By REYNALD MAGALLON
Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes apologized to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Chairman Emeritus Manny V. Pangilinan after coming out of the first round of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup winless.
In a report of One News, Pangilinan disclosed that Reyes actually reached out to him after Gilas finished with a 0-3 record and dead last in the Group A standings.
“Nag-text sa akin si Chot late last night with only two words sabi niya, ‘sorry boss’,” shared Pangilinan. Di pa ko sumasagot kasi di ko alam sasabihin,” shared the MVP group top honcho who was also the man largely responsible for the staging of the global showpiece in the country.
He, however, expressed his support for the national team which just like every Filipino fans were also hurting after the series of sorry losses
“I feel for Chot; I have no doubt that he tried his best. I feel for the players; I have no doubt that they tried their best,” said Pangilinan.
Unlike most fans however Pangilinan is not putting blame into anyone, not Chot or the players, simply noting that the team did its best but just couldn’t get the ball to bounce its way
“Everybody from the coaches down to the players tried their very best to do as much for the country so we fell short pero that’s the way the ball bounces di ba,” he added.
Reyes and Gilas still have the chance to redeem themselves from the winless outing in the pool play when it tries to stay in contention for the Paris Olympic spot in the classification round. The Nationals are taking on African qualifier South Sudan on Thursday, Aug. 31 before taking on Asian rival China on Saturday, Sept. 2
