Gabi Bade

Gabi Bade
Solar Home–Pangasinan Suns
PositionGuard
LeagueWMPBL
Personal information
Born (1996-12-22) December 22, 1996 (age 29)
Milpitas, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican / Filipino
Listed height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Career information
High schoolPinewood
(Los Altos)
College
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2022ENAD
2024–2025KSE Târgu Secuiesc
2025Solar Home–Pangasinan Suns
Medals
Women's basketball
Philippines
SEA Games
Gold medal – first place 2021 Hanoi Team

Elisha Gabriell Somera Bade (born December 22, 1996)[1] is a Filipina basketball player who last played for the Solar Home–Pangasinan Suns of the Women's Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.

Early life and education

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Gabi Bade was born on December 22, 1996 in Milpitas, California.[2] Her father is former Philippine Basketball Association player Cris Bade while her mother Lannie was a cheerleader and a triathlete.[3][4] Gabi Bade has an older sister.[5] The younger Bade daughter took up basketball at age 6, with her father initially not anticipating her to become a competitive player due to struggling to walk at a young age.[6]

She studied in Pinewood School for high school.[3] For college, she attended University at Buffalo and moved to the California State University, Sacramento to be closer to her ill grandmother.[6][7]

Career

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College

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Bade played for the Buffalo Bulls for two seasons from 2015 to 2017.[3]She later joined the Sacramento State Hornets. She red-shirted for the 2017–18 season before playing for two seasons from 2018 to 2020.[6][4][7][2]

Club

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After graduating from Sacramento State, Bade went to Cyprus to join ENAD WBC of the Cyprus Women’s Basketball Division A. She played from 2021 to early 2022.[7][4][8]

After two years of free agency, Bade was signed in by KSE Târgu Secuiesc of the Romanian Liga Națională in 2024.[9]

Bade went to the Philippines to suit up for the Solar Home–Pangasinan Suns in the inaugural season of the Women's Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League in 2025.[5]

National team

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Bade have suited up for the Philippines national team. However, as she has obtained her Philippine passport after age 16, she is classed as a restricted player under the FIBA eligibility rules active until 2025.[7] It is unknown if Bade still considered as such when the age limit was raised to 18 in December 2025.[10]

She first competed for the team at the 2019 William Jones Cup in Taiwan.[11][12]

She helped the national team win a gold medal in the women's basketball tournament of the 2021 SEA Games in 2022.[4][13]

Bade played in the 2023 William Jones Cup.[5] She was originally to play for the Philippines in the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand, but was excluded following changes to the eligibility rules set by the organizers.[14]

Personal life

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Gabi Bade has Leeana as her older sister. Leeana played basketball with Gabi in Sacramento State but later became a Muay Thai athlete after graduating.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Elisha Gabriell Somera Bade - Basketball Stats, Height, Age". FIBA Basketball. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Gabi Bade". Flash Agency. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c "Gabi Bade - 2016-17 - Women's Basketball". University at Buffalo. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e Reyes, Kate (June 2, 2022). "Meet Lee and Gabi, the badass daughters of PBA vet Cris Bade". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Morales, Luisa (November 12, 2025). "Like father, like daughter: Gabi Bade follows in ex-PBA player dad Chris' footsteps in WMPBL". One Sports. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c Holkko, Shaun (February 6, 2020). "'I never thought she could be an athlete': The story of senior guard Gabi Bade". The State Hornet. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d Li, Matthew (September 13, 2021). "Gabi Bade signs with Cypriot club ENAD WBC". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  8. ^ Lozada, Bong (October 22, 2021). "Fil-Am Gabi Bade shines in Cyprus women's basketball league". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  9. ^ Katsaros, Antonis (September 5, 2024). "Targu Secuiesc tabs Gabi Bade". Asia-Basket.com. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  10. ^ Tuazon, Ernest (December 9, 2025). "FIBA raises passport age requirement from 16 to 18 in eligibility amendment". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  11. ^ Li, Matthew (July 17, 2019). "Fil-Ams Hawkins, Bade, Hayes, Bautista to make Gilas debut in Jones Cup". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  12. ^ Li, Matthew (July 28, 2019). "Gilas Women falls to Chinese-Taipei in Jones Cup campaign finale". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  13. ^ Terrado, Reuben (May 17, 2022). "Gabi Bade looks to duplicate dad's feat 22 years ago in SEA Games". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  14. ^ "Gilas Women also affected by Thailand's SEAG eligibility ruling". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. November 29, 2025. Retrieved December 21, 2025.