Vulcan Arena, Quezon City -- Sitting on his desk, sipping a cup of tea, wasting almost an hour that he could have used in other important matters, GM Nicolo Maro could not help but think he wasted precious time to give-up Inaki Dasilao
(31225778) to J for Justin, a Hong Kong division III team.
"Oh my, I could not believe that someone would be as crazy as J to outbid us," GM Nicolo Maro with a grin on his face. "I mean, I can outbid him - no doubt - but I didn't see value in getting Inaki triple the price while other teams would use it for a top-flight player."
Dasilao is a 20 year old player with an all-time great potential and the Mountaineers would like to invest in his future the same way they are focusing on Steve Valle and Claudio Regala.
That is the reason why they appear to be not as competitive compared to previous seasons but they are looking at it long-term than a short-term haul.
On his part, Justin thought Inaki was the missing piece for his team "I've waited a long time to find someone like him, I wouldn't let this one slip past me."
GM Nicolo Maro, a staunch supporter of Filipino players with an All-Filipino lineup, tried to persuade him to 'let Inaki stay in his country' to no avail - J was equally determined to get him on his team.
As he decided to end the bidding war, Maro - the ever-diplomatic manager, congratulated J as the winning bidder. "I hope you can make him the best player not just on your team but for him to be part of the future of our National Team."
Such strong words, nationalism for the Mountaineers manager that he looked at the bright side on losing the bid "at least I was able to increase his value to be acquired by a foreign team."
Although a bit disappointed, clearly passionate on losing a bid that the organization made a press release, he didn't feel that bad and is still optimistic at the course of their team "when you're down, there's no way but to go up."
These kind of thoughts endear the Mountaineers GM not just among their players who appreciate the 'loyalty' but as well to his peers.