Two players 'asked for the moon' to play for Gilas in Asiad
Two players 'asked for the moon' to play for Gilas in Asiad
Chua, Vargas say players of gold-winning Asiad team never asked about money. Two players were the exception
Chua, Vargas say players of gold-winning Asiad team never asked about money. Two players were the exception
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00:00 I'll tell you again, those 12 players, actually 16, the 4 that were not there,
00:07 I called them one by one because we need to practice right away because we got 12 days.
00:13 Not a single player asked me, "How much is the fee?"
00:22 "How much is the allowance?" "How much?" "Nothing."
00:27 They're playing in the PBA, they're sacrificing.
00:30 The quickest way, as we said before, is to withdraw.
00:33 We're going to fight them.
00:35 They didn't ask anything. Nothing.
00:38 Even in the hotel, they didn't even ask.
00:41 I said, "Even if you do room service, it's free."
00:45 They didn't ask. Everything was normal.
00:48 They didn't ask.
00:50 "Give me a bonus." "What?"
00:52 They don't. That's why I was shocked.
00:55 That's what Vice Chairman said, that if we want to get the other team,
01:00 we need to ask how much.
01:02 So I said, "Let's not do that. We don't need that. We're just going to play."
01:07 That's why we're so proud of these players, even Brownlee, even Kwame.
01:12 They didn't ask. They just want to win.
01:16 May I answer that?
01:18 Yes, sir.
01:20 They were players of teams, right?
01:22 Yes.
01:24 They have monthly pay.
01:25 They continue to get those monthly pay, whether they play or they don't play.
01:31 That's what I think is meant.
01:33 They continue to get the monthly pay, supported by each.
01:38 Other than that, there was not a single cent amount.
01:41 Now, let me also tell you a story.
01:44 I was on the phone, and I spoke to one player
01:53 who wanted to play for the team.
01:55 He said, "Yes, I love the country. I will play for the team."
01:59 Then he said, "Talk to my manager."
02:02 Then the manager came back and said, "He will play as long as you pay him."
02:09 Then I went to Al Francis and to Tim.
02:17 I said, "No, we're willing to support you. We're willing to bring this player in.
02:22 We need this player badly, but this is the amount of money he wants."
02:25 Then Tim and Al Francis said, "No, he's asking for the moon.
02:30 It's going to destroy the team.
02:32 The amount of money he's asking for is even greater than what we pay for our own naturalized player."
02:41 Sir, who is that player?
02:43 Willie Marcial.
02:45 I'd rather not say.
02:47 But he was not the only one.
02:50 There was another one that was also asking.
02:53 Al Francis said, "No."
02:56 It was a battle cry for us.
03:00 "We will play because you truly love to play.
03:03 You came here because you wanted to play.
03:06 We're not forcing you."
03:08 That was our first statement to everybody.
03:12 "You're here because you want to play.
03:14 If we're forcing you to play, you can leave the room."
03:19 It was made very clear by Al Francis.
03:22 Everybody wanted to play, including those four players who practiced and later on we said could no longer play.
03:31 Because they were not in the list.
03:34 They were literally crying because they wanted to play.
03:38 So this team was different.
03:41 This team was one composed of...
03:44 They're not the best on paper.
03:47 You might criticize us for not getting the best on paper, but they were the best team in Asia.
03:53 Indonesia.