Raymond Almazan wins inaugural PBA bigs 3-point shootout

Raymond Almazan won the first big men 3-point shootout, while Calvin Oftana beat Chris Newsome and Paul Lee in the usual shootout. PBA Images

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Raymond Almazan won the first-ever PBA 3-Point Shootout for Big Men, the new highlight of the PBA All-Star side events on Saturday at the University of St. La Salle Coliseum in Bacolod.

The Meralco center saved his best for last as his 19 points in the final round were enough to beat NLEX's Dave Marcelo, Terrafirma's Isaac Go, and Blackwater's Christian David.

David and Go topped the elimination round with 20 points each but only made 15 and 13 in the final round.

The classic shootout contest belonged to TNT's Calvin Oftana as he erupted for 25 points in the final to edge Magnolia's Paul Lee and Meralco's Chris Newsome.

Newsome went for 28 in the first phase but only managed to score 15 in the final, while Lee, who had 26 in the first round, got 20 in the final.

In the Big Man Skills Challenge, NorthPort's JM Calma went flawless in the final round for a 26-second run to beat Rain Or Shine's Santi Santillan and Magnolia's James Laput, who clocked in at 29 and 39 seconds, respectively.

Almazan, Oftana, and Calma each won PHP30,000.

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