It’s not just Chot
Pangilinan and Panlilio wanted Reyes to stay until the FIBA World Cup and finish the job that was initially intended for Baldwin.
Text size
Share
Daily TribunePangilinan and Panlilio wanted Reyes to stay until the FIBA World Cup and finish the job that was initially intended for Baldwin.
Share
Basketball-crazy Filipinos are up in arms, bashing Chot Reyes following Gilas Pilipinas' disastrous performance in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Well, they have a point.
As head coach, Reyes was supposed to carry out the special mission of leading Gilas Pilipinas to a respectable performance in the World Cup and an outright berth in the 2024 Summer Olympics.
He was given everything he needed. In fact, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas opened its wallet to fly in National Basketball Association superstar Jordan Clarkson and Kai Sotto from the United States, while the best Filipino players inside and outside the Philippine Basketball Association were enlisted to assemble the country's tallest and most talented roster ever.
When Gilas Pilipinas was about to take on the Dominican Republic in the World Cup opener, the government even declared a holiday in Metro Manila and Bulacan so fans could troop to the Philippine Arena to express their support.
But what happened?
Gilas opened its campaign with a disappointing loss to the Dominicans before displaying subpar performances against Angola and Italy to get relegated to the classification phase.
Against South Sudan, a country that only gained its independence in 2011, Gilas Pilipinas was sluggish as it trailed by 18 points at halftime. Although the Filipinos showed some flashes of brilliance in the third period, the South Sudanese proved they were the better team as they delivered a strong finishing kick to seal their victory.
The loss to South Sudan sparked an outrage among Filipino fans.
They claim that Reyes is no longer the right leader for Gilas as he got outclassed and outcoached by the most brilliant minds in international basketball. At one point, South Sudan coach Royal Ivey made Reyes look like an amateur as he made some key adjustments while calmly instructing his wards not to panic amid the Filipinos' fiery rally.
Prior to the game against the Africans, Reyes texted his principal — SBP chairman emeritus Manny Pangilinan — a short but sincere message: Sorry Boss.
The following day, Reyes confirmed his message