THREE years removed from his last stint with Gilas Pilipinas, Troy Rosario was already resigned to the fact that he will no longer get a call-up for the national team with its direction of keeping an intact core that includes younger players.
But Rosario got a surprise when he received word from Gilas management led by head coach Tim Cone and team manager Alfrancis Chua if he would be interested to return due to injuries to those same young players - particularly Kai Sotto and Kevin Quiambao.
READ: Cone confirms Troy Rosario back to compete for spot in Gilas 12
His attitude towards the national team didn’t change.
“Ganda na nung tinatakbo nila eh. Pero dahil doon sa mga injuries, kailangan nila ng (players)," said Rosario.
“Why not na i-ano (sic) ko sarili ko kung pinatawag naman ako. Hindi naman ako ‘yung naglagay sa sarili ko sa spot na ‘yun.”
So just like his past Gilas call-ups, Rosario had no qualms about accepting the invite, and will be out there to help the national team in any way he can.
“In-ask ako kung pwede ni Boss Al, coach Tim. Mga boss na nagsabi. Why not try?” Rosario said.
“Siyempre para sa bayan. ‘Yun lagi kong iniisip kapag pinapatawag ako sa national team. Wag kang hihindi sa bayan.”
Troy's past and present call-ups
Rosario’s last game with Gilas went down as a dark moment in the country’s history in basketball, as it lost to Indonesia on May 22, 2022 in the Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi.
For this call-up, however, Rosario said there is no guarantee that he will be making it to the final 12 of the final window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers in February where there will be away games against Chinese Taipei and New Zealand.
Although not assured of a spot on the final roster, Rosario said he will do his best to make it, hoping to also get a fresh start with the national team after his last stint was a turbulent one.
“Happy na makakabalik sa Gilas after three years. Hindi naging maganda ‘yung last na ano (sic) ko sa SEA Games last 2022. Bounce back siguro,” said Rosario.
“Well, hindi pa naman sure na final 12. Pero gaya ng laging sinasabi ko, basta nandoon sa pool, may pag-asang makapasok sa final 12. Trabahuin ko ‘yung laro ko para mag-fit sa sistema. Malay natin, makasama sa final 12.”
In contrast to his early days with Gilas, the now-32-year-old will have some sort of an elder statesman role with the team.
“Sana makasabay pa ako sa mga bata kasi hindi na rin tayo bumabata. May mga mas bata na sa akin. Nakikita ko sarili ko gaya nung mga unang Gilas like sila kuya Ranidel [de Ocampo], kuya Ping [Marc Pingris]. Parang ako na ‘yung isa sa mga kuya doon,” said Rosario, who looks forward to working alongside the likes of Carl Tamayo and AJ Edu with the national squad.
The three-time SEA Games gold medalist said he will be part of Gilas training camp in Doha, where he has the luxury of having a better understanding of Cone’s system, as the two are also coach and player in Barangay Ginebra.
This is a welcome development unlike when Cone was the national team coach in the 2019 SEA Games and Rosario only got general knowledge of the triangle system.
“At least, alam ko na konti ‘yung sistema. May mga iibahin siguro ng konti, pero at least, ‘yung mga plays, may mga pagkakatulad,” said Rosario.
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