John Christopher Antonio "JC" Intal (born November 18, 1983) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the

Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters The Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters is a professional basketball team owned by Phoenix Petroleum, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., which debuted in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the 2015–16 PBA season, 2016 2016 PBA Commis ...

of the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA). He is married to television host and model

Bianca Gonzalez Bianca Monica Malasmas Gonzalez-Intal (born March 11, 1983) is a Filipina television host and model. Hosting career Gonzalez first hosted ''GameChannel Extreme'' with Iya Villania, Chase Tinio and Aaron Mempin. Her first ever on-cam career in ...

Early life and college career

Born in

Minalin, Pampanga Minalin, officially the Municipality of Minalin ( pam, Balen ning Minalin; fil, Bayan ng Minalin), is a 4th class municipality in the province of Pampanga, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,380 people. Original ...

, Philippines, Intal initially studied at

Claret School of Quezon City English: ''Knowledge is best with virtue'' , location = Mahinhin St., UP Village, Diliman , city = Quezon City, Metro Manila , country = Philippines , pushpin_map = Manila , pushpin_label ...

before he transferred to

Letran The Colegio de San Juan de Letran, (transl: College of San Juan de Letran) also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers i ...

he became a part of the

Letran Squires The Letran Knights are the collegiate varsity teams representing Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The collegiate women's varsity teams are called the ''Lady Knights'', while the high school varsity t ...

high school varsity team. When he was in Grade 7, he made his first dunk. After his high school days, he tried out for the

Ateneo Blue Eagles The Ateneo Blue Eagles are the collegiate varsity teams of the Ateneo de Manila University that play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the premiere collegiate league in the Philippines. The collegiate women's v ...

. While playing for the Blue Eagles, he was placed in the Team B and upon his second year in college he became a member of Team A. He was the part of the team that won its first UAAP Senior's Basketball Championship in 2002. He ended his college career in 2006 with a loss to the UST Growling Tigers in the UAAP Finals in that same year. While in college, he played amateur basketball for the

Harbour Centre Batang Pier The Oracle Residences was a basketball team playing in the Philippine Basketball League and is owned by Mikee Romero. Current roster Notable players and coaches * Marcy Arellano * Jason Ballesteros * Paolo Bugia * Mark Cardona * Gabby Espinas ...

of the

Philippine Basketball League The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) was a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league was composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars. History The PBL was formed on Ma ...

, where he became known for his high-flying abilities, thus earning the nickname The Rocket, having won the Slam Dunk contest in 2003.

Professional career

Air 21/ Barako Bull Energy

Intal was drafted 4th overall by the

Air21 Express The Air21 Express were a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) that debuted in the 2011–12 season. The team debuted as the Shopinas.com Clickers during the 2011–12 PBA Philippine Cup. In 2014, the fra ...

in the 2007 PBA draft. He only played one conference in his rookie season, as he had a rare skin disease that prevented him from sweating, causing him to miss the next conferences while he sought treatment. After 6 months, he was able to play again.

Barangay Ginebra Kings

In 2009, he was acquired by

Barangay Ginebra Kings A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

via a trade. In three seasons with the Kings, he was a reliable role player, complementing with leading scorers

Mark Caguioa Mark Anthony Yu Caguioa (born November 19, 1979) is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known as The Spark and as MC47 from his initials an ...

Jayjay Helterbrand Anthony "Jayjay" Helterbrand (born Lamberto Romero Vicente, Jr. on October 14, 1976) is a Filipino-American basketball player for the Boracay Islanders of the Pilipinas Super League. He previously played with the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of ...

and

Eric Menk Eric Conrad Menk (born August 24, 1974) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the Asean Basketball League. Known as Major Pain, Menk is a four-time PBA champion ...

, and stepping up for them when they were injured. He was named Player of the Week for the week of February 1 to 7 after averaging 26.5 points, 10 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2 blocks and for scoring a career-high 28 points in Ginebra’s 113–100 quarterfinals win over the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters.

B-Meg Llamados/ San Mig Coffee Mixers

After three seasons with Ginebra, he was again traded to B-Meg (now San Mig Coffee) via a blockbuster three team trade in exchange for

Kerby Raymundo Kerby Mariano Raymundo (born January 19, 1981) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known as The Kid, he was a former star player ...

and

Dylan Ababou Dylan Simon Rosales Ababou (born December 7, 1986) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He played for seven teams during his career in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted 10th overall in 2011 by the Barako ...

. While playing for San Mig, he suffered a

meniscus tear A tear of a meniscus is a rupturing of one or more of the fibrocartilage strips in the knee called menisci. When doctors and patients refer to "torn cartilage" in the knee, they actually may be referring to an injury to a meniscus at the top of ...

in his left knee, causing him to miss basketball action for four months in 2012. Before he could return to full health, he came back into active play, but was never fully healthy, by which his left knee became swollen after every game. He was able to win one championship with the Coffee Mixers in the 2012 Commissioner's Cup.

Barako Bull Energy/Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters

Intal was traded again, this time to

Barako Bull The Barako Bull Energy were a Philippine Basketball Association team that began in 2002 as the FedEx Express. From its first season until 2005, the team was dubbed as the FedEx Express before changing to Air21 Express. From the 2009 PBA Fies ...

via a blockbuster 10-man, 5-team trade in January 2013. He posted career highs in scoring, rebounds and assists in the 2014-15 season. That season, he competed in the Three-Point Shootout and the Slam Dunk Contest. He also won another Player of the Week award. Before the start of the 2016 Governors' Cup, it was revealed that he had bone spurs in his ankles. He made his conference debut at Phoenix's last game of the conference. In the 2017 Philippine Cup, he received another Player of the Week award. In his last season, the 2020 Philippine Cup, the Fuel Masters made it all the way to the semifinals. After that season, he announced on his Instagram account that he had retired.

