Gabriel Banal (born September 9, 1990) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Quezon Huskers of the

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's regional professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of 30 teams. Founded in 2017 by eight-division boxing world champion and then-Senator Manny Pacquiao, the MPBL is ...

(MPBL). He was drafted 22nd overall pick in the 2nd round of the

2014 PBA Draft The Gatorade 2014 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Rookie Draft was an event which allowed teams to draft players from the amateur ranks. The event was held at Midtown Atrium, Robinsons Place Manila on August 24, 2014. Draft lottery T ...

. After spending time with the

GlobalPort Batang Pier The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides N ...

, he played in the

PBA D-League The PBA D-League, or PBA Developmental League, is the official minor league of the Philippine Basketball Association. History The PBA D-League was conceptualized after the collapse of the proposed merger between the Philippine Basketball Leag ...

, the MPBL and the

Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 was a professional 3x3 (basketball), 3-on-3 basketball list of basketball leagues, league in the Philippines and was organized by the country's national basketball federation, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) ...

league before returning to the PBA in 2021. He is the son of former basketball player and coach

Joel Banal Joel Banal (born February 6, 1958) is a retired Filipino professional basketball player, and former head coach in the Philippine Basketball Association. He is the former commissioner of the now-defunct Pilipinas Commercial Basketball League (P ...

College career

After finishing high school at

Xavier School Xavier School ( zh, s=光啓学校, t=光啓學校, p=Guāngqǐ Xúexìao, poj=Kong-khé Ha̍k-hāu; also referred to by its acronym XS) is a private, Catholic, college preparatory school run by the Catholic Order of the Society of Jesus. It ...

in 2008 and winning a title with

Jeric Teng Jeric Allen Uy Teng (born March 18, 1991) is a Filipino basketball player who last played for the Quezon Huskers of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was drafted 12th overall by Rain or Shine in the 2013 PBA draft. He played ...

in the now defunct Tiong Lian Basketball Association, Banal played for two years with the

De La Salle Green Archers The De La Salle Green Archers and Lady Archers are the varsity teams representing De La Salle University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, among other leagues. The "Green Archer" is the traditional university mascot. Whi ...

. Banal was then recruited by

Chito Victolero Ercito "Chito" Victolero (born November 29, 1975) is a Filipino professional basketball coach and former player. He is the head coach for the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He played in the PB ...

to join the Mapúa Cardinals. He was initially suspended due to residency issues. The

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

then allowed him to play, where he established himself as a solid small forward with averages of 7.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, and three assists in 25.3 minutes per game. In 2013, Banal returned to DLSU, not to play for the Archers, but to finish his information systems degree.

Amateur career

Cebuana Lhuillier Gems

In 2013, Banal played in the

where he first played for the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems. In 2014, they reached the semifinals of the Foundation Cup, where they were defeated by the

NLEX Road Warriors The NLEX Road Warriors is a professional basketball team owned by Manila North Tollways Corporation, NLEX Corporation, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation, playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since the 2014 ...

. He also played for the Tanduay Light Rhum Masters that year.

Flying V Thunder

In 2017, Banal joined the Flying V Thunder for that year's Foundation Cup. In his debut, he had 11 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in a win over the Cignal HD Hawkeyes. In their third game, he had 29 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists as they got their third straight win of the conference. He then got 12 points in a win over the Marinerong Pilipino Skippers, which was coached by his father and his uncle. In a win over Racal Motors Alibaba, he had 17 points (with 11 coming in the fourth quarter), six rebounds, and two steals. They got into the playoffs with a win over the

CEU Scorpions Centro Escolar University (; ), commonly referred to as CEU, is a private, non-sectarian, coeducational institution of higher education located in Manila, Philippines. Founded in 1907 by Librada Avelino and Carmen de Luna, CEU is recognized a ...

, in which he had 11 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. They went on to secure the top seed, but they lost to CEU in an upset in the semis.

