My shift stick sometimes gets stuck when shifting to 3rd gear. bad or loose shift cable?

my car is a 2002 toyota MR2 spyder with 39k miles. i bought it 3 months ago with this problem. i installed a new clutch kit last month but the stick still gets stuck(not all the time. just sometimes), but most of the time i have to force the lever to get into 3rd(because i encounter some resistance) and it makes a click sound and the gear is engaged with no problem. sometimes i can't shift and i have to press on the clutch again and then it gets into 3rd smoothly. all other gears are easily engaged with no resistance. could this be a bad or loose shift cable? i would appreciate any answer, suggestion or tip. thanks!!