One Foot Forward: The Rise of SJ Belangel
It’s a no-brainer, really: The biggest shot of Samjosef Belangel’s career was the one he launched on one foot.
Rewind the footage of that off-balance shot five years ago, and you’ll see that it had absolutely no business going in. Even before SJ pump-faked to make Pinoy fans palpitate, the Gilas guard nearly stepped out of bounds when he caught the inbounds pass from Dwight Ramos. Throw in the fact that a bigger defender promptly switched onto him, and on a scale of 1 to 10, the shot becomes a 27. Right up there with Kawhi Leonard’s “Is this the dagger” moment in Toronto.
Belangel made the shot, yes, but his career isn’t only defined by the moments of euphoria. It’s everything else in between: the moments he tiptoed between ambition and improvisation, having one foot in his home culture and setting the other in a completely different territory.
Take, for example, his stint in the Korean Basketball League. It came dangerously close to not happening at all. As early as the second round of the UAAP Season 84 elims, KBL scouts were scouting the Ateneo court general. Before long, an offer was made. With his mind teetering between getting his college degree and embarking on his pro career, SJ steadied his will and turned the offer down. “I wasn’t sure,” he told ALL-STAR Magazine. “What if I accept this, and I don’t get to graduate?”
Belangel’s decision didn’t sit well with Daegu KOGAS Pegasus, the KBL team showing interest in acquiring his services. It was no coincidence, then, that Daegu started recruiting a number of point guards after he turned them down. The message was clear: If you’re not grabbing this spot, we’ll find others to take your place.
But Belangel, whose mentorship back in Bacolod includes the wisdom of his mother Mayet plus the know-how of daddy Sammy and uncle Tata (both basketball coaches, by the way), had a plan in place. He was laser-focused on finishing his education, which he knew would take him places that basketball couldn’t. When it became clear that SJ would be obtaining a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from the Ateneo, he finally pulled the trigger on his Korea plans. “I prayed that the offer would still be there,” he shared. “Andun pa rin naman.”
Now that the freshly graduated Blue Eagle would be leaving his nest, he had to face a stark reality. A spot on the Daegu roster remained open for him, but the opportunity to become the team’s lead guard was—for the moment—a door that had shut. His mindset: “It’s okay. I had to face the consequences of not accepting it the first time. I’ll deal with it.”
Finding His Footing in Korea
He ended up dealing with a lot. In Belangel’s rookie season, minutes were hard to come by, and his stats weren’t anything to write home about: 7.0 points and 2.0 assists in less than 19 minutes per game, 27.9% from distance. On top of this, the challenges of settling in a different country—language barrier, food choices, differences in the weather—were piling on.
Meanwhile, SJ’s former team was thriving in UAAP Season 85. “Nag-champion ang Ateneo, at ako, nanonood lang sa kanila,” he recalled. “Parang, sana nag-stay na lang ako. Sana nag-champion ako.” (Speaking of championships, he nearly junked his Korea plans a second time after the UP Fighting Maroons dethroned Ateneo in the Finals of Season 84. “Siyempre, gusto kong bumawi,” he admitted. Ultimately, he stuck to his personal promise of taking the leap after obtaining his college degree, remaining focused on the bigger picture).
Belangel had chosen to cross the line between the collegiate world and the professional warzone. There was, of course, no turning back. As he navigated the dynamics of the new realm that he’d stepped into, he realized that he was dealing with a culture that valued precision and decisiveness. “Iba ‘yung mindset nila…Sa kanila, kapag ganito ‘yung sinabi namin sa iyo, hindi ka pwedeng umangat doon,” Belangel shared.
Indeed, there were moments when he felt that he could soar no further. In the early goings of his Daegu stint, SJ would retreat to his foreign residence and shed tears out of nowhere—a watershed moment after games of sparse minutes and the latest tongue-lashing at practice. One time, he decided to listen to church songs as he dealt with his misery. That was, in a word, a game changer.
“I give all the credit to God. ‘Dun ko talaga Siya nahanap, nung nasa down moments ako,” he said. “Up until now, nagpapasalamat ako sa Kanya.”
Talk about floodgates opening: On the court, Belangel would catch a break as well. “Iyong head coach namin, naalis bigla. Iyong tropa kong coach, naging head coach. Lagi kong kinakausap ‘yun. Siya lang ‘yung nag-cocomfort sa akin, kasi siya ‘yung nag-hahandle sa rookies,” he shared.
Belangel is referring to how Kang Hyuk became the successor of Yoo Do-hoon, who was dismissed by Daegu in June 2023. Under coach Kang Hyuk’s watch, Belangel saw his minutes spike by 10 minutes on average in his sophomore season. Not surprisingly, his production followed suit: 12.6 ppg on 47.2% from the field (and 34.3% from deep) sounded more like the guy who won UAAP Mythical Five honors as a high school senior, sparked a decisive run in Game 2 of the Season 81 men’s Finals, and ended his Blue Eagle stint as a two-time college champion.