Marinerong Pilipino Skippers

In the 2018 D-League Aspirants' Cup, Banal played for Marinerong Pilipino, with his father as team consultant and his uncle as head coach. In his first game, he had 14 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, and four steals as they got their first win of the conference. He then had 17 points, nine rebounds, and four steals in a win over the EAC Generals, followed by 20 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists in their next win. Marinerong Pilipino got to the semis, where they lost to Zark’s Burger-Lyceum.

Go For Gold Scratchers

Banal went on to play for the Go For Gold Scratchers. In a close win over the AMA Online Education Titans, he scored his team's last six points and finished with 28 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks. He then followed up that performance with 21 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks. In a matchup against his former team in Marinerong Pilipino, he scored 24 points, five rebounds, three assists, and three steals as they got their fourth straight win. Their streak was broken in a loss to the Che'Lu Revellers. Go for Gold then got into the Finals as he completed a triple-double with 24 points, 19 rebounds and 10 assists against Marinerong Pilipino. After winning the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Finals in five games, he was given the Finals MVP award. He and CJ Perez were the first players to receive this award. He dedicated the award to his father, who suffered a heart attack two days before Game 5.

Return to Marinerong Pilipino

Banal returned to Marinerong Pilipino for their final games as they were trying to make one last run at the playoffs. With him, the Skippers were able to win their last two games. However, it wasn't enough, as they were eliminated by the Chadao-

FEU Tamaraws The FEU Tamaraws and Lady Tamaraws are the varsity teams of Far Eastern University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). The university's high school varsity teams are called the ''FEU-D Baby Tamaraws, Baby Tamaraws'' ...

, who had one more win than Marinerong Pilipino.

Return to Go For Gold

Soon after the Skippers were eliminated, Banal was brought back to Go For Gold from the free agent pool for the playoffs where they faced CEU. He was able to extend the series to a do-or-die game with a game-winning triple. He then dropped 18 points, six boards and six assists in the do-or-die game but they still lost, despite CEU going down to a seven-man rotation due to most of its players being dropped from the team for game-fixing.

Professional career

Barako Bull

In 2014, he and his cousins Jonathan Banal and Frank Golla applied for the

. Shortly after he got drafted by the

San Miguel Beermen The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Magnolia ...

, he was traded to the

Barako Bull Energy The Barako Bull Energy were a Philippine Basketball Association that began in 2002 as the FedEx Express. From its first season until 2005, the team was dubbed as the FedEx Express before changing to Air21 Express. From the 2009 PBA Fiesta C ...

along with Jojo Duncil, Chico Lañete and a 2016 first round pick (Jeoffrey Javillonar was later selected), for the draft rights of third pick Ronald Pascual. However, he was not signed by Barako.

GlobalPort Batang Pier

In 2016, Banal played for Mighty Sports in various tournaments. He then played for

, averaging limited minutes. He did get to play against his brother Ael during the 2016–17 Philippine Cup, making them the first second generation brothers to play in the league. Several weeks later, GlobalPort released him.

Bacoor City Strikers

Banal then played for the

Bacoor City Strikers The Bacoor City Strikers were a Filipino professional basketball team, based in Bacoor, Cavite. The team last competed in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and played their home games at Strike Gymnasium. The Strikers also prev ...

of the

, beginning in the Rajah Cup. Before the following season, he spent time in the PBA D-League and with the iECO Green Warriors, a team that represented the Philippines in the Asia League's Terrific 12 tournament. After the 2018–19 MPBL Datu Cup, he received the honors of being the MVP for that season as he led them to the semifinals and averaged 18.2 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 6.4 assists. He also made the All-MPBL First Team that season. In 2019, Banal also played for Bacoor's 3x3 team in the

league. He made his 3x3 debut in the second leg of the President's Cup. In the Lakan Cup, he helped Bacoor get its third straight win of the season with clutch triples and finished the game with 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists. He then had a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds in a blowout win over the Zamboanga Family's Brand Sardines. In a win over the Rizal Golden Coolers, he led the team with 16 points. He then put together one of his best performances in an overtime win over Bacolod Master Sardines with 29 points (10 scored in overtime), 11 assists and seven rebounds. Bacoor then went on a winning streak, which included a win over the

