The Phoenix Fuel Masters veteran JC Intal calls it quits after spending years in the Philippine Basketball Association. The former Atenean standout was grateful for the opportunity to play at the highest level in the country through a lengthy post in his social media page.
He wrote:
After 2 decades of playing the sport I love, 13 years of which in the PBA, I am officially announcing my retirement from basketball.
Words cannot express how grateful I am to every single person who helped me make this journey possible—from playing for 2 years in Letran for High School, to 5 years in Ateneo for College, and 13 years in the pro league. Thank you to my wife, Bianca, and our daughters Lucia and Carmen for the love and inspiration.
I want to thank my parents Nars and Ning, my siblings PJ, Mark, JR, Rex and Vica, and my friends, especially JayR Reyes and Doug Kramer, who from Day 1 have supported me—from when I was just a kid shooting hoops on the street, to becoming a pro athlete playing in Araneta Coliseum.
I want to thank every single coach I was under from the NCAA, UAAP, PBL, GILAS, and in the PBA. Thank you for your patience, guidance and encouragement. I would like to extend my utmost gratitude to Coach Joel Banal with whom I experienced my college championship, Coach Norman Black who became a father figure when I decided to go into the pros, Coach Jong Uichico who gave me the confidence to play my best game, Coach Tim Cone with whom I got to experience my PBA championship with, and Coach Tab Baldwin who gave my biggest break when he invited me to be part of Gilas Pilipinas. To my Phoenix family—Boss Dennis, Boss RTZ, management, coaches, staff and teammates—who I spent the most years with, thank you for these amazing last few years.
To my family and friends, to my colleagues who became my brothers, to my coaches and team staff, to the doctors and PTs, to my Nike Philippines family, to the different leagues, to the sports media and commentators, to the basketball fans who supported me, and to God who made all of this possible, I am forever grateful.
It is a bittersweet feeling for me to say goodbye to the game that has been a huge part of my life, but I am moving forward feeling happy and proud knowing I made the most of the privilege to play basketball professionally.
It has been the honor of my life to play basketball. From the bottom of my heart, again, THANK YOU. #RocketOut
