IT was simply another night for returning TNT coach Chot Reyes.
The Tropang Giga gave Reyes an inspiring 108-107 victory over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters two nights back in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Reyes, who briefly stepped away to focus on his job at the helm of Gilas Pilipinas in last year’s FIBA World Cup, marked his comeback to the flagship ballclub of the MVP group with a hard-earned win in TNT’s opening match of the season-ending tourney.
The nine-time pro league champion tactician insisted he was never away with the Tropang Giga–who were coached by Jojo Lastimosa the past two conferences–last year’s Governors’ Cup which they ruled–and the Commissioner’s Cup.
“I was never away naman. I’ve always been with the team, whether in practice or games,” Reyes said. “So, it was like I was never really away.
“There were no big adjustments whether in practice or games,” he added.
Reyes said there’s not much adjustment on his part calling the shots for TNT anew.
“If ever there is any adjustment, it is just getting back to the grind. We call it the grind, the grind of PBA cadence of games, practice, games,” Reyes said.
“Iyon lang naman iyon because that cadence is very different from the Gilas cadence. But other than that, no big adjustment really.”
Forward Calvin Oftana notched a game-high 23 points, on top of 14 rebounds and three assists for the Tropang Giga, while 22 markers.
The likes of Kim Aurin, newly acquired big man Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, and Jayson Castro also gave Rain or Shine fits with 21, 15, and 14 points, respectively.
TNT battled back from a 10-point third-quarter deficit that left Reyes flabbergasted.
“To be honest, I don’t know how we won that game. We’re lucky that Rain or Shine missed their free throws,” Reyes said. “We gave up too many free throws and if Rain or Shine made half of the free throws they’ve missed, we would have lost this ballgame.
“Just to be very honest, we dodged the bullet,” he said. “We just caught a break here.”