“After high school, I would see FIBA 3×3 dunk contests between games,” Albiso said. “That’s when I started to question my ability to dunk.”
In 2018, he fully dedicated himself to training his body to play and exploring his athletic potential.
With limited access to gyms, especially during the pandemic, Albiso built his own training environment. He used concrete blocks, tires, wood, and steel pipes for reinforcement. In the parking lot where he worked, he set up a basketball hoop and practiced the dunk he imagined.
“The 2019 pandemic forced me to find another way to train,” Albiso said. “I used concrete blocks that were hard and useless in the parking lot. I used those blocks as scales for squatting and lifting.”
Progress, even in small increments, was enough to keep him going. “Whenever I saw small improvements, I continued. I just prayed to God to protect me. At the end of the day, I knew I had nothing to lose, and I enjoyed it too much to stop,” he said.
He started recording his training and fitness tests on social media in 2019. At that time, he used his remaining savings to travel to nearby cities for pick-up games and courts available for film content.
“There was even a time when I only had enough money to travel,” Albiso said. “With the difficulty of traveling during the epidemic, sometimes I had to pay more than the normal fare.”
Anxiety and fatigue also spread in the middle of the difficult situation he faced every day.
“The other day, I was scared thinking that maybe I got COVID because I had a hard time catching my breath and I felt like I was about to die,” he said in one of his videos. “But after getting enough rest, it turned out that it was just fatigue from exercising under the sun non-stop for the past several days.”
By 2021, his consistency earned him praise on the pages of basketball as Hype Basketball and HoopX. That same year, he competed in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 Invitational Dunk Contest.
For someone used to the daily noise of a parking lot, the stage felt sublime. “When I stepped on the court that night I was overwhelmed, even the female spectators were taller than me, I felt I was inside. Encantadia (Dream),” Albiso said.
But when he finished his dunk, he knew he was where he needed to be. “Right after that dunk contest, I felt like myself. I can’t believe I got off that big stage.”
At one point during his trip, he estimated his vertical jump to be 45 to 47 inches, which was the height he needed to perform the creative feats he envisioned on the 10-foot rims.
Albiso went on to win three dunk contests, including the Molten 3×3 Slam Dunk Contest in 2023. That same year, he received a tryout offer from a college that participated in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), but ultimately chose to focus on his dunk career and coaching journey instead.
His climb was cut short in 2024 when he developed sciatica and had to stop training for seven months. The injury marked his lowest point physically and emotionally, prompting him to consider quitting altogether.
“At that time, I really thought about giving up playing because at times, different parts of my body felt numb,” Albiso said.
What kept him going was the support from friends and supporters who noticed his absence and encouraged him to return.
“I still posted throwback videos, and friends and followers kept asking about me. They were the ones who encouraged me to keep going. A part of me also knew that I was still young and had a lot left,” he said. “I tried to fix my body in a way that would not require a lot of use, given that I had very little time in those days.”
The injury forced Albiso to rethink his training. He adopted what he calls “rational training,” balancing intentional strength work with rest and recovery. He placed more emphasis on sleep, time management, and listening to his body.
Corrections were paid. He returned to dunking regularly on 10-foot rims and competed again in late 2024. Today, Albiso works as a personal trainer and hopes to build the next generation of athletes.
In February 2026, Albiso won another dunk contest at the community level. It wasn’t the biggest move of his career, but it was among the most meaningful as he competed against one of his students.
For Albiso, it was a full circle moment. The parking attendant who had previously taught himself with concrete blocks was now sharing the court with someone who had taught him himself.
“Outside of playing, I strive to improve my abilities as a coach. I hope to build the next generation of athletes by being the best coach I can be,” he said.
Dunking, for Albiso, is not just a spectacle. “To me, dunking is an art form,” he said. Along with this, he wants his story to show that development does not require perfect conditions.
“I sacrificed time and energy, and spent more money than I wanted to achieve this result. I have no regrets.”
Many years from now, he hopes people will remember not only the dunks, but the fact that he never stopped trying, even when the setup was far from ideal.
“It wasn’t easy for a guy like me, who stood at 5’5″ and lacked resources, to get to where I am now,” Albiso said.
“I want to encourage anyone hoping to achieve their dreams to keep going and find ways to persevere despite the challenges. It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible either.” – Rappler.com
