GAB Banal suffered a double black-eye on Tuesday after narrowly losing the Conference MVP award to Jeff Viernes and Go for Gold failing to close the 2018 PBA D-League Foundation Cup Finals, falling to Che'Lu Bar and Grill, 88-81.
Seeking comfort, he went to the person he knew could motivate him best: his father, coach Joel Banal.
"I told him I lost the MVP and we lost last game. So I said sorry," he related.
But rather than dwell on the setback, the Marinerong Pilipino-TIP consultant who is recovering from a heart attack, told his hardworking son to keep on fighting.
"He said just focus on Game Five and that's enough motivation for me to give my 100 percent," he shared.
Heeding his dad's words, Banal showed how badly he wanted the win from the get-go, dropping 21 of his 31 points in the first half to set the tone for the Scratchers as they erected a 66-46 lead on Thursday.
His hot start, though, got the better of him as he suffered from cramps in the third period, giving the Revellers the opening they needed to crawl back within five, 86-81 in the last 5:49.
Banal, however, simply wouldn't allow Go for Gold to lose, fighting through the pain to anchor the killer 8-0 blast to secure the 102-92 victory.
"Kailangan na manalo eh. Fourth quarter of Game Five, no excuses. I just needed to focus," said Banal, who also grabbed six rebounds and four assists in the title-clincher.
Through all of it, Banal is just glad to dedicate this triumph to his ailing father whom he had to rush to the hospital just last Saturday.
"My dad was enough motivation for me," he admitted. "I offer this game for him. I offer our championship for him."
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