From Rookie to Kuya
Before SJ knew it, he was no longer the wide-eyed rookie reeling from culture shock. Over the next two years, he’d become a kuya in Korea—a guiding force whose steady scoring (15.8 ppg on 42.6% FG shooting last season) lent credence to the example he was setting off the court. “Doon ako nakilala talaga, na lagi akong nag-eextra work,” he said. “Iyong mga rookies ngayon, sinasabihan ng coaches na sundin ‘yung routine ko…If the veteran’s doing the hard work, the rookies don’t have an excuse to slack off.”
Belangel’s basketball mind was bulking up as well. Specifically, he came to realize that the Korean approach to hoops was in sharp contrast to the Pinoy system. “Mas lamang ung defensive structure nila kesa offensive structure. Usually, sa Philippines, it’s more on offense; sa defense, dapat effort na lang ‘yun…In Korea, lahat may structure sa defense. Team defense, two-on-two defense, one-on-one defense. ‘Yun ang mga moments of adjustment para sa Filipinos going to Korea.”
So, why all the emphasis on that end of the floor? In SJ’s view, Koreans double down on defense because their international competitors (like, say, Filipinos) are more skillful. Certainly, he tips his hat off to Korean players for one notorious weapon they’ve wielded over the years: “Mas shooter lang talaga sila. As in, super shooters.”
Given his dedication in the gym, his expanding worldview of the sport, and his combo guard brilliance on the hardcourt, Belangel has earned the trust of Daegu’s coaching staff. And, just as important, the front office: As reported by ALL-STAR this past May, he has signed a contract extension that will keep him locked with Daegu till the 2027-28 KBL season.
Building Beyond Basketball
Sorry, PBA fans. No Belangel in our mock drafts for the foreseeable future. While the 5-foot-10 spitfire won’t be crossing over to the pambansang liga any time soon, he already has one foot in another competitive venture. 1of1 Esports, the professional NBA 2K organization founded by Belangel, has made waves in the eSports scene, with Enzell “Youngimba” Socrates winning back-to-back MVP awards in the 2K Veterans League Asia. Late last year, 1of1 Esports expanded into Honor of Kings competition, partnering with the famed Nine Lives team to raise its ceiling.
Just like SJ’s basketball career, the growth of 1o1 Esports remains steady. “Iyong sa NBA 2K team ko, there are some national team players who’ll be coming in soon,” he shared. “Right now, ‘di pa sila ready, pero nasa radar na sila…‘Yung sa Honor of Kings naman, ang importante ay makaabot sila sa top, which is the Philippine Kings League.”
Any advice for your team, boss SJ? “Iyon lang naman ang wish ko sa kanila, ang magpursigi. At the same time, they have nothing to lose, all to gain. Sana same lang kami ng mindset na, lahat tayo ay makatuntong sa taas.”
Virtual reality is thriving for Belangel, but in the game of life, he’s already won. Earlier this year, he proposed to his longtime girlfriend Mais Cruz at a scenic spot in Japan. (Fun fact: When ALL-STAR interviewed SJ for this piece, Mais had an interesting reaction when he referred to her as his “wife ko na.” Seeing how Mais was jokingly “objecting” to the term, a smiling Belangel didn’t hesitate: “Ikakasal na tayo soon eh. Wife na rin. Pwede na ‘yan.”)
It won’t be long, then, before Belangel crosses the line between bachelorhood and married bliss. This will be the next chapter in the odyssey of the first Filipino to suit up as an import under the KBL’s Asian Quota Players program. And, to wit, the athlete who holds the distinction among homegrown Pinoy hoopers of having the longest continuous stint with a single KBL team.
Always Ready
Perhaps the full circle moment will come when Belangel gets called up for Gilas duties again. After everything he’s been through—self-doubt, agony, renewed confidence, and all—he has so much more to offer the national team. “I’m always ready,” he said. “Kahit anong mangyari, dapat ready ako.”
Back on June 16, 2021, Belangel had no choice but to be ready. The play originally drawn up for his Gilas teammate Carl Tamayo had gone up in smoke, as the import known by Pinoy fans as Ricardo Ratliffe picked him up on defense. So, Belangel came off a screen set by Tamayo and another by Ange Kouame.
He caught the ball. Right on the edge of the court. With 2.9 seconds left on the clock, he steadied himself, pulled off a heart-stopping tightrope act, and banked in a shot from the far reaches of improbability.
The buzzer sounded, but his professional story was just beginning. On that court in Clark, he was surrounded by Filipinos and Koreans alike—a foreshadowing of the dual reality that he would come to embrace, a true Pearl of the Orient in the Land of the Morning Calm.
That day, SJ Belangel made it. And he’s been making it since then. Not by planting both feet in absolute certainty, but by learning the delicate dance between comfort and challenge, home and elsewhere.
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Publisher: James Leonard Cruz • Creative and Art Director: Karlota Tuazon • Interview: James Leonard Cruz • Cover Story: Simoun Redoblado • Photographer: JC Multimedia Studio • Videographer: JC Multimedia Studio • Hair and Makeup: Team Muriel Vega Perez • Social Media: Duie Gilbuena • Special Thanks to: Adidas and Maeil Cafe
