If he didn't return to basketball, Gee Abanilla would have been a bank executive or a corporate hotshot.

But fate has a way of bringing him back to his first love — basketball — where he was once considered as one of the finest amateur players in the country.

Instead of sitting behind an office desk, the 57-year-old Abanilla is now dealing with the day-to-day operations of San Miguel Beer, one of the most successful teams in the Philippine Basketball Association.

Abanilla couldn't help but wax nostalgic as he recalls his journey from being the cornerstone of the great De La Salle University squad in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines to becoming a dependable playmaker for Magnolia in the defunct Philippine Basketball League and emerging as team manager of the Beermen.

He said playing in the PBL was the best time of his career.

"Yes, definitely," Abanilla told Daily Tribune, saying that his time in the amateurs prepared him for an executive role with the Beermen.

"I had a blast playing for La Salle, winning back-to-back UAAP championships as well as a number of PBL titles with Magnolia in the semi-professional league."

"I learned a lot from my coaches and teammates on and off the court which I still treasure up to this day."

Backup plan

Everything, however, wasn't an overnight process.

In fact, it was his father and uncle who influenced him to get into sports.

"I was really influenced early in my life by my father who was an avid sports fan. He was a bank executive back then and had been spending most of his free time glued to the television to watch sports," Abanilla said.

"But the one who really got me into playing different sports was my uncle, who was a sports director of their school a long time ago."

"Together with my cousin of the same age, he would expose me to different sports like tennis, swimming, volleyball, football, baseball and, of course, basketball. Then, when I was in Grade 7 in La Salle, I was able to finally make it to the basketball varsity team that gave me some sort of an inspiration to aspire for something bigger because of that little success."

But in between those aspirations came realizations. He knows that basketball will not be forever so he has to come up with some sort of a backup plan just in case everything doesn't materialize.

Unlike other players who are dreaming of playing in the PBA, Abanilla managed his expectations while plotting a way on how to excel in a stage that is far bigger than the basketball court.

"Honestly, I did not dream of playing in the PBA," Abanilla said.

"I was set to become a bank executive some day, but fate has other ways of humoring us. I finished a LIA-COM degree in  La Salle and I majored in Psychology and Marketing and even have some post graduate units in an MBA degree also in La Salle. I was a student-athlete."

"But then, my passion for basketball was really that great and one opportunity just led to another. Reality and practicality set in on me  as a newly-wed and I realized that I may not make basketball a long-term career given the caliber of active players during my time so I devoted my focus and energy to a business of my own."

Bitter decision

But basketball still lured him back.

In the 1993 PBA Rookie Draft, Abanilla was persuaded to join fellow La Salle players Jun Limpot, Dwight Lago, Johnedel Cardel and Dickie Bachmann, who were all selected in the first round.

The 5-foot-10 Abanilla was picked in the fourth round by 7-Up Uncolas, somehow giving him the feeling that he is now on the brink of seeing action in the oldest professional basketball league in Asia.

"I was so ecstatic when my name was called in the middle-late round of the draft and really thought that I would be able to crack the roster of 7-Up, then. I even treated my friends and family to dinner because of the selection," Abanilla said. "But things didn't pan out as expected."

He said despite being coached by his college mentor, Derrick Pumaren, 7-Up didn't include him in its long-term plan.

"So I just had to make a decision back then and chart the course of my life. I decided to hang up my jersey and start using the education I earned and start my own business," Abanilla said.

"The self-realization and acceptance of my capabilities in basketball was the main decision I had to make. I asked myself that if I ever make it to the PBA, how long do I think can I last in the league given the point guard competition at that time? Would it be too late for me to start a corporate career with my age then if I still play for a couple of years? Will I be able to  give myself a secure future if I don't stop playing now? Those were the questions that I had to answer for myself which led to my decision to seek a different path for my future."

Abanilla said giving up was truly awful to the point that he wanted to completely detach himself from basketball.

"When I stopped playing, I felt bitter about my decision. I didn't want to watch games. I refrained from playing the sport as much as I can. I tried to preoccupy myself with other things to keep my head away from the sport," he said.

"It was a difficult time for me then and my head was bombarded with questions like 'what if?' I then got married eventually and tried to secure a good future for my family, so I finally decided to stop playing and finally called it quits."

Door swings open

Fate, however, had other plans and Abanilla was again pulled back to the game he truly loves.

"I would say that God works in mysterious ways," he said.

"A couple of years have passed and I decided to settle down and I was happy with my small business. I have completely disassociated myself with basketball but during that time, a new league had opened and to my surprise, I was invited to try coaching as an assistant."

"I was asked to join their practices as an observer and everything in the gym just felt so natural to me; the scent of the gym, the bounce of the balls, the patterns being executed, the teaching and mentoring during practice. The adrenalin and competitiveness in me just started to resurface again. It was a nagging decision,  as I recall it, because I had to choose between basketball again and my small business."

It was a tough decision as he sought advice from people close to him and, most of all, God.

"Because of this dilemma, I thought of asking help and advice from my former college coach to provide me with some direction and guidance," he stressed.

"Finally, the decision I made was just not to take the coaching gig anymore since I was newly-married then and I had to relocate to the province if ever I had to pursue the offer."

