MANILA, Philippines – When Chot Reyes stepped away from the national team program in 2014, Gilas Pilipinas was coming off a disappointing campaign in the Asian Games that took some of the gloss from their inspiring stint in the 2014 FIBA World Cup.

Just a month after competing in the World Cup, Gilas Pilipinas slumped to a seventh place finish in the Asian Games. Reyes quit as coach after the tournament, with Tab Baldwin – who was the team's consultant – soon getting the nod as the team's new coach.

Baldwin led Gilas to a second-place finish in the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship – their same ranking in 2013. But unlike 2013, when their silver shone like gold, in 2015 making it to second place only meant that the national team failed to qualify to the Rio Olympics.

• Read: Chot Reyes back as Gilas Pilipinas head coach

They also blew their last chance when Gilas failed to win even a single game in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament held in Manila last July.

Three months later, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) made the shock announcement that Reyes will resume his old position, and Baldwin –who is now also coaching the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles – will return to his previous role of consultant.

"I never applied for this job, (though) I did aspire for it," Reyes said in an interview with Sports5's Carlo Pamintuan on Tuesday. "In fact, I thought I was done with it after 2014, when we turned the reins over to Tab Baldwin."

However, Reyes said it was virtually impossible for him to say no when called upon to serve the nation again.

"In the end, we ask ourselves – how can we turn our back to the call of flag and country?" Reyes said. "You can never be fully prepared in life for what it brings you, and I think this is another thing that came my way."

"It's a very, very difficult decision," he admitted. "We agonized about it… But in the end, I don't want to look at myself in the mirror a few years from now, and say, 'What if?' I don't want to ask that question."

New format, new talent

The Gilas program that Reyes will take over will be drastically different from the one he left in 2014.

Mainstays like Jayson Castro and Ranidel de Ocampo have announced their retirement after last July's OQT – though Reyes hinted that one can "never say never" in that regard – and FIBA's qualification process for the World Cup and the Olympics has been changed as well.

Reyes said he is "very excited" for all the new challenges that his stint with Gilas will bring this time around.

"One of the best parts of coaching is it's never the same job day in and day out, year in and year out," he noted. "I really look forward to working with these new guys, these new talents."

The new FIBA qualification format – in which teams in each zone face off in a home-and-away format during "competition windows" – necessitated a change in how the Gilas squad is formed. The national team pool will now be composed of 12 Gilas cadets, along with 12 PBA players. From this 24-man pool, Gilas squads for each tournament will be formed.

"I've increasingly come to the realization and conclusion that the best way to really put a program together and prepare for FIBA competition is to have a pool at your disposal, a pool of players that addresses the need to be competitive now, while at the same time preparing for tomorrow," Reyes said.

"So that means we have to have continuity," he added.

In that regard, Reyes said the system they have in place now addresses this need. "I like what we have now," he said. "Twelve cadets and 12 (players) from the PBA."

Reyes warned all the Gilas cadets – collegiate and amateur standouts – that they may never make the final line-up. "But I told them that to be a part of the pool is a great honor," he said. "I hope everybody will buy into that commitment."

"That's why I like the pool system," he added.

The pool system ensures that the country can send the best team possible to each tournament – whether it is a mix of six cadets or six PBA professionals, or ten professionals or two cadets. "We will field what we feel is the best 12," Reyes said.

"Crafting this program, I think this is the best way forward," he stressed. "(But) we will only find out if we're doing the right thing in the results."

Preparation

Reyes has already talked to the Gilas cadets on Tuesday, specifically telling them that they will need to join the PBA Draft in order to be part of the Gilas pool.

"Playing in the PBA is an integral part of the program. It keeps them in game shape, it hones their skill, and it teaches them adaptability," said Reyes. "The more adaptable your players are, the more fit they will be in the international competition."

"That's non-negotiable for me. If you want to be in the Gilas program, you gotta play in the PBA," he added.

Other details of their preparation, however, have yet to be discussed. Reyes said he will convene a coaching staff soon, with Nash Racela and Josh Reyes expected to join him. Baldwin remains on board and Reyes does not foresee any problems or issues in this area.

"I value Tab a lot," he said. "When we were doing (the program) in 2013 to 2014, he handled the defensive end of our preparation, and I don't foresee much change as well this time around."

As for other members of the coaching staff, Reyes said he will talk to those coaches who they have worked with before.

"I will see their commitment and how we're going to work this thing out," he said. "It will be a team effort."

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