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He may be in a unique situation, but Gab Banal is enjoying the chance to work with his father Joel and uncle Koy in Marinerong Pilipino in the 2018 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup.
“This is my first time to be on the same team as them,” said a smiling Banal.
Banal admitted that it felt weird when he first joined the team with his father serving as the consultant and his uncle as the head coach.
“I don’t know how I’ll act. You treat them as a coach inside the court, but when we go home, we’re back to being family members,” he said.
But the 27-year-old said that the pros outweighed the cons as he thrives playing under mentors who have watched him play the game growing up.
“It’s fun because they know how I play and I know how they coach. We’re familiar with each other and it really helps,” said Banal, who is coming off a confidence-boosting run with Flying V in the 2017 Foundation Cup. “I was able to bring the confidence I gained there and I think I can really help this team reach heights this conference.”
In his first game for Marinerong Pilipino, the 6-foot-3 forward was everywhere as he racked 14 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, and four steals in the 94-92 victory over Zark’s Burger-Lyceum back in opening day.
Unfortunately, it’s not all roses for Banal as he also committed 10 turnovers and expected to get an earful from his coaches.
Luckily, he was spared, but he knows that he has to perform better in the Skippers’ coming games, starting on Thursday against Akari-Adamson.
“I have to keep my composure and I have to stick to the system, run our offense, and not be in a hurry,” he said.
Banal’s adjustment will be a huge factor as Marinerong Pilipino seeks to compete against far more cohesive school-based teams.
“Eleven out of the 13 teams this conference are school-based, so their advantage is that they’re playing with each other everyday, and some of whom are even dormmates,” he said. “So that’s what we have to adjust to, to quickly become solid and jell as a team.”