Who’ll be the first one to hit the first four-point shot in the PBA?
Take your pick: Paul Lee of Magnolia, Robert Bolick of NLEX, James Yap of Blackwater or Marcio Lassiter of San Miguel Beer?
Each one of them wants to take a crack at history when the league’s new season unveils on August 18.
“Bago eh, syempre excited,” said Yap, the two-time Most Valuable Player. who will be one of seven 40-year-old and above players seeing action in the coming 49th season of the league.
“Maraming excited na players, maraming ring may side comments, pero ganun talaga. Pero at least, may aabangan yung mga fans. Kung mag-work out man, at least nauna tayo since ginagawa na naman natin ito sa All-Star. Nakikita mo naman, kapag may nakaka-shoot, hiyawan mga tao. For me, maraming nai-excite.”
Yap is excited on the possibility of hitting the first four-point shot of his PBA career, hoping he could etch himself in history as the first player to make that milestone moment.
“Ako nga excited, sana ako maunang maka-shoot,” added Yap.
Throughout his career, Yap has been regarded as one of the league’s finest marksmen ever. He has made 1,178 treys in a career that started in 2004.
Yap believes players who had strong pulse will have an advantage taking those shots from 27 feet out.
“Advantage dito yung mga long-range shooters. Yung malalakas yung pulso. May mga shooters kasi na shorter range lang,” added Yap. “Kapag dumating na sa long range, yung form mo maiiba. Ako, kahit sa half court, naititira ko yung tira ko talaga, pero may effort na.”
Bolick had earlier shown interest in taking the four-point shot.
Known for his long-range attempts, he is expected to take things naturally just like what he’s been doing during the games.
The same goes with Lee, who just like Yap and Bolick, are also determined to make his mark hitting the four-point shot.
“For me, parang normal lang, pero siyempre, masaya na ma-award na siyang four-point shot,” said Lee, referring to those long three-point shots he made many times before that can now be counted as four points.
“Usually, doon rin naman ako tumitira sa spot na yun, so maganda lang maa-award na siyang four points. Pabor sa amin yun. Sa akin, OK siya kasi lalapitan ka na ngayon ng bantay mo at puwede namin siyang magamit sa spacing namin. Malaking bagay para sa amin.”
Although this thing isn’t something new, there’s an extra motivation for Lee to continuously work on those long-range shots, which can be added to his lethal weapons.
“Kailangang praktisin ko siya,” he added. “Kailangan ko siyang isama sa routine ko, ever since naman even nung nasa Rain or Shine ako. Ginagawa namin yun for spacing, dati nung sa sistema ni Coach Yeng (Guiao), more on naka-open talaga yan. More space, mas OK talaga. Naging habit ko na and I think nakataulong naman rin sa career ko. Hindi naman ako kilala dati na madalas na nakaka-shoot sa three-point shots. Now, magbi-benefit ako, kasi some of our players, tumitira talaga ng ganung kalayo.”
There’s a better reason for these marksmen to feel more excited — and fans can also look forward.
So who’s your pick as the first one to hit the four-point shot? Your guess is as good as mine.
