Philippine Basketball Association Changes Game Rules to Increase National Championship Attractiveness, Introduces 4-Point Shot

The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) decided to implement a four-point line for the games in its competition, the national championship, in the upcoming season; a surprising decision that elicited conflicting echoes.

From the constraints of the All-Star classic to the actual game itself, the PBA will be implementing the four-point shot for attempts beyond a new arc, 27 feet from the basket, starting this PBA Governors’ Cup. This is one of the biggest modifications for the PBA’s upcoming Season 49. The PBA Governors’ Cup is one of the two national championship conferences in the Philippines, the other being the PBA Commissioner’s Cup. On August 18, the Governors’ Cup’s 22nd edition will get underway. Teams may recruit imports or foreign players for the event, provided they are no taller than six feet six inches (1.98 meters).

The 23-foot three-point line will remain in place even though a new, 27-foot arc will be placed on the court for games. The 2023 All-Star games in Passi, Iloilo, is when the 49-year-old league initially adopted the creative rule. It was later kept in place for the same mid-season event during the 2024 edition in Bacolod, Negros Occidental, earlier this year. With 17 seconds remaining in the previous All-Star game, Robert Bolick made a four-point shot and was fouled by Calvin Oftana, resulting in the league’s first-ever five-point play, given that the NLEX Road Warriors guard hit the bonus free throw.

With 4-Point Line, PBA “Responds” to Criticism Related to Its Lack of Innovations to Draw More Fans

So, in its next 49th season, the PBA, the oldest basketball league in Asia, will use a four-point shot. Just after the NBA, the PBA is the world’s second-longest basketball league in continuous operation.

Once a major force in Asia, the Philippines is now one of the largest basketball-playing countries on the globe. But one of the primary complaints directed at the PBA is that it doesn’t innovate in a way that would draw more fans to live games and create more interest in wagering on online betting sites in the Philippines.

Even if the four-point line is a nice invention, only two of the league’s 12 teams shot better than 35.0% from beyond the regular three-point arc in the previous campaign. The Terrafirma Dyip shot 35.1%, while the San Miguel Beermen shot 35.5%. A few team officials claim that after the season begins and players begin making 4-point shots, fans should evaluate the new rule.

For those who are curious about the club names in the Philippines, the league is centered around sponsorships. For instance, Terrafirma is an automobile brand, while San Miguel is a multinational corporation that gained recognition for producing beer. This isn’t new in the basketball realm, as clubs in even more developed parts of the world, such as Italy, completely change their official names into sponsor’s names.

Did Anyone Else Already Come Up with Idea to Introduce 4-Point Shot?

Even though the choice is novel, it dares to alter the basketball rules, which were last altered more than 40 years ago with the introduction of the three-point line. Since the PBA first tested the concept in the All-Star game, it’s safe to say that it generated a lot of excitement. The four-point shot wasn’t invented by the PBA, though.

Basketball analysts have long debated the inclusion of a four-point line, especially in light of the global acceptance of the three-point line and the current perception among purists that the “long ball” (a colloquial term for a three-point shot) is too simple. In 2019, the NBA did in fact employ the four-point line, but it was mainly reserved for the NBA All-Star Weekend Celebrity All-Star Game. The distance from the rim was set at 27 feet, just like in the PBA.

Beginning in 2022, the WNBA also employed the four-point shot in its All-Star Game, but it was only allowed from one of the two circles on either side of the court, which were located roughly 28 feet away from the basket. In fact, back in 2023, guard Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty made three straight four-pointers.

Big3’s four-point shooting zones follow the same idea. Despite being a half-court game, only three specific zones that are 30 feet from the rim are used for play. A 3-on-3 professional basketball league owned by a famous American rapper, Ice Cube, which includes All-Stars, Hall of Famers, and World Champions, being the disruptive brand that it is, pushes the limits of the game by going away from standard FIBA 3×3 rules, e.g., by adopting the FIREBALL3.

Nevertheless, the semi-professional American Basketball Association (ABA), which reopened in 2000, was the first to truly adopt the four-point line. The half-court line serves as the de facto four-point line because every shot made from beyond the half-court is worth four points.

In all honesty, the PBA’s adoption of the four-point line is a risky move, and despite how absurd the plan may seem, it is still too early to pass judgment. If this is eventually accepted by the basketball community, the league might end up setting a precedent. After all, some of the most amazing inventions in history were once wild concepts. Time will tell.