Biñan City Heroes Biñan (), officially the City of Biñan (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Laguna (province), Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a pop ...

in which he had 21 points and eight rebounds. Their winning streak got to seven games, with him scoring 21 points in Bacoor's seventh straight win. He then missed Bacoor's next three games due to

dengue Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease caused by dengue virus, prevalent in tropical and subtropical areas. Asymptomatic infections are uncommon, mild cases happen frequently; if symptoms appear, they typically begin 3 to 14 days after ...

and in that span, Bacoor lost two straight before getting a win over the Cebu Sharks. Against the

Makati Super Crunch The Makati Super Crunch was a Filipino professional basketball team based in Makati. The team last competed in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) from 2018 to 2023 and played its home games at Makati Coliseum. The team began pl ...

, Banal almost put up another triple-double with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and eight assists. In Bacoor's sixth straight win, he got a triple-double with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists. He almost got another triple-double the following game with 10 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds, but they still managed to win their seventh straight game. He then had to miss a game as he was with the Mighty Sports team that won the Dubai Invitational Tournament. In the game that he missed, Bacoor lost to the Manila Stars. Bacoor ended the elimination rounds at second in their division. He was an All-Star that season, and played a major role in the South All-Stars' win over the North. In the Game 1 of the quarterfinals against the

GenSan Warriors The GenSan Warriors are a Filipino professional basketball team based in General Santos. The team competes in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) as a member of the league's South Division. The team most recently played their home ...

, Banal led his team to the win with 20 points, 11 assists, three rebounds, and two steals. They were able to move on to the semifinals with a win in the following game. In Game 1 of the semifinals against Basilan Steel, he injured his knee and couldn't finish the game. Bacoor won Game 2 without him, but were eliminated in Game 3. For his performance that season, he was awarded a spot on the All-MPBL Second Team.

Alaska Aces

Banal then returned to the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

, signing a one conference deal with the Alaska Aces. In his debut for Alaska during the 2021 Philippine Cup, he had eight points, six rebounds, three assists, and a block in 22 minutes as he led Alaska's bench unit to a win over Blackwater. He then led the team with 17 points in a loss to the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters, and 20 points in a loss to the

Meralco Bolts The Meralco Bolts is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team began in 2010 after the Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) acquired the PBA franchise of the Sta. Lucia Realtors. The team is one of thre ...

. At the end of the conference, he led the league in three-point field goal percentage. Alaska gave him a one conference extension which he rejected.

TNT Tropang Giga

After securing his release from the Aces, Banal signed a two-year deal with the

TNT Tropang Giga The TNT Tropang 5G is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since 1990. The fra ...

. In his first conference with TNT, the 2021 Governors' Cup, he had impressive scoring outputs and averaged 15.7 minutes per game. The following conference however, his minutes went down to 5.6 per game as he logged more DNPs (Did Not Play - Coach's Decision) than games played.

Blackwater Bossing

On September 19, 2022, Banal was traded to the

Blackwater Bossing The Blackwater Bossing is a professional basketball team owned by Ever Bilena, Inc. that is playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) beginning in the 2014–2015 season. The franchise started as one of the founding teams in the ...

in a three-team trade involving Blackwater, TNT, and the

. He made his debut during the 2022–23 Commissioner's Cup, in which he missed all his shots in 17 minutes in a loss to the Bay Area Dragons. He bounced back the following game and contributed 10 points, five rebounds, and both career-high tying 5 assists and 4 steals in a win over Phoenix. In a Governors' Cup game against the Batang Pier, he scored 19 points off the bench.

Quezon Huskers

On February 1, 2024, it was announced that Banal would return to the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League, this time with the Quezon Huskers.

