The Philippine basketball community went abuzz when the PBA officially introduced the four-point line in 2024 at the start of Season 49.
Naturally, there was as much curiosity as there were doubts about the move, with the news reaching even top-tier leagues like the NBA.
Basically, the PBA’s four-point line was either the next innovation in the natural evolution of basketball, or a gimmick that’s not fit for the professional game.
A year since its implementation, many fans still can’t help but wonder whether the four-point line was the right move.
Four-point line a success?
If you ask PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial at this point in time, he’s not quite ready to say it was a smashing success.
That’s because figures released by the league aren’t exactly enticing.
Overall, teams shot 24 percent from beyond the four-point arc, with each of them taking an average of 4.0 per game and making just 0.97.
But these numbers didn’t necessarily disappoint the league, which is still happy with the turnout so far.
“Sa’kin after the first year, in-assess namin ng mga governors, okay naman. Hindi nakakapinsala, minsan nakakatulong pa,” Marcial said of the four-point line.
According to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, while the four-point percentage across the league isn’t encouraging, there remains an upside.
Since introducing the second arc, the three-point percentage was at its highest in the last 29 seasons at 33.2 percent — a 0.7 percent improvement from last season.
Field goals went up by 1.5 percent (45.6 percent), while overall scoring (99.9 points) rose to its highest in the last 32 years.
This made Mangonon conclude that the four-pointer “drastically opposing team’s defenses.”
[RELATED: TNT's Calvin Oftana savors opportunity after perfect outing from four-point arc vs NorthPort]
Useful skill
If there’s someone who benefitted the most from the PBA four-point line, it’s Magnolia guard Peter Alfaro.
Alfaro emerged as the most accurate from that area, shooting 57.1 percent among players who had a minimum of 10 attempts.
It turned out, the former San Beda ace consciously worked on his four-point shooting the moment the PBA announced its inception.
Apart from that, he had plenty of space and opportunities to make shots from there given the team’s make up as forwards like Ian Sangalang and Zavier Lucero typically gathered the most attention.
“Actually yes, I really worked on it. I felt like yung composition ng team especially yung big guys namin with kuya Ian, Zav, they draw a lot of attention inside din,” he said.
“Kaya usually me, sila kuya Paul (Lee) really get open in the three-point and the four-point line. And imagine if you extend it in the four points, mas malayo rotation ng depensa.”
Asked whether he will continue putting in the work to deliver better numbers, he answered in the affirmative.
“Yes, actually dino-doble ko pa kasi ngayon mataas percentage ko, I’m sure teams are gonna scout me. [Para] if ever, we have reads and counters for it… hopefully this coming season mas okay pa rin yung lalaruin ko,” he said.
The Hotshots as a team actually thrived from the four point-line, making a league-best 83 of them while also shooting a league-best 32.4 percent.
With Alfaro no. 1 in percentage, fellow Hotshots Jerrick Ahanmisi and Paul Lee also ranked in the top-8.
Ironically, Magnolia only ranked 10th in the league in 3-point percentage, shooting 31.57 percent.
Other teams showing a drastic difference were Ginebra and TNT, with the Gin Kings no. 2 in three-point shooting at 34.9 percent but only 11th in 4-points at 18.2 percent. The Tropang 5G were the worst 4-point shooting team at 17.9 percent, but were third-best from three at 34.8 percent.
Blackwater was the only team to rank in the top-5 for both, while San Miguel and Meralco showed more consistency in where they ranked for both categories, with the Beermen placing 4th in 3-points and 6th in 4-points, while the Bolts were 4th in 4-points and 6th in 3-points.
It’s also worth noting that all 12 PBA teams shot over 30 percent from the three-point line last season, while only the Hotshots shot over 30 percent from four.
[RELATED: Big Shot Bob on the four: Seven-time NBA champ Robert Horry gives take on PBA four-point line]
Highly-touted rookies working on it
The 4-point figures doesn’t discourage incoming Blackwater rookie Dalph Panopio one bit.
The third overall pick of the PBA Season 50 Draft won’t exactly look for that shot every possession, but he will definitely work on it in practice.
“I’m excited. I never shot a four-point line before. But I feel like If you put the extra work in, I could be like the goal to have a good percentage on the four-point line. I think it’s a good advantage for shooters,” he said.
“It will definitely create more spaces in the paint. I think it’s a whole different game. There could be a lot of scenarios to happen in the four-point line.”
