CHICAGO - if the goal, as the PBA board says of implementing the four-point shot, is to make the games more exciting, I'm afraid the league is barking up the wrong 3.
Hoisted from 27 feet, the four-pointer is inherently low percentage. Officially adopting it comes across as desperate, gimmicky.
A competitive game breeds excitement, not a circus shot.
San Miguel Beer was the best three-point shooting team last conference at 38 percent percent (133 of 344). Marcio Lassiter was the sharpest gunner of them all at 48 percent.
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But I don't imagine Lassiter and San Miguel, or any other team and individual for that matter, convert better than 25 percent from 27 feet. Which means no coach will truly weaponize a four-point bomb on his offense, making that option a mere afterthought.
Down 3 with a few ticks to go, sure, go for the 4 and pray for a miracle. But other than that, it's a trick shot that is unlikely to become commonplace at a regular game,let alone the playoffs.
MORE SHOW, LESS SUBSTANCE.
The one thing, I think, the four-point shot is certain to do is make the fans dazed and confused with another arc painted on each half-court.
Look, even the NBA, which has the luxury of having extremely gifted shot-makers such as Steph Curry and Dame Lillard, to name a few, didn't adopt the four-pointer. That shot belongs in the waste basket.
The PBA board, however, deserves credit for trying to affect change to better its product. For instance, pushing for its own arena is a marvelous idea, one that will address the issue of arid playing venes.
But there are more meaningful changes that deserve prioritization, according to former PBA commissioner Noli Eala.
"Farm teams, salary cap, parity, game attendance," Kom Noli said in a post on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter.
Which brings me to my point.
WHY NOT DISBAND TERRAFIRMA AND NORTHPORT?
I cannot ascertain the veracity of his claim but a source, a former team executive, told me about a supposed open secret in the PBA where SMC allegedly "bankrolling" both the Dyip and the Batang Pier for sometime now.
Which explains why these teams often serve as conduits for trades that tend to benefit Ginebra, San Miguel Beer and Magnolia. If you're skeptical, just look at where Stephen Holt ended up after a Rookie of the Year worthy run at Terrafirma.
If the SMB's empire king, the great Ramon S. Ang, seriously considers shedding Terrafirma and NorthPort, it will allow other corporations to come in and pour money to form a competitive unit knowing that the field is more open.
The MVP group should also do a little cleansing and get rid of NLEX, a team long rumored to be in the market anyway. The Road Warriors have lost its spunk since it unceremoniously let go of coach Yeng Guiao last September 2022.
As for Blackwater, it will just have to be a sore the league will have to deal with. It's an "independent" team, harder to purge unless there's "cause" I was told.
Potentially getting rid of three teams will not necessarily guarantee new-found parity the PBA is thirsting for.
What it will do is give that dream a chance.
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