Hesed Gabo would make his PBA debut the following conference despite toiling in a number of regional leagues after signing a one-year contract with NLEX.

A month after assisting the Nueva Ecija Vanguards win the MPBL championship, Gabo is ready to play for the Road Warriors. The deal was signed with NLEX team manager Larry Fonacier in the presence of current coach Jerson Cabiltes, and the Vanguards publicized it on their social media page.

Gabo was not selected in the PBA draft in 2019 following his time with Mapua in the NCAA, but he has been building a reputation outside of the elite professional sports league.

Gabo led his club in assists with 5.8 per game during the Vanguards’ march to the championship, which was concluded by a series victory over Zamboanga.

He also competed for Basilan in the VisMin Super Cup Mindanao leg in 2021 and was a member of the AICC Manila team that won the inaugural Filbasket championship in 2020.

NLEX coach Frankie Lim encouraged Gabo to participate in training before giving him a go. In their exhibition match against NorthPort on Tuesday, he had previously participated for the Road Warriors.