Bonel P. Balingit (born November 30, 1967), also known as The Gentle Giant and Man-Mountain, is a Filipino retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player who played as a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Basketball career

The hulking Bonel played for the

University of the Visayas The University of the Visayas (UV) is a private institution located in Cebu City, Philippines. It is the first school in the province of Cebu to attain university status. History Vicente Gullas (1898–1970) founded the University of the Vis ...

and then joined

Magnolia Ice Cream Magnolia is a food and beverage brand owned by San Miguel Corporation (SMC) and used by its various subsidiaries. The brand was commercially established by SMC (then known as San Miguel Brewery) as an ice cream brand in 1925. History The hist ...

in the PBL. He turn pro in 1992 and was drafted in the second round and 11th overall by the Swift Mighty Meaty Hotdogs in the

1992 PBA draft The 1992 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft was an event at which teams drafted players from the amateur ranks. The annual rookie draft was held on January 12, 1992, at The ULTRA. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Notes * ...

. Easily one of the most popular cager on the Swift roster who can draw cheers from the fans, Balingit spent all of his first seven PBA seasons with the RFM franchise and was handled by coaches

Yeng Guiao Joseller "Yeng" Medina Guiao (born March 19, 1959) is a Filipino professional basketball head coach, politician, commentator and sports commissioner. He is currently the head coach of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketba ...

Derrick Pumaren Frederick "Derrick" S. Pumaren, better known on his nickname Manong Derrick, is a Filipino basketball coach who is currently the coach of the De La Salle Green Archers in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). He coached s ...

and

Norman Black Norman Augustus Black (born November 12, 1957) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the CBA, NBA, and PBA. He's the current head coach for the Meralco Bolts. He has since settled in the Philippines. He is also ...

. He was part of the ballclub's four championships from 1992 to 1995 and won Most Improved Player honors in the

1995 PBA season The 1995 PBA season was the 21st season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Season highlights *Ramon Fernandez, one of the remaining pioneer players in the league announced his retirement on February 17. His #19 jersey was retired by ...

. Balingit moved to the

Metropolitan Basketball Association The Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), or Metroball, was a professional basketball league in the Philippines that ran from March 7, 1998, to July 26, 2002. History The MBA played its first game on March 7, 1998, at the Don Narciso Ramos ...

beginning the 1999 season and played for the

San Juan Knights The San Juan Kings, previously known as the San Juan Knights, are a professional basketball team representing San Juan, Metro Manila. They played in the Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) from 1999 to 2001, the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketba ...

. He returned to the PBA in 2001, playing for

Tanduay Rhum Masters The Tanduay Rhum Makers (1975-1987) and Tanduay Rhum Masters (1999-2001) were two basketball franchises associated with the same liquor brand that played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The original franchise, owned by Elizald ...

and have suited up for

Purefoods TJ Hotdogs The Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, or simply known as the Magnolia Hotshots, are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team is owned by San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc., a subsidiary of San Migue ...

in his final playing career.

Acting career

During his playing years, Balingit also dabbled into acting, appearing in TV sitcoms and comedy films.Bonel Balingit
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

References

External links

PBA league profile
1967 births Living people Basketball players from Lanao del Norte Centers (basketball) UV Green Lancers basketball players Filipino men's basketball players Magnolia Hotshots players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Pop Cola Panthers players San Juan Knights players Pop Cola Panthers draft picks {{Philippines-basketball-bio-stub