"So, I went back to the usual things that I did with my business when all of a sudden I got a call from my former coach asking me that if I am serious in pursuing a coaching career, he is willing to help me by having me as his apprentice in his PBA team. From then on, opportunities just kept coming and one thing led to another while I strive to be the best in what I do."

Bigger responsibility

Of course, becoming a PBA coach wasn't easy as well.

"The Pumarens (Derick and Franz) introduced me to the basics of my coaching principles when I was working with them in La Salle in 1998 and Purefoods in 1999 back then. I saw how they handled teams from the ground up and I am truly grateful for the lessons I learned and the experience I had as a young basketball coach," Abanilla said.

"But like any aspiring coach, you always want to pick and choose different basketball principles that would fit your vision and personality. You try to learn from different coaches, local or foreign, and try to make it who you are eventually."

"I worked for Coach Yeng (Guiao) in Red Bull in 2004 and I learned a lot from his no-nonsense approach, his leadership and just how he conveys his message to an individual or the team. I hold these coaches with high regards because of the insights I got from them and for the friendship that was forged along the way. I will certainly treasure this in my lifetime."

Finally, the door of opportunity suddenly swung open. Abanilla, who now had experience handling La Salle and College of Saint in the collegiate level and Hapee Toothpaste in the PBL,  was given a chance to be at the helm of a PBA squad.

Abanilla found early success as he came very close to winning his first ever title with Petron when they pushed Tim Cone and San Mig Coffee to the limit before surrendering the 2013 Governors' Cup title.

But he had no regrets. He knows that being a coach entails a bigger responsibility and he has to be patient if he wants to go far.

"I had the chance to be a head coach in the earlier stage of my coaching and I was blessed with success and shortcomings along the way. But the greatest success for me is just being given the opportunity to be an instrument by the Lord to help, mold and nurture the younger generation and help them recognize and utilize their talents," Abanilla said.

"Unlike being an assistant, head coaching is a tougher job because you can be a genius in one game when you win and an idiot in another, when you lose."

"Your job is to set the vision for the team and sell this vision to everyone in the team. You have to guide, teach, motivate, mentor individuals and create that buy-ins. Your responsibility is enormous and you are expected to deliver whether you are in a good or bad situation."

Abanilla's ascension to the next level came as no surprise as he is a guy who has a bigger perspective not just in basketball, but in life in general.

"Being exposed to basketball almost all my life has given me a different perspective and approach to different basketball situations," he said.

"The experience I had all these years has equipped me to better understand something that has not even happened yet and also gives me the luxury to react to situations with credibility because I've been in that role before whether as a player or mentor."

"Now, as a team manager, I am truly grateful for the opportunity that was given to me as I continually learn from my bosses and mentors. Just like when I started coaching, I also like to pick and choose the management style that I've been learning and observing from my superiors to create my own identity so that in the end, I could help our organization even better."

But Abanilla is not just talking about a regular team. He is managing a team that has a rich winning tradition, a franchise that practically demands victory every game, every tournament, and he knows he needs to work hard in order to put up the best possible squad.

"Just being part of the San Miguel Corporation has always given me a lot of pride, that is why loyalty is not such a foreign word in the company circle. Managing the winningest team in the PBA entails a lot of pressure because we always want to give back to the company and reciprocate the things that they have done to all of us," he said.

Never-ending process

Looking back, basketball is all about learning, and Abanilla believes that it is a never-ending process.

"Mastering a new skill or role will always be a challenge to anyone so in my personal transition from player to coach to manager, spending time in learning my new responsibilities and mastering it was challenging," he said.

"I have to keep learning everyday until now through articles, reading materials, experiences, mentors or by simply observing our corporate leaders how they handle things and different situations."

Away from the bright lights of basketball, Gee and his family had embarked in the LED lights business and Solar Home Power systems.

"We are part owners of Kassel Ventures Philippines Incorporated. We are a 100 percent Filipino company established in 1998 by former Dutch multinational Philips Electronics & Lighting Inc., top executives and we just celebrated our 25th anniversary," Abanilla said.

Abanilla is married to Karen and they were blessed with two boys.

Karen isn't a typical basketball fan, but Abanilla caught her fancy when they met after college.

"I met my wife after college while she was working for a bank. I was supposed to play in the United States after college and I had to meet my sponsor who was an executive in her bank to finalize details of my travel. She wasn't really into basketball then, but when we started to be together, she became my No. 1 fan," said Abanilla, adding that their kids, Gio and Kit, already have careers of their own.

"Gio is my first born and is working in the Digital Marketing department of SMC while my youngest, Kit, just graduated from La Salle also and wants to indulge in the food industry as his end goal. Karen, on the other hand, has her online business and helps out from time to time in our small family business. We are just simple people with average desires, not too high and too low."

"We want to believe that we are moderately religious and we like spending time as a family together, with my own family and my in-laws as well."

"We like to travel as a group locally and rarely on certain important occasions, internationally. We enjoy spending good times with friends but we also are aware of our social responsibilities to the less fortunate."

Truly, basketball had given Abanilla so much success both on and off the court.

But everything wouldn't happen if he didn't keep the faith and let fate lead him back to his first love — basketball.