MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas had to go through a lot of adversities en route to their gold medal victory at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.

Among those is constructing their roster amidst the eligibility issues they face ahead of the games, and even if the squad was able to eventually complete their Final 12, it was not as easy as it seemed.

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Team officials revealed on Monday that there was a pair of players whom they wanted to be part of the 12-man lineup. However, they were eventually left out of the Asiad squad because of the amount of money they were asking.

“Mayroon sana kaming isama, pero humingi eh. Wag na lang,” said PBA chairman Ricky Vargas in a press conference at the PBA office in Quezon City.

“I spoke to one player. He said: ‘Yes, I love the country, I will play for the team,’ and then said: ‘Talk to my manager,” he added.

“And the manager came back and said: ‘He will play as long as you pay him. Then I went to Tim [Cone] and to Alfrancis [Chua]. I said we need this player badly, but this is the amount of money he wants.”

“Tim and Alfrancis said no. He was asking for the moon, and he was going to destroy the team. The amount of money he’s asking for is even greater than what we pay for our naturalized players.”

“He was not the only one. There was another one whom we also asked.”

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That is why Chua, who served as Gilas’ team manager alongside PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial, was more than grateful for the Filipino hoopers who didn’t even think twice about answering the call to play for Flag and Country.

“Yung 12 players na yun, actually 16, may apat pang nawala, tinawagan ko yan isa-isa kasi nga, we need to practice right away. Ni isang player don, walang sumagot sakin ng ‘magkano bayad sa’min? Magkano allowance?’” the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) sports director added.

“The quickest way na sinasabi namin no’n is to withdraw, sa kanila mismo nanggaling na lalaban kami. Walang hiningi. Wala, ni singko. Even sa hotel? Sabi ko kahit mag room service kayo, sagot yan, libre yan lahat. SIla? Wala. They didn’t ask. Kaya bilib na bilib ako.”

“That’s why we’re so proud of these players, even [Justin] Brownlee? [Ange] Kouame? Wala. Wala silang hiningi, they just want to win.”

The sacrifices made by the Gilas players and coaching staff paid off handsomely, as they ended the Philippines' 61-year gold medal drought in basketball in the Asian Games.

They defeated Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Jordan in the final, 70-60, and also pulled off a massive come-from-behind win vs. host nation China in the semis.