IT REALLY IS ABOUT LESSONS LEARNED
Coach Chot Reyes spoked candidly of the two words often used by fans to mock him during his much-maligned tenure handling the national team.
On Friday, after steering TNT to glory in the PBA Governors’ Cup, Reyes said those two words guided him from the agony of Gilas Pilipinas’ struggles in the Fiba World Cup to the thrill of getting TNT back on the PBA throne.
“A lot of people [during the World Cup were] talking about ‘lesson learned, lesson learned.’ But it really is lesson learned,” he said after the Tropang Giga finished off Barangay Ginebra with a 95-85 win in Game 6 at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Reyes got a chance to have his share on the winning spotlight, which had been rare in the past two years when his recent stint coaching Gilas saw heartbreak defeats that led to a hailstorm of criticism from fans hungry for wins on the international level.
Gilas’ stunning defeat to Indonesia in the Vietnam Southeast Asian Games in 2022 was followed by a painful run in the 2023 World Cup on home soil that saw four straight losses by the national team before averting a winless campaign with a Jordan Clarkson-led win over China at the Big Dome.
He immediately called it quits after that game, and Ginebra counterpart Tim Cone was eventually handed the reins that led to a quick turnaround as Gilas won the Hangzhou Asian Games and reached the semifinals of the Latvia group of the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament.
In the same press room where he announced his departure as Gilas coach, Reyes wore a championship shirt and expressed how the Gilas experience played a role in getting success on the domestic level.
Defensive effort
“I’m a very growth-minded individual,” he said. “And from all the challenges and difficulties that went through in the past were opportunities for me to learn and grow. And to be back here and be a champion with this group of players [at TNT] is incredibly satisfying, both on a personal and team level.”
TNT went 8-2 (win-loss) to top Group A behind a stellar defensive effort that was a pragmatic decision to depart from its signature offensive approach.
And with Best Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson picking up where he left off, with able help from Finals MVP Jayson Castro, RR Pogoy, Calvin Oftana and Rey Nambatac, the Tropang Giga lived up to their billing in the playoffs.
The proof was in the pudding in the title-clincher as TNT rallied from 11 down to finish off Ginebra as Reyes secured title No. 10 for both the franchise and his coaching career.
Reyes hugged several players during TNT’s on-court celebrations, before Henry Galinato picked up the Tropang Giga mentor to begin a traditional victory ride.
He may never shake off past criticisms, but for at least one night, all that mattered for Reyes was being a champion once more.
