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    Gab Banal: 'I didn't feel wanted by Alaska'

    Gab isn't sure where the next landing spot is - yet
    Nov 19, 2021
    Gab Banal with Alaska
    Gab Banal declined a one-conference offer by Alaska.
    PHOTO: PBA Images
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    CHICAGO - If you blur the face and cover the jersey he wears and watch only how deadly he shoots from 3, you'd probably mistake Gab Banal for Steph Curry.

    And before you dismiss this observation as a tall tale, eat this.

    Curry is hitting 3s at a rate of 41.9 percent through 15 games so far this season. Banal, meanwhile, shot 45.2 percent from downtown last conference, easily No. 1 in the PBA.

    Besides being Alaska's most dangerous long-distance threat, Gab was also Top 3 in team scoring and Top 3 in plus/minus.

    The 31-year old combo guard is also wrapped in intangibles. He is blessed with a high basketball IQ and an even higher character, and possesses an excellent hoops pedigree. Thanks to dad Joel, a former PBA player and head coach.

    But when it came time to renew his contract, Alaska made a low-ball offer that did not come close to reflecting Banal's true worth.

    If he were with the big teams, hello Boss Alfranchis Chua, a player with Banal's style and substance, would have probably been wined and dined already and promised with more bonuses than a city hall employee during election season.

    But with Alaska, Banal was only offered a one-conference extension.

    WITH NO PAY RAISE.

    Which is an ugly thing because money is at the heart of every contract negotiations regardless of the warmth and civility that may funnel from both sides.

    "Alaska didn't make me feel wanted," Banal told me in a phone interview.

    "All I want is to feel appreciated for my performance. Just how you judge a player's performance by looking at the stats," he added.

    Staring at a light offer, Banal chose to politely walk away.

    He should have ran like Usain Bolt and never looked back. But he was raised a better man.

    Though "hurt" and disappointed, Gab feels no ill will towards the Aces, just gratitude.

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    "I'm grateful to coach Jeff Cariaso and to Alaska for giving me a chance to play again in the PBA."

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      Gab isn't sure where the next landing spot is yet. Hopefully, to a place where he can "feel motivated" with an "ideal deal that is something longer."

      Although still single, and not necessarily ready to mingle, Gab longs for some "security" for the future especially at a time when the league is about to increase the slots for Fil-foreigners per team from 5 to 7.

      Can you blame him?

      But the better question that needs to be asked is the one a prominent agent hurled at me two nights ago.

      "WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH ALASKA?"

      I wish I knew but the signs are gloomy.

      The Aces got rid of Vic Manuel at a time when he was due for a max contract. They similarly discarded Jvee Casio and then tried to pay Banal as if he were a bench warmer whose only contribution to the team is attendance.

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      Alaska also has no 3x3 team in the PBA.

      Maybe money is tight, what with the pandemic, which has ravaged businesses big and small. That we all can understand and allow some leeway for Alaska thrifty spending habits.

      Meanwhile, another high-performance asset has left the building.

      And that can't be good for Alaska in the long run.

      Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph

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      Gab Banal declined a one-conference offer by Alaska.
      PHOTO: PBA Images
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