THE SAMAHANG Basketbol ng Pilipinas described the process of forming the Gilas Pilipinas final men’s 5×5 basketball team for the Southeast Asian Games as “tedious.”

Gilas already had a 12-man lineup set for the SEA Games as early as September, but when Thailand’s eligibility rule began confusing everyone, the team was forced to make major adjustments.

Adding to the tough situation was when Abra, led by its “Big 3” of initial Gilas call-ups Geo Chiu, Jason Brickman and Dave Ildefonso, made it to the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) National Finals, whose schedule coincides with the SEA Games men’s 5×5 basketball event, which starts on Dec. 13.

After a mad scramble to build a new complete roster, Gilas finally secured the commitments of Jamie Malonzo, Dalph Panopio, Thirdy Ravena, Matthew Wright, Ray Parks, Ced Manzano, Justin Chua, Robert Bolick, Von Pessumal, Allen Liwag, Abu Tratter, and Veejay Pre.

Ravena, Wright, Parks, and Pre were the holdovers from the original 12-man lineup, which was supposedly also consisting of Brickman, Ildefonso, Justin Brownlee, Ange Kouame, Remy Martin, Mike Phillips, Kymani Ladi, and Brandon Rosser.

Brownlee and Kouame, though, were suddenly barred from joining Gilas after Thailand imposed a “no naturalized player rule”.

The SBP was forced to assign Kouame to the men’s 3×3 team instead, since naturalized players are allowed there.

Kouame, one of two Meralco’s naturalized players in the East Asia Super League, will be joined by Magnolia’s Joseph Eriobu, Mindoro’s Joseph Sedurifa and Far Eastern University’s Janrey Pasaol, the soon-to-be-named University Athletic Association of the Philippines Most Valuable Player, in a rare setup that would see one player representing the mother league he is in.

The naturalized player restriction also includes players of mixed descent, but only got their local passports after turning 16, forcing the SBP to leave out Martin, Phillips, Ladi and Rosser from the men’s 5×5 team, too.

This led the SBP to call up Malonzo, Bolick, Pessumal, Tratter and initially Chiu.

However, following the Weavers’ three-game sweep of the Pangasinan Heatwaves in the MPBL North Division Finals, the SBP had to let go of Brickman, Ildefonso and Chiu, and the basketball governing body only had a few days left to find four more players to complete the Gilas SEA Games team.

Just in time, Panopio, Manzano, Chua and Liwag signified their Gilas commitment.

There was even a reported pitch to include Poy Erram in the team before coach Norman Black, currently San Beda’s team consultant, decided to instead bring in Liwag, his National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) semifinal opponent at College of St. Benilde.

“After a tedious back and forth due to initially unclear and constantly changing rules in player eligibility, we at the SBP have submitted this list to the local organizing committee, and it has been vetted and has undergone pre-approvals,” the SBP said in a statement on Thursday, hours after the Philippine Olympic Committee confirmed Gilas’ “Final 12” to Bangkok.

The SBP, though, is aware that both the Red Lions and Blazers are embroiled in a heated Final 4 battle, and the Bolick-led NLEX Road Warriors are going after a twice-to-beat advantage in the PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals.

Yet, the SBP still thanked Black, Liwag, Bolick and the rest of the Gilas team for choosing country over club as well as their respective mother leagues for ensuring their players’ commitments.

“We extend our deepest appreciation to all the players for dropping everything to compete for Gilas. We thank our partners from the PBA, UAAP and NCAA, and our friends from the Japanese B-League for allowing their players to compete for flag and country. The SBP wishes our basketball teams and the entire Philippine contingent all the best in Thailand,” the SBP’s statement concluded.

Gilas joins Malaysia and Vietnam in Group A.

Gilas will take an opening day bye before fighting Malaysia and Vietnam on back-to-back nights on Dec. 14-15.

The top team per group will get an outright seat in the semifinals, while the next two teams per group will play in the crossover quarterfinals to determine the last two semifinalists.

This effectively means no one from Group A will be eliminated immediately after the group stages, while only one team from Group B contenders Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Myanmar will get the early boot.

The knockout semifinals will also follow a crossover format, with the winners battling for the gold and the other two teams disputing the bronze.

As a means for the losing quarterfinalists to get a chance to end their campaign on a high note, a fifth-place game will be played on the final day of competition on Dec. 19 before the medal matches.(PNA)