AMID the din of celebration and the euphoric moment, TNT players gave coach Chot Reyes the traditional victory ride last Friday night amid the confetti at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, proud of their hard-fought victory against Ginebra in the Big Dance.
Reyes raised his right hand, his fist closed in ecstasy, as the much-maligned tactician savored his return to the pro league’s pinnacle. While his charges’ riveting title triumph was no way a walk in the park, he kept it simple—they overcame hardships inside and outside the court that made it sweeter.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Reyes beamed. “I’m filled with gratitude. A lot of players have things going on in their personal lives. That’s the same with me, I guess. There is something special about this team.
“A lot of the players are going through a lot of personal adversity. That’s why we said, for us, it was bigger than basketball,” he added.
Reyes spoke after the Tropang Giga brought down the Kings 95-85—for good in Game 6 of their best-of-7 finals duel for the PBA Governors’ Cup crown in front of 14,668 fans.
The come-from-behind triumph came on the heels of TNT’s emphatic 99-72 rout of Ginebra in the fifth tiff and wrapped up the race-to-4 title series 4-2, giving them a second straight diadem in the conference the Kings used to rule in the past.
Reyes, 61, was heavily criticized during his stint as Gilas Pilipinas strategist after the Nationals lost the gold medal to Indonesia in the 2022 Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi and a 24th place finish in last year’s FIBA World Cup co-hosted by the Philippines.
His “learning experience” quote was used by Gilas fans to allege Reyes’ “focus as a coach was more towards learnings rather than winning games.”
Reyes had the last laugh 14 months after stepping down at the helm of Gilas.
“People are talking about lessons learned, lessons learned. But it’s really a lesson learned,” Reyes said.
“I’m a very growth-minded individual. For me, all of the challenges and the difficulties I went through were opportunities for me to learn and grow.”
On their way to the Promised Land, the Tropang Giga wound up as the top seed in Group A with an 8-2 mark before hurdling NLEX 3-1 in the quarterfinals and Rain or Shine 4-1 in the semifinals to gift Reyes his 10th ring in Asia’s pioneering pro league and the Manny V. Pangilinan’s flagship franchise’s 10th overall title.
“After all of that, to be back here and winning a championship with this group of guys is incredibly satisfying on a personal and team level, especially also for my family,” Reyes said.
“I know we played Barangay Ginebra but there is a huge Barangay Reyes clan also watching on their television sets, cheering and praying for us.”
Reyes downplayed his latest achievement and insisted it was a team effort.
“For me, coaching this team is not about me but we,” he said. “It’s about the team. It’s about the collective.”
One would think TNT will slow down even a bit but here’s the bad news for the rest of the field—reigning two-time best import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson will likely return for the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup and with an intact core, the Tropang Giga should be the favorites anew.
