Thursday evening had proven to be a historic one for Gab Banal in the Go for Gold Scratchers’ semifinal sweep of the Marinerong Pilipino-TIP Engineers for the first slot of the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Finals.
The 6-foot-4 forward recorded 24 points, 19 rebounds, and 10 assists to lead the Scratchers to a dominant 103-75 victory, making him the seventh player in the developmental league’s history to notch a triple-double.
“Actually, ‘di ko namalayan,” said Banal. “Credit to my teammates, they’re making my passes. So it’s not just my effort, it’s their effort also. I played bad last game, tryna recover, change of mindset, being a mature player, it’s part of the game.
“You have to recover quickly next play, so I guess I showed that. I wasn’t after that triple-double, all I’m after is for the win.”
With his outing, Banal has made a strong case of bagging home the conference’s Most Valuable Player honors. Prior to Thursday, he has already been leading the MVP race with norms of 15.8 points, 8.8 caroms, and 3.8 dimes.
“Sobrang laking bagay kasi it will be my first individual award here in the D-League,” expressed the 22nd overall pick in the 2014 draft.
But as much as winning the highest individual honor would delight him, the second-generation cager made it known that what he’s really after is the championship, which he had never won in his previous D-League stints.
Banal and the Scratchers are currently waiting for the winner of the Che’lu Bar and Grill Revellers and the CEU Scorpions, who are playing as of this posting. The veteran-laden Revellers lead their younger counterparts, 1-0.
“For me, what’s more important is winning the chip — I haven’t won that here in the D-League,” shared Banal.
“That’s all we’re after. That’s my main goal right now, to win the championship for the Go for Gold Scratchers.”
