Happy Birthday, Bonel Balingit ( Nov 30 )
Aris Garcia
Happy Birthday, Bonel Balingit
1992 PBA Rookie Draft 11th overall pick
University of Visayas Green Lancers center
5x PBA champion
1995 PBA Most Improved Player
9-season PBA veteran
3-PBA team player
Source : Assorted Magazines (PBA Archives Collections)
Sunkist center Bonel Balingit might just turn to acting fulltime after his playing days are over. When his schedule permits, Bonel appears in a sitcom series on local TV and fans like the 69 behemoth's easy-going style as a pokerfaced comic. Believe it or not, Bonel was mistaken for a celebrity during the Juicers' visit to Universal Studios in Los Angeles last month. Who knows? Maybe, Bonel could be an international movie star in the future! According to Sunkist team manager Elmer Yanga, Balingit was spotted by a crowd of celebrity-seeking tourists as he posed for souvenir photos with teammates Teroy Albarillo and RicRic Marata. The tourists, thinking Bonel was a celebrity athlete or actor, quickly formed a queue to take pictures of the Big Guy after Albarillo and Marata had their turn. Bonel obliged happily. Could it be a start of a new career for Balingit?