Career statistics

''As of the end of 2023–24 season''

PBA

, - , align=left , , align=left , GlobalPort , 2 , , 14.0 , , .333 , , .500 , , , , 1.0 , , , , , , , , 3.0 , - , align=left , , align=left , GlobalPort , 2 , , 5.6 , , .333 , , .000 , , .000 , , .5 , , , , .5 , , , , 1.0 , - , align=left rowspan=2, , align=left ,

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, rowspan=2, 21 , , rowspan=2, 18.5 , , rowspan=2, .451 , , rowspan=2, .466 , , rowspan=2, .615 , , rowspan=2, 2.6 , , rowspan=2, 1.4 , , rowspan=2, .8 , , rowspan=2, .1 , , rowspan=2, 7.6 , - , align=left ,

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

, - , align=left rowspan=2, , align=left ,

, rowspan=2, 33 , , rowspan=2, 17.5 , , rowspan=2, .350 , , rowspan=2, .306 , , rowspan=2, .810 , , rowspan=2, 2.1 , , rowspan=2, 1.6 , , rowspan=2, .5 , , rowspan=2, .2 , , rowspan=2, 4.2 , - , align=left , Blackwater , - , align=left , , align=left , Blackwater , 7 , , 11.2 , , .462 , , .556 , , .667 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , .3 , , .1 , , 2.7 , -class=sortbottom , align="center" colspan=2 , Career , 65 , , 16.7 , , .398 , , .396 , , .686 , , 2.1 , , 1.4 , , .6 , , .1 , , 5.0

MPBL

, - , align=left , 2018–19 , align=left , Bacoor City , 27 , , 24 , , 33.1 , , .385 , , .272 , , .732 , , 8.9 , , 6.4 , , 0.9 , , 0.6 , , 18.2 , - , align=left , 2019–20 , align=left , Bacoor City , 28 , , 23 , , 27.1 , , .372 , , .304 , , .692 , , 5.9 , , 5.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.3 , , 13.9 , - , align=center colspan=13 , Source
Gab Banal via Genius Sports (MPBL)

NCAA

National team career

In 2008, Banal was recruited by

Franz Pumaren Franz Santos Pumaren (born February 5, 1962) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and coach who is serving as the House of Representatives of the Philippines, representative for Quezon City's Quezon City's 3rd congressional distr ...

to play on the national under-18 team. Playing alongside RR Garcia and

Ian Sangalang Ian Paul Mendoza Sangalang (born December 20, 1991) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted 2nd overall by the San Mig Super Coffee ...

, they won the 2008 SEABA Under-18 championship and placed fourth in that year's FIBA Asia U-18 championship. In 2017, Banal got to practice with the Philippine team that would compete in the

2017 FIBA Asia Champions Cup The 2017 FIBA Asia Champions Cup was the 26th staging of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, the international basketball club tournament of FIBA Asia. The tournament took place in Chenzhou, China from 22 September to 30 September 2017. This was the sec ...

. He would eventually be placed on the reserves list. In 2020, he was a part of the national pool for the Philippine 3x3 team that competed at the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT). In 2022, he was set to play against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, but when they pulled out of the qualifying window, he didn't get to play.

Personal life

Banal comes from a basketball family. He is the third youngest son in the family, with his older brothers Juan and Miguel playing for Ateneo's Team B in college. The fourth youngest son, Raphael, played for the national under-18 team in 2010. Their father,

, is a former PBA player and champion coach with Talk 'N Text, and Joel's brother Koy is also a former head coach with Barako Bull and the

Phoenix Fuel Masters The Phoenix Fuel Masters is a professional basketball team owned by Phoenix Petroleum, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., which debuted in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the 2015–16 PBA season, 2016 2016 PBA Commissioner's C ...

. Their cousin Jonathan played five seasons at Mapúa, while another cousin, Frank Golla, played on four UAAP title teams with the

Ateneo Blue Eagles The Ateneo Blue Eagles are the collegiate varsity teams of the Ateneo de Manila University that play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the premiere collegiate league in the Philippines. The Ateneo collegiate ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banal, Gab 1990 births Living people 21st-century Filipino sportsmen Filipino men's basketball players Basketball players from Metro Manila De La Salle Green Archers basketball players Mapúa Cardinals basketball players San Miguel Beermen draft picks Alaska Aces (PBA) players Bacoor City Strikers players Blackwater Bossing players MPBL All-Stars NorthPort Batang Pier players Quezon Huskers players TNT Tropang 5G players Small forwards Power forwards Place of birth missing (living people)