5 Most Iconic Signature Moves in PBA History

A perfect example of that would be a signature move that gets emulated in pick-up games or in random ‘air basketball’ moves in the hallway. Oftentimes the mimicry is accompanied by a shoutout of the trademark owner. 

“James Yap!”, yelled the kid who bricked a one-handed jumper.

Here’s a list of the 5 most iconic signature moves in PBA history.

ELEGANT SHOT BY MON FERNANDEZ

A move called Elegant Shot had to come from a player called El Presidente. It just sounds right. Mon Fernandez, arguably the PBA’s GOAT, used his one-handed running jumper, reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty to punish the defense and obtain a bunch of scoring records.

It’s the Philippine equivalent of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Skyhook. And yes, we’re aware that we called Fernandez the GOAT. Let’s circle back to this debate on another day, June Mar Fajardo stans. 

BITBIT LAYUP BY VERGEL MENESES

If you wanted to look cool playing basketball in the 90s, you tried your hardest to imitate the Aerial Voyager’s floating layups. In the streets, they would say “binitbit pa!”. Gliding in the air, playing with the ball around before guiding it gently towards the basket is basically what a Bitbit Layup from Vergel Meneses looked like.

Everyone wanted to do it but because not all had hops like the 1995 PBA MVP, most guys had to settle for a ‘Class A’ imitation of the move.

KALAWIT REBOUND BY SCOTTIE THOMPSON

Ever since Scottie Thompson arrived in the PBA in 2015, he has been electrifying the fans not with thunderous dunks nor with Steph Curry-like threes—but with his signature Kalawit Rebound. It’s in full effect when you suddenly see the Ginebra superstar climb up an imaginary ladder with his arm sticking out, snatching the ball out of the import’s fingertips. 

To see a 6’1” guard do that and the momentum-shifting effect it has on the game is unheard of. Scottie’s Kalawit Rebound is definitely an asset any team could use including Gilas Pilipinas..

ONE-HANDER BY JAMES YAP

James Yap was the face of the PBA during his heyday. And one move that helped him become the league’s biggest star was his patented one-hander. Hanging in the air with his Kawhi-sized paw, he would hold the ball up and get his elbow aligned to the rim to make sure he’d hit the target. Picture a cobra rising up to attack its prey, that’s how his aim looked like and how lethal it was as well. 

Big Game James may have had a million moves but most of them ended with the shot that “single-handedly” stumped the league’s top defenders.

HOOK SHOT BY MAC CARDONA

Even before Mac Cardona had set foot in the PBA, he was already befuddling the defense with his own version of the hook shot. It was unorthodox, off-timed and most importantly, it was effective. As soon as Cardona released that shot put-looking floater disguised as a hook shot, even from as far as 18 feet, it always felt like the ball was going in.  

In the pros, Cardona continued to make a living off it, becoming a 2-time PBA champ, a 5-time all-star and a BPC winner in 2007. Despite the off-court issues that marred his career, to this day people still acknowledge how incredible the Cardona hook shot was.