Meralco Bolts guard Chris Banchero holds the distinction as the first PBA player to hit a four-point shot back in August 2024.
On Tuesday, he hit three more—all in the second half—in the Bolts’ 116-114 escape act against the Blackwater Bossing at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. That’s after he hit three four-point shots—all in the second half as well—in Meralco’s 122-114 victory over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Banchero: ‘I’m Working on Everything’
After Tuesday’s game, the veteran guard was asked if he has been working on the four-point shot in particular. He answered in the negative and pointed out he’s merely taking what the defense is giving.
“No, I’m working on everything. But the shot’s falling right now,” Banchero said. “I just kind of take what they give me, and then they’re going to start coming out. Then I got to start going back to the cup… Just whatever they give me is what I got to take.”
Over two games, the defense gave Banchero that shot from 27 feet. And he acted accordingly, letting it fly and hitting six of them—each one seemingly sparking the Bolts. If he keeps on making fours, defenses will likely have no choice but to extend further to take away Banchero’s increasingly potent new weapon of choice.
Putting Teams Away Is the Priority
While the four-point shot is not something Banchero consciously thinks about or works on, he would like his team to work on closing teams out better moving forward. That’s after Blackwater nearly wiped out Meralco’s 18-point lead in the fourth.
“Being up 17 points and kind of crumbling there is not what we want to do as a team,” Banchero pointed out. “We’ll look at that next practice… When you’re up by 17 you got to figure out how to put that team away…”
Meralco had that same problem against Rain or Shine, whom the Bolts found hard to close out but did eventually. And it only means putting teams away is a work in progress for the Bolts.
Banchero hitting four-pointers might help.
