OSAKA – It didn’t take long for highly-touted rookie pick Sedrick Barefield to come to terms with Blackwater.

undefined

Twenty four hours after arriving in the country, the no. 2 overall pick in the recent PBA draft was signed to a two-year deal by the Bossing.

The contract has a player’s option in the second year, according to Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy.

Barefield was welcomed at the Blackwater office on Tuesday by Sy himself as the Fil-Am guard was accompanied by his representatives Anton Brodett and Nadine Jamal of Phenom Basketball Clinic.

The 27-year-old product of MSU Mustangs also showed up at the Blackwater practice to meet up with his teammates and head coach Jeff Cariaso.

Sy won’t be surprised if NBA, Fiba ‘follows suit’ on 4-point shot

willie marcial dioceldo sy

A TEAM owner fully supports the PBA’s move to innovate through the introduction of a four-point shot to the game.

Blackwater owner Dioceldo Sy said he sees a faster PBA game with the implementation of a 27-foot arc approved by the board of governors during its planning session in Osaka, Japan.

Sy even thinks that other leagues could also introduce the innovation in the future if successful.

“The 27-foot arc for four points will drastically change the dynamics of basketball games,” Sy said in a message to SPIN.ph’s Gerry Ramos. “It will be faster and it’s gonna be a halfcourt, man-to-man defensive game. The first team that can adapt to this new rule change will be the team to beat.”

 

Newly-elected PBA vice chairman Alfrancis Chua said the four-point shot will be enforced in order to speed up the game, while also expecting teams to play more of a man-to-man defense instead of a zone.

“We’re not just re-modeling a house but we’re building a house,” PBA chairman Ricky Vargas said.

The PBA hopes that initiatives for Season 49, including the four-point shot, will help draw more fans to the venue after the league’s broadcaster claimed it attracted nearly one million viewers per game on television.

“I will not be surprised that FIBA and NBA will follow suit. I agree with Alfrancis, we will be seeing a faster pace of the game,” said Sy.

One of Sy’s players in RK Ilagan was already spotted practicing four-point shots in a video posted on social media.

WATCH: