Quentin Millora-Brown nearly failed to sign with Gilas Pilipinas for the second window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers this Thursday and Saturday.

No, it wasn’t because he didn’t want to.

It was because of his agent.

A reliable source revealed that Millora-Brown’s agent was suddenly asking too much, apparently forgetting that his client is not being hired to play for a commercial team, but for the national team in a crucial continental tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena.

And when the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) stayed firm on what it could offer, the agent came up with a media statement, claiming that they were put in a “take it or leave it” position. Wow!

Of course, it didn’t sit well with the federation.

But instead of fighting fire with fire, it reached out to the person who was responsible for bringing the 6-foot-10 rebounding machine to University of the Philippines.

“When we realized that the negotiations were already collapsing, we reached out to Coach Bo (Perasol),” the source said, revealing the inside story of the “QMB Drama” on a cold Saturday night in the City of Pines.

“You know, Coach Bo is like a father to QMB. He was the one who brought him here. He knows that QMB really wants to play for Gilas, but his agent was making it difficult for everybody to reach an agreement.”

Perasol immediately worked his magic.

In fact, all it took was a short discussion with Millora-Brown’s father with Perasol assuring him that his son is very much part of the future of the national squad.

Aside from playing in FIBA-sanctioned events, the father also welcomes the idea of having his son see action in the 20th Asian Games, where the Filipinos will be coming in as reigning champions.

“Imagine if you have QMB, Motor Mike (Phillips), Kai (Sotto), and a healthy (Justin) Brownlee,” the source added, sounding like a kid in a candy store.

“It’s going to be a super strong team. Matibay na point guard na lang ang kulang.”

As soon as a deal was reached, Millora-Brown packed his bags to catch the first flight to Manila.

“That’s why he was able to fly to Manila right away. All along, QMB already had a plane ticket, so the notion that he didn’t want to play for us was unfair,” the source added.

“That’s how willing he was to play for Gilas until his agent came up with these ridiculous demands.”

Anyway, the federation, especially SBP president Ricky Vargas, was truly thankful to Perasol for serving as the unsung hero who saved Gilas Pilipinas from playing without its best rebounder. Now, Millora-Brown is already training with Gilas together with other overseas-based players like Carl Tamayo, AJ Edu and Kevin Quiambao.

So, what’s the moral of the story?

“Just dump the agent,” the source said, breaking into a naughty smile.

“The SBP should be negotiating directly with the player — not with their representatives. After all, this is all for our country.”

Agree.