Gab Banal values the importance of an elite training and fitness center when it comes to playing at his very best
“To all aspiring basketball players out there, you need to work hard but work smarter. Develop all your aspects, not only as a player but also as a person. Work on your mental, spiritual, and physical health. Do what you love. Be passionate and never stop chasing that dream of playing hoops,” says Gab Banal.
For some, basketball is just a sport but in reality, it takes a lot of sweat, courage, passion, and commitment to make strides and bring the team to triumph. Take it from Banal, one of today’s local basketball standouts.
For the former Mapua Cardinal, PBA-D League MVP, former FIBA 3×3 representative, and now MPBL’s two-time Most Valuable Player, basketball has always been his passion. “Playing basketball always has been close to my heart. That love turned to passion, and led me to dream to strive continuously to improve and better myself every time I step in the hard court,” says Banal.
Banal has been involved in various professional leagues and his mindset has always been aimed towards winning after the buzzer sounds. “The will to win has got me going from the very start. It also made me beat the weaknesses and grow the strengths that got me where I am now.”
Rising to the top
Despite the limelight and the crowd’s deafening chants during games, basketball can be a bit tough, especially when you live in a country that treats the sport like religion. Professional leagues emerged as high-paced and high-action venues of competition, where only the best players compete.
Playing basketball always has been close to my heart. That love turned to passion, and led me to dream to strive continuously to improve and better myself every time I step in the hard-court”
Banal used to play sparingly in the PBA, which is arguably the country’s premier league, but it was in other competitions where he proved his might. To name a few, he was one of those who represented the country in tournaments like the Asia League, FIBA 3×3 Challenger, and the William Jones Cup.
“Basketball is a tough competition. To compete, you need to put yourself to a certain level—100 percent, or even more. The battle of wit and grit made me fall in love with it. The adrenaline in the dying minutes, the battle of heart and physicality, and the responsibility to take my team to the next level also serve as my fuel.”
Doing the drills
With the sport being a physically taxing feat, he needs the right physicality to ace the competition and deliver his A-game.
“On and off the court, I make sure that I do workouts and exercises with no wasted movements or energy. I simulate it to the game, boosting my confidence since I know I am equipped enough,” says Banal.
He does his training and drills at Sante Fitness Lab (SFL), a premier one-stop fitness center that offers holistic training programs as well as innovative recovery and sports rehabilitation. He considers SFL as his game-changer for an elite game level.
“Sante Fitness Lab delivers me the right fitness regimen for keeping up with my A-game. The equipment is world-class and it supplements my workouts. And with my training and drills, SFL has me covered with a tailor-made program to improve and intensify my performance. The recovery program has also been my edge, helping me be back on the court stronger and better amid a physically taxing game,” adds Banal.
More for Gab Banal
Banal is soaring, once more, in the court to dominate the MPBL as one of the frontrunners of the Bacoor Strikers.
As he lives his dream under the hoop, his basketball-enriched journey was not easy. But through sheer will and unwavering dedication, he found his footing to become one of the Philippine-based league’s supreme.
The chase of happiness was not impossible after all and, the saying, “hard work beats talent when talent fails the hard work,” sums it up.