UNDER fire since he took over at the helm of Gilas Pilipinas from Tab Baldwin last February, national coach Chot Reyes got a big tap on his back from no less than Fil-Am NBA standout Jordan Clarkson.
“I mean he’s part of us, he’s one of us. You hear the boos from the crowd or whatever is going on. I’m not here throughout the years so I don’t really know what’s going on. But what I’ve seen over the last few days, there’s some kind of (expletive),” Clarkson said.
“He’s our coach, he’s one of us. He works hard. He puts all this together. From what I am hearing, he walked away from the game, and he came back,” he added.
The 6-foot-5 Clarkson, a former Sixth Man of the Year winner with the Utah Jazz, spoke after the Filipino cagers made short work of Saudi Arabia 84-46 last Sunday night in Group E action of the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.
In front of 19,829 fans that included no less than President Marcos Jr. and former President Duterte, Reyes got booed by the home crowd every time his face was shown at the Mall of Asia Arena’s big screen.
Gilas, meanwhile, received congratulations from President Marcos Jr., who said: “We congratulate Gilas Pilipinas fort its win against the team from Saudi Arabia in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Game last night. We are confident that they will do their all to bring honor to the country.”
Clarkson, who shone in his maiden game for Gilas at home soil with a game-high 23 points on five three-pointers, to go with five rebounds and six assists, defended Reyes from the jeers.
“He ain’t got to deal with none of this (expletive), he ain’t got to deal with the boos, he ain’t got to deal with the threats given to his family. Anybody,” Clarkson said.
“He is coming back to this game because he loves the country, he loves this team. Each and every one of us, to be honest with you, the coach was the first person to talk to.”
Reyes insisted he accepted the task of coaching Gilas anew because of the flag and country.
“Me coming back here has absolutely no individual consideration. There’s no me in this whole thing for me. The only reason I’m doing this is for my country,” Reyes said.
“This is just my service for the flag and country. Like I told the players in the locker room, the bonds that we built, I’m willing to take all of that.”
Fans could take him to task, bash him, or even say bad words but spare his players, according to Reyes.
“As Jordan says, all of that (expletive). As much as you know how much haters I have, I also have supporters. Maybe not that vocal and as noisy, but as long as I can inspire one or two individuals, then it’s all worth it. For as long as we have our players together in that locker room,” he said.
