MANILA, Philippines – Once a promising guard for the Mapua Cardinals, Ael Banal played only one season in the NCAA before moving to the United States where he competed for the Hope International University in California.

After five years, the son of highly regarded coach Joel Banal is back in the local basketball scene and is now hoping to make it to the PBA. He played for Racal in the D-League Aspirants Cup, helping the Tile Masters reach the semifinals, and was one of the standouts of the PBA Draft Combine.

Playing alongside Jiovani Jalalon, Joseph Eriobu, and Jammer Jamito, Banal showcased his shooting touch, draining a three-pointer in overtime that helped secure a 55-51 victory for his team.

"It's the championship game, and I don't know. I was coming into the scrimmage looking to have fun, and to enjoy everything," he said. "But my competitive juices came out, and you know, I wanted to win. We all wanted to win."

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With several PBA coaches watching at the Gatorade Hoops Center on Thursday, Banal is hopeful that he made enough of an impression.

"This is really important, because for me, not playing here in college, one thing I don't have going for me is exposure," Banal explained.

"So I think it kind of worked to my advantage to get a little bit of exposure today, with the coaches watching," he added.

Banal knows that his shooting touch and scoring ability has always been his calling card, but he said his time in the United States has taught him to be more of a playmaker as well. Meanwhile, his time in the PBA D-League familiarized him to the physicality and officiating of the big leagues.

Given all that he showed in the mini-tournament on Thursday at the Gatorade Hoops Center, Banal is confident that he has proven he has what it takes to compete in the PBA.

"Yeah, definitely (I'm confident)," said Banal. "I mean, there's still nerves. Who doesn't have nerves? But I'm pretty confident. I'm confident and hopeful, and more and more excited."

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