MANILA, PHILIPPINES — PBA stars took the basketball match to a higher notch, turning it somewhat like a video game on the court Sunday night at the City of Passi Arena.
The players went from making here-point dunks, removing time-outs to speed up the game, and a 27-feet away court stripe.
PBA deputy commissioner Eric Castro said that video gaming inspired the four-point exhibition.
“One afternoon, I was watching my son play NBA 2K. I saw him designing his own court and noticed that it had an additional arc,” Castro said.
“I thought, why not add a four-point shot? I discussed it with league officials (Mauro) Bengua Jr. and Joey (Guanio), and they said why not? It’s the All-Star [Weekend], and we figured we could experiment,” he added.
Coach Tim Cone rejoined Castro and agreed that the novelty shots spiced up the main event of the All-Star Weekend. The Gin King’s coach said that three-point shots were reminiscent of the games forty years ago.
“Everybody was going crazy over it. And now, everybody is also going crazy over the four-point shot. It was bringing back memories,” the coach remarked in an interview.
Castro hopes that eventually that the four-point line sampler exhibited during the exciting game ushers in a new beginning for Asia’s pioneer professional league.
“Hopefully, the board can later consider it,” Castro said of the stripe being used in a season match, even as the feature wasn’t received warmly in terms of being used in a regular game.
Paul Lee, who was Crowned as the Three-point king, shared a sentiment expressed by Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, who handled Team Scottie.
“I don’t see it happening at this point,” said Lee, a sentiment initially broached. “Maybe in the All-Star Game, you can implement it as a special treat for the fans. But I still don’t see it being implemented in a regular game.”
Despite this thought by Lee, Castro remained positive and revealed the idea of trying out the 4-point basketball gimmick, much to the delight of the fans. — WhatALife!/Anthony
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