[1] Magsumbol earned a Hotel and Restaurant Management degree at St. Benilde in 2001, but instead of applying what he learned in the classroom, decided to try his luck on the court.

Magsumbol previously played for the San Jose Skyrockets in the American Basketball Association (ABA) as an "import" in the US minors.

He made his ABA debut, aged 25, by scoring 12 points, including 3-of-4 triples, in the Skyrockets’ 160-101 romp over the Tijuana Dragones at the San Jose Auditorium on Jan. 30, 2006.

Magsumbol was chosen to play for the Sky Rockets among 15 Filipino aspirants in a tryout conducted by coach Marc Joffe at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig in October 2009.

Joffe arrived with team owner Kazuni Hasegawa from San Jose to check out Filipino players capable of playing in the ABA.