Paul Lee waxes hot on money balls to become 3-point king

Going up against worthy adversaries, Paul Lee of the Magnolia Hotshots banked on hot shooting to win the PBA 3-Point Shootout on Friday.

Lee scored 28 points in the final round, nailing down all five shots from the money ball rack and one bonus ball worth three points, to defeat Marcio Lassiter of the San Miguel Beermen and Juami Tiongson of the Terrafirma Dyip and win the title. Lassiter and Tiongson had 21 and 18, respectively.

It wasn’t a walk in the park for Lee.

“Ang hirap pala na ikaw lang ‘yung shumu-shoot tapos lahat ng tao nakatingin sa’yo,” said Lee after the victory.

Perhaps this is why the guard out of the University of the East exhibited laser focus on Friday's contest. He also requested to adjust the position of the racks to better suit his shooting range.

And the little tweaks proved to be monumental in helping him become 3-point champion.

“’Yung sa finals nga, inatras ko nang kaunti [iyong rack] kasi noong unang round medyo malapit, ang lalakas ng tira ko,” said Lee.

Despite citing struggles in the first round, Lee salvaged a respectable 22 points—coming in third behind Lassiter’s 28 and Tiongson’s 26 to qualify for the final.

And in true Leethal Weapon fashion, he came up big in the ultimate shootout to leave both the SMB swingman and the Terrafirma scorer in the dust.

Lee is taking the reins from a co-Hotshot. In the 2019 PBA All-Star Weekend, the last one since the COVID-19 pandemic started, the now-retired Peter June Simon won the 3-Point Shootout title.

See the summary of the results below. 

First round:

Marcio Lassiter, San Miguel Beermen – 28 points

Juami Tiongson, Terrafirma Dyip – 26

Paul Lee, Magnolia Hotshots – 22

Arvin Tolentino, NorthPort Batang Pier – 21

RR Pogoy, TNT Tropang Giga – 21

Jeremiah Gray, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel – 18

Aaron Black, Meralco Bolts – 17

Tyler Tio, Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters – 17

RK Ilagan, Blackwater Bossing – 16

Kevin Alas, NLEX Road Warriors – 15

Gian Mamuyac, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters – 15

Jerrick Balanza, Converge FiberXers – 11

Final round:

Paul Lee, Magnolia Hotshots – 28 points

Marcio Lassiter, San Miguel Beermen – 21

Juami Tiongson, Terrafirma Dyip – 18