Happy Birthday, Noli Banate ( July 30 )

Happy Birthday, Noli Banate

Source : Assorted Magazines (PBA Archives Collections)

1983 PBA Rookie direct hire
5-season PBA veteran 
RP National Team member 
University of Mindanao center
4-team PBA player

Noli Banate slipped in slowly. For one, he was playing for the newly formed Manhattan Shirtmakers, a team made up of second chance capers. Noli Banate, 24, was born in Pilar, Capiz but grew up in Davao. He was the only out of school youth that played for the Southern Mindanao Regional athletic Association quintet in the 1977 Palarong Pambansa held in Cagayan de Oro. In 1979, he was spotted by Charlie Badion in the Bacolod Palarong Pambansa. Badion asked him to come to Manila to play for the Mapua Cardinals Banate agreed. Banate went to Manila but found no room in Mapua. Badion brought him to the quarters of Crispa. Banate spent the night there. When he woke up in the morning, he was asked to practice with the Redmanizers, Banate did. The next thing he knew was that he was playing for Crispa in the MICAA and not Mapua in the NCAA Mapua could have won the NCAA crown that year if Banate had played for the Cardinals. MIT had Rey Revilloza, Rey Perez, Erwin Leano and Menardo Jubinal, and Leandro Isaac. Banate came out of the pineapple fields of Davao del Sur in 1979 to try his basketball wares and luck here in Manila. He was recruited by Charlie Badion to play for the Mapua Cardinals, but a sudden twist of events found him playing for Crispa in the commercial leagues. Noli recalls, "Maganda'ng showing ko noon sa Palarong Pambansa sa Bacolod. May recruiter pala noon ang Crispa, si Alfredo Ayong. Si Charlie, naroon din. Kinausap nila ako. Ni-recruit ako para lumaro sa Mapua. Nung dinala nila ako sa Maynila, sa Crispa quarters sa Malate nila ako pinatira. Nag-tryout ako sa Mapua, pero nagpraktis rin ako sa Crispa. "Mas gusto ko sa Crispa, kasi kailangan ko ng pera. Galing ako sa probinsiya, naghahanap din ako ng pagkakakitaan. Gusto kong tumulong sa mga magulang ko. E sa Mapua, nabalitaan ko, gutom daw doon. Merienda lang daw ang allowance kada practice. Kaya naglaro na ako sa Crispa. "Medyo sumama nga sa akin ang loob ni Charlie (Badion) noon. Sabi niya, 'Noll wala kang paninindigan.' Pero ngayon, OK na kami."  The former University of Mindanao star is at a loss trying to figure out where his height came from. His father, Vicente, is only 5'9, while his mother, Francisca, is at 5-5. "Ewan ko ba, ako lang ang matangkad sa pamilya namin." The fifth child in a brood of nine of the peasant couple, Noli took to the game quite early. His friends would always fetch him at home to play basketball. His parents, especially his mother, disapproved of Noli's playing. "Nagalit ang ermats ko. Kasi noon, medyo tamad ako. Hindi ako tumutulong sa bahay. Minsan, sa harap ng barkada ko, sinabihan niya ako, 'Noli, ano'ng makukuha mo diyan sa basketball, magdadala ka lang ng barkadang pakainin!" "Naiyak ako noon. Dahil siyempre, napahiya ako sa barkada ko. Mula noon, ang ginawa ko, tumutulong na ako sa bahay. Nagsasaka na ako sa bukid, doon na ako sinusundo ng barkada ko pag me laro." After a year with University of Mindanao, and a two-year stint with the Southern Mindanao squad to the Palarong Pambansa, Noll was ready for the big time. He was in the Crispa farm team since he passed the tryout in 1979. And he has seen all the amateur Crispa's namechanging from Crispa in 1979 and 1980, to Walk Tall in 1981, and Paul Jordan, under Nat Canson, in 1982.  Noli proved his determination when he successfully bounced back after a nearfatal incident. Perhaps his mind was really set to make it big in the pro circuit, that he worked real hard to recover quickly. "Noong 1980, naaksidente ako sa probinsiya," Noli recalled. "May motorsiklo ako noon. E bumagsak ako. Nagkagalusgalos ako noon. Akala ko yun lang. Pero tapos ng aksidenteng yun, medyo lumalabo ang paningin ko, nahihilo ako. May nararamdaman akong parang langgam, gumagapang sa ulo ko. Hindi ko masyadong pinapansin. "Tapos dito sa Maynila, sa quarters kasi, may motorsiklo rin. Hiniram ko minsan. Nadisgrasya na naman ako. Umislide kasi yung motor. Ang dami ko noong gasgas. Tapos nalaman ko sa doktor na nagkadiperensiya pala ako duon sa unang aksidente. "Noon, kasama pa naman ako sa R Youth. Three days na lang, aalis na kam, papuntang Bangkok. Gusto kong sumama sana, pero nagalit sa akin si Mr. (Danny) Floro. Tumawag siya sa ospital, sabi sa akin, "sige, sumama ka kung gusto mo. Pero sa iyo na ang gastos pag nagpaopera ka!" "Hindi na ako sumama, kasi para rin naman sa kabutihan ko iyon." Noli underwent surgery to remove the cyst behind his head, which doctors felt could lead to tumor. He had to lay-off basketball for six full months. When he did return, Noli was wearing a crash helmet in actual games. "Pinilit ko na lang talagang maglaro." He slowly regained his old confidence and form, but he had to be contented being a reliever. Though he was a vital cog in all the championships Paul Jordan won in 1982, still, he was living under the sha dows of Paul Jordan's more established stars, namely Anthony Mendoza, Sonny Cabatu, and Dante Gonzalgo.