Bonel Palahang Balingit (born November 30, 1967), also known as the Gentle Giant and Man-Mountain, is a Filipino retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player who played as a center.

Basketball career

The hulking Bonel played for the

University of the Visayas The University of the Visayas (UV) is a private institution located in Cebu City, Philippines. It is the first school in the province of Cebu to attain university status. History Vicente Gullas (1898–1970) founded the University of the Visa ...

and then joined Magnolia Ice Cream in the PBL. He turn pro in 1992 and was drafted in the second round and 11th overall by the

Swift Mighty Meaty Hotdogs Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, a ...

in the 1992 PBA draft. Easily one of the most popular cager on the Swift roster who can draw cheers from the fans, Balingit spent all of his first seven PBA seasons with the RFM franchise and was handled by coaches

Yeng Guiao Joseller "Yeng" Medina Guiao (born March 19, 1959) is a Filipino professional basketball head coach, politician, commentator and sports commissioner. He is currently the head coach of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketba ...

, Derrick Pumaren and

Norman Black Norman Augustus Black (born November 12, 1957) is the current Consultant to the San Beda University Red Lions Basketball team playing in the NCAA Philippines. He is a former professional basketball player who played in the CBA, NBA, and PBA. ...

. He was part of the ballclub's four championships from 1992 to 1995 and won Most Improved Player honors in the 1995 PBA season. Balingit moved to the

Metropolitan Basketball Association The Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), also shortened as Metroball, was a professional basketball league in the Philippines that ran for five seasons from 1998 until 2002. The MBA was established to rival the Philippine Basketball Asso ...

beginning the 1999 season and played for the San Juan Knights. He returned to the PBA in 2001, playing for Tanduay Rhum Masters and have suited up for Purefoods TJ Hotdogs in his final playing career.

Acting career

During his playing years, Balingit also dabbled into acting, appearing in TV sitcoms and comedy films.Bonel Balingit
at

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References

External links

PBA league profile
1967 births Living people Basketball players from Lanao del Norte Centers (basketball) UV Green Lancers basketball players Filipino men's basketball players Magnolia Hotshots players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Pop Cola Panthers players San Juan Knights (MBA) players Pop Cola Panthers draft picks {{Philippines-basketball-bio-stub