OSAKA - From the confines of the All-Star classic to the actual game in itself.
In one of its major innovations for its coming Season 49, the Philippine Basketball Association will be adopting the four-point shot beginning this Governors' Cup for shots beyond a new arc 27 feet from the basket.
Newly-elected chairman Ricky Vargas said the four-point shot is among several rule changes approved by the board on the first day of its planning session at the Swissotel Nankai.
An arc measuring 27 feet will be put on the court during games. The three-point line, which measures 23 feet, will stay.
The 49-year-old league first introduced the creative rule during the 2023 All-Star games in Passi City, Iloilo, and was retained in the same mid-season event during the 2024 edition in Bacolod City earlier this year.
"There's several rule changes that we're anticipating and one of them is the four-point play," said Vargas.
During the last All-Star, the league witnessed its first-ever five-point play when Robert Bolick hit from the four-point line and was fouled by Calvin Oftana with 17 seconds to go.
He hit the bonus free throw for Team Mark to end the All-Star game tied with Team Japeth, 140-140.
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"Ang feeling ko diyan bibilis ang laro and mahihirapan kang maglaro ng zone," opined newly-elected board vice chairman Alfrancis Chua.
"Kasi if they can shoot that far, you have to extend the zone. So basically, mag ma-man-to-man lahat (ng teams)," added Chua, a former coach of Tanduay and Barangay Ginebra.
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