24-year-old Raphael Banal impressed during the 2016 PBA Draft Combine, held at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong City.
Grouped with fellow hopefuls Jio Jalalon, Jam Jamito, Joseph Eriobu, and Jovit dela Cruz, his team was able to enter the finals of the mini five-on-five tournament. At the end, they faced the team of Rden Celda, CK Ablaza, Levi Hernandez, JC Asuncion, Gene Belleza, and Jeoff Javillonar.
“It’s the championship game, and I was coming into the scrimmage more to have fun, more to enjoy everything,” said Banal, who is the son of one-time UAAP champion coach Joel Banal.
“But my competitive juices came out, and you know, I wanted to win. We all wanted to win.”
Coming out of Hope International University, a school in California, USA, Banal needed to make an impression during the PBA Draft Combine even after helping lead the Racal Tile Masters to the semifinals of the 2016 PBA Foundation Cup.
“It’s really important because for me, not playing here in college, one thing I don’t have going for me is exposure,” said Banal, who played for the Xavier School Golden Stallions back in high school.
“So i think it kind of worked to my advantage to get a little bit of exposure today with the coaches watching.”
A “little bit” is an understatement. Banal scored 15 points in the tournament’s final game as their quintet was able to beat Celda’s Team C, 55-51.
During the entire tournament that saw him score a total of 23 points, his shot from beyond-the-arc was showcased. According to him, it’s one of the facets of his game that can help him land a team in the PBA.
“That’s always been one of my assets, my outside shooting, and my scoring touch. So I was able to display a little bit of it today,” he shared. “But what I’ve learned in the past couple of years in the States is to set up my teammates as well, find the open guy, make the right play.”
With just three days before the draft day, the one-time Mapua Cardinal could not hide his excitement as he feels confident entering the big day.
“Yeah, definitely, [I’m confident]. I mean there’s still nerves, who doesn’t have nerves? But I’m pretty confident. Confident and hopeful, more and more excited.”
