Who Is the Best 3 Pointer in PBA History? A Statistical Analysis

Let me tell you something about basketball analytics that keeps me up at night - when you're trying to determine the greatest three-point shooter in PBA history, you're not just counting numbers. You're essentially trying to solve a puzzle where half the pieces are missing from the box. I've spent countless hours digging through old game tapes and stat sheets, and what strikes me most isn't just the shooting percentages but the context surrounding those shots. The hard part was putting together that championship bout between different eras of shooters, each with their own unique challenges and defensive schemes.

Take Allan Caidic, for instance - the man they call "The Triggerman." His 1991 performance where he scored 17 three-pointers in a single game remains one of those records that just feels untouchable, like watching someone break the sound barrier. I've watched that game footage more times than I can count, and what amazes me isn't just the volume but the degree of difficulty. We're talking about a different era of basketball - heavier balls, less sophisticated training regimens, and defenders who could practically hug you on the perimeter. His career three-point percentage of around 38% might not jump off the page for modern analytics folks, but context matters tremendously. He was taking those shots with defenders in his jersey, without the spacing concepts we see today, and often creating his own shot off minimal dribbles.

Then you have James Yap, whose shooting form I've always admired for its pure aesthetics - that high release point just looks beautiful when it leaves his fingertips. His clutch shooting in the 2006 Philippine Cup finals lives rent-free in my memory. But here's where statistics can be deceptive - Yap's regular season three-point percentage of about 34% doesn't tell the whole story. The man had this incredible knack for making shots when they mattered most, what we in the basketball community call "winning time." I've charted his playoff performances and found his efficiency actually improved when games were on the line, which speaks volumes about his mental toughness.

The statistical analysis gets really interesting when we compare shooting volumes across eras. When I pulled the data from the early 90s, teams were attempting maybe 15-20 threes per game total. Fast forward to today, and you've got individual players taking that many. This creates this fascinating analytical challenge - how do we properly weight volume versus efficiency across different competitive landscapes? Jimmy Alapag, for example, revolutionized the point guard position with his willingness to pull up from what we'd now call "logo range" before it became fashionable. His 1,148 career three-pointers stood as the record for years, but what impressed me more was his 36% accuracy despite often creating offense against set defenses.

What often gets lost in these discussions is shot quality. When I break down film of modern shooters like Marcio Lassiter, I notice he benefits from systematic offensive sets designed specifically to generate clean looks. Don't get me wrong - the man's 39% career shooting from deep is phenomenal, but he's also operating in an era where coaches actively scheme for three-point attempts. Compare that to Caidic, who frequently had to manufacture his own opportunities against tighter defensive rules. The hard part was putting together that championship bout between these different contexts and trying to create some equitable comparison metric.

Through my analysis, I've developed what I call the "era-adjusted shooting metric" that attempts to level the playing field. It considers factors like defensive rules changes, court dimensions (remember when the PBA experimented with the international three-point line?), and even equipment improvements. When I run the numbers through this system, Caidic's prime years produce numbers that would translate to about 42% in today's game. That's staggering when you really think about it. Meanwhile, modern specialists like Lassiter maintain their high efficiency even when accounting for increased volume and better defensive schemes designed to limit three-point attempts.

What really seals the debate for me, though, is something beyond pure statistics. I've spoken with former players and coaches, and the consensus is that greatness isn't just about making shots - it's about making them when everyone in the building knows you're taking them. Caidic faced defensive schemes specifically designed to stop him, often drawing the opponent's best defender while dealing with physicality that would make modern players shudder. The hard part was putting together that championship bout between raw numbers and the intangible elements of shot difficulty and defensive attention.

At the end of the day, my personal take after all this research is that Allan Caidic remains the standard bearer. The numbers are impressive enough on their own - his single-game record of 17 threes, his 15 three-pointers in one half, his career total of 1,242 made threes that stood as the record for decades. But when you layer in the context of his era and the degree of difficulty, there's just something mythical about his shooting prowess. Modern analytics would likely have loved to get their hands on his shot selection data, but sometimes you just have to trust what you see on the tape and what the old-timers tell you about the legend of The Triggerman.