LJay Gonzales, who will play for the NLEX Road Warriors later this season after honoring his contract in the MPBL, shared a similar sentiment.
“Siyempre yan yung bagong rule. Go with the flow lang. Andyan na so kailangan mo na lang tanggapin. Maayos naman yung four-point line,” he said.
Still not sold
[RELATED: Why are Japan B.League stars Kai Sotto, Dwight Ramos, and AJ Edu against the PBA’s 4-point shot?]
Despite making 22 four-pointers last season, NLEX star Robert Bolick isn’t super sold on the idea.
Though he has a propensity for taking long-range shots, Bolick is at the point of his career where it’s all about winning championships now.
Bolick pointed out that being prolific from four-point range doesn’t necessarily translate to success.
Case in point: TNT Tropang 5G.
Despite being dead-last in four-point percentage, the Tropang 5G went to all three Finals last season, winning two titles.
Enduring a laundry list of injuries towards the end of the season, TNT still managed to be two wins away from completing a rare Grand Slam.
“Hindi ko masabi eh, pero pag sa endgame malaki talaga kasi babantayan mo, pag lamang kang tatlo, pwede ka pa matalo,” Bolick said when asked if he thought the four-point line made a huge impact on the game.
“Yun lang talaga, nakaka-excite lang talaga. Pero pag tinitignan mo yung umabot ng Finals di naman masyado tumitira ng four points di ba?”
While he has his own opinion, Bolick adds that he also sees the value of the four-point shot depending on the situation.
“Parang ginagamit ko na lang as decoy para babantayan ako dito,” he said.
“At least medyo malaki yung space na kaya kong [galawan]. Tignan natin, iniisip ko wag masyado siguro this conference.”
Verdict still not out
With just one season under the books, is it still too early to give the four-point line a verdict?
Marcial believes so, saying the rule is relatively in its infancy and data are still limited.
Even the NBA, according to Marcial, took years before fully embracing the three-point line which was first introduced during the 1979-80 season.
While the NBA three-point line is less than 50 years old, the three-point shot has evolved into a must-have weapon and is now a driving force to the way basketball is currently played.
The same can possibly be said about the PBA four-point line. Despite the many reservations, what’s certain right now is that PBA will push through with the “innovation” at least for as long as Marcial is commissioner.
“Bigyan pa nating ng ilang taon pa,” he said.
Basketball world will be watching
The news of the four-point line went outside the confines of the PBA, naturally drawing mixed reactions.
When One Sports reached out to EASL CEO Henry Kerins about the rule currently exclusive to PBA, the Season 49 data wasn’t fully available yet.
Nevertheless, Kerins was intrigued.
“It’s made an impact obviously. Mostly in the last minute of games. But I think it’s been great. I think it’s added an element to the game that hasn’t happened before,” he said.
Kerins claimed leagues even outside of Asia are on the lookout on how this innovation can truly affect the game is played.
“So we’ll see. A lot of leagues around the world, not just in Asia, are looking at it and seeing how it’s impacted the game,” Kerins said.
However, the EASL boss is not keen on implementing the four-point line himself, even if the PBA is a member league in the annual continental joust.
“We don’t [consider it right now], because we play FIBA rules,” he said.
As farfetched as it seems, the NBA may play a crucial role in making the four-point line truly mainstream.
In a previous interview with One Sports, Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving shared his two cents on the four-point line.
“I think it’s gonna make the game a lot more fun, in terms of just the creativity that will enable people to move their games out a little further,” Irving said.
“There will be some four point specialists. We have had some three-point specialists that have done amazing things but now we can have opportunities to have four point specialists that see the game in a different way.”
Player attention is different from management’s consideration for implementation though, with top NBA brass shooting down the idea… for now.
“I think that there is a balance between the things like a four-point line and also, making it an entertaining competition,” Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum said on the four-point line, talking about a possible idea for the All-Star Game, where the PBA also initially introduced the four-point shot.
[RELATED: No contemplations yet of four-point line in NBA All-Star Game, says deputy commissioner]
“And so, again, no current contemplation today on the four-point line, but we’re gonna continue to look at how we can make sure that the All-Star format is being relevant and being entertaining to the fans,” he added.
It could be truly early to judge whether the PBA’s four-point line is an innovation of mere gimmick, especially with just one season as a sample size.
But no matter how many years it takes, the question will remain: is the PBA’s four-point line boon or bane?
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Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.