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

, - , align=left , , align=left ,

Air21 Air21 Airlines was a short-lived United States airline based in Fresno, California, led by Mark Morro, founded by David Miller and co-founded by David J. VanderLugt. The airline operated five Fokker F28 Fellowship 64-passenger twin engine jet ...

, 32 , , 11.9 , , .291 , , .164 , , .589 , , 1.1 , , 1.3 , , .3 , , .2 , , 4.5 , - , align=left , , align=left , Air21 /

Barangay Ginebra The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The most popular team in the league, it is owned by Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.), a subsidia ...

, 41 , , 15.0 , , .366 , , .236 , , .479 , , 2.8 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .5 , , 5.5 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 40 , , 21.4 , , .420 , , .339 , , .659 , , 4.4 , , 1.3 , , .9 , , .6 , , 10.4 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra , 44 , , 16.2 , , .325 , , .298 , , .732 , , 2.9 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .6 , , 5.6 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barangay Ginebra / B-Meg , 49 , , 19.7 , , .360 , , .221 , , .651 , , 4.1 , , 1.3 , , .4 , , .3 , , 6.2 , - , align=left , , align=left , San Mig Coffee /

, 35 , , 16.3 , , .272 , , .189 , , .696 , , 2.7 , , 1.3 , , .5 , , .2 , , 3.8 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barako Bull , 34 , , 22.3 , , .378 , , .289 , , .698 , , 4.5 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .5 , , 9.1 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barako Bull , , 36 , , 30.4 , , .399 , , .294 , , .593 , , 5.7 , , 1.9 , , .9 , , .4 , , 12.8 , - , align=left , , align=left , Barako Bull /

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, , 26 , , 29.5 , , .361 , , .262 , , .675 , , 5.1 , , 1.7 , , .6 , , .5 , , 11.8 , - , align=left , , align=left , Phoenix , , 34 , , 22.5 , , .371 , , .311 , , .742 , , 3.6 , , 1.7 , , .7 , , .6 , , 10.1 , - , align=left , , align=left , Phoenix , , 35 , , 14.3 , , .323 , , .250 , , .583 , , 2.8 , , 1.0 , , .8 , , .4 , , 4.0 , - , align=left , , align=left , Phoenix , , 25 , , 17.2 , , .346 , , .267 , , .688 , , 4.5 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .4 , , 5.0 , - , align=left , , align=left , Phoenix , , 16 , , 14.3 , , .361 , , .297 , , .727 , , 2.6 , , 1.8 , , .4 , , .1 , , 4.4 , -class=sortbottom , align=center colspan=2 , Career , 447 , , 19.3 , , .362 , , .272 , , .646 , , 3.6 , , 1.3 , , .6 , , .4 , , 7.2

International career

Intal was part of the 16-man Gilas Pilipinas 3.0 pool that was gearing up for the

2015 FIBA Asia Championship The 2015 FIBA Asia Championship was the 28th and last edition of the FIBA Asia Championship in men's basketball in Asia. It was organised by FIBA Asia. At the FIBA Asia Congress held in Doha, Qatar, the Central Board awarded the hosting rights to ...

. After a successful stint in the 2015 Toyota Four Nations Cup and the 37th William Jones Cup in Taiwan, he was named to the Final 12 roster that represented the country in the FIBA Asia tournament.

Personal life

Intal was engaged to TV host

, his girlfriend since 2011. On March 20, 2014, he proposed to Gonzalez at the

Ninoy Aquino International Airport Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA , ; fil, Paliparang Pandaigdig ng Ninoy Aquino or ''Pandaigdigang Paliparan ng Ninoy Aquino''; ), originally known and still commonly referred to as Manila International Airport (MIA), is the main ...

Terminal 2, as the latter was about to depart for

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Intal's parents and couple

Cheska Garcia Cheska Garcia Kramer (born Francesca Marie Velasco Garcia; July 24, 1980) is a Filipino actress and model. Early life Cheska Garcia was born in Makati, Philippines to Francisco Pablo Pellicer Garcia, a Spanish mestizo, and Maria Celeste Dahlia ...

and

Doug Kramer Douglas Rimorin Kramer (born July 10, 1983) is a Filipino former basketball player. He played for eight teams in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). College career Kramer set a career-high 19 rebounds along with 3 blocks and 16 points ...

were among those who witnessed the proposal. Intal and Gonzalez married on December 4, 2014, in El Nido,

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in ...

. In April 2015, television host

Boy Abunda Eugenio Romerica Abunda Jr. (; born October 29, 1960), popularly known as Boy Abunda, is a Filipino professor, television host, publicist and talent manager. Early life and education Boy Abunda was born as Eugenio Romerica Abunda Jr. in Boro ...

announced on his program ''

Aquino & Abunda Tonight ''Aquino & Abunda Tonight'' is a Philippine primetime entertainment news program broadcast by ABS-CBN, hosted by Kris Aquino and Boy Abunda. It aired weeknights from 10:00pm to 10:15pm (Philippine Standard Time) on the network's ''Primetime Bida'' ...

'' that Gonzalez and Intal expecting their first child. Their first child, who they named Lucia Martine was born in October 23, 2015. He has a younger brother, Rex, who plays volleyball for the national team and also played volleyball for Ateneo. Since retiring, he has focused more on his career as an artist, specifically abstract painting. Since 2020, he has had 2 exhibits.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Intal, JC 1983 births Living people Ateneo Blue Eagles men's basketball players Barako Bull Energy draft picks Barako Bull Energy players Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Basketball players from Quezon City Colegio de San Juan de Letran alumni Magnolia Hotshots players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters players Small forwards