By NIKOLE JAVIER
Chot Reyes wants out. He had one job: to lead the Philippines to a successful 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign that the country is co-hosting.
Reyes, the man who was asked to call the shots for Gilas Pilipinas in its 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup campaign, has finally made a decision for himself: to step aside from the job that was too demanding especially for the unforgiving critics.
The 59-year-old tactician announced the move himself during the press conference following the Philippines’ massive 96-75 victory over China on Saturday, Sept. 2, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It’s no secret, while the passionate to a fault Filipino fans have been behind Gilas beginning its build-up to the basketball showpiece, Reyes was left to prove himself and earn the same support he once had.
Reyes’ appointment came in Jan. 2022 when Tab Baldwin left the post to “focus on his responsibilities to the Ateneo men’s basketball team” as the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the overlap of the collegiate basketball season and the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 qualifiers.
Back then, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) thought it was the “sensible choice”, for Reyes to take over as he was “very familiar with the program” for having brought the country to the 2014 edition of the event.
Actually, Reyes’ history as the Gilas coach goes way back to 2012, with both himself and Baldwin taking turns for the position for over a decade.
As the pressure mounted and frustrations grew bigger after each loss, Reyes left his fate to the federation and reached out to his boss, Manny V. Pangilinan, to apologize for being unable to deliver and eventually extended it to the home crowd, which kept showing up despite the fact.
While Reyes hasn’t heard from the basketball body, he might not be around when Gilas resumes action in the Asian Games before taking on another grueling journey in the Olympic qualifiers.
“I really don’t know. I don’t know if I’m still gonna be here for [the Asian Games]. I might have coached my last game already as the Gilas Pilipinas coach. So, I really don’t know,” Reyes said.
“I haven’t heard anything from management. It is my decision. Like everybody knows, I didn’t apply for this job, I didn’t volunteer. I was given this mandate, I had already retired from coaching the national team.
“And through all the preparations and through all this time, we said that: ‘judge us on the performance in the World Cup’, regardless of what happened between the time I was appointed and today. I said, judge us by our performance and obviously, we did not perform. We didn’t perform, and like I said in the last game, I take full accountability and because of that, I think it is time for me to step aside.
“I hate using the word resign because I am not a quitter. I’m not a quitter, I would just like to emphasize to everyone who is asking for that. But at the same time, I signed up to do a job. And we did not deliver the result. So, I think it’s time to step aside and allow the SBP to make a decision for the good of the team and the program,” he furthered.
