Kai Sotto playing for his new team Koshigaya Alphas in the Japan B.League Divison 1. –@KoshigayaAlphas
MANILA, Philippines — Count Kai Sotto and Dwight Ramos among those who don’t think the PBA’s four-point line is a good idea.
When asked about the recent innovation in the PBA and if he thought the Japan B.League should follow suit, the 7-foot-3 Gilas Pilipinas star answer is plain is simple.
“No. I don’t think it’s just right,” Sotto told reporters during their online B.League media availability on Thursday.
READ: PBA: Best way to judge four-point shot is by the games
“If I was the commissioner, I wouldn’t have a four-point line. I would just remove the three-point line and make the three-point line, even farther, like the NBA, they got a farther three-point line, so the spacing is better, and of course bigger. But no, I would not add the four-point line,” he added.
Sotto, a former NBA draft aspirant in 2022, will be playing for a new B.League team Koshigaya Alphas in Division 1 this upcoming season, which opens October 3.
Levanga Hokkaido’s Dwight Ramos. –BLEAGUE PHOTO
Levanga Hokkaido captain Dwight Ramos, meanwhile, knows the thrill the four-point line brings but shared the same sentiments with his Gilas Pilipinas teammate.
“I saw a couple of games, like the four-point shot was exciting, of course, because you’ll see somebody make a shot from so far,” Ramos said, “I know they put it in trying to remove teams from playing zone but, I mean, you don’t need to do that. If you want to break a zone, you just get a better zone offense. So I don’t really see the need for a four-point line.”
AJ Edu, who will be playing for a new team Nagasaki Velca, though, tip his hat to the PBA for its latest innovation but thinks the jury is still out whether “adding the four-point line is the right direction.”
“I think I appreciate the PBA for trying to do something new, trying to be innovative and all I can say is I respect that they’re trying something new,” said Edu, another Gilas big man.
“I guess we have to see more in the long run whether that’s successful or not. In my opinion, where I am now, I don’t know if that’s the right direction but I guess we’ll wait and see as the season goes on.”
PBA officially added the four-point line — 27 feet from the basket — this PBA Governors’ Cup after using it in the last two All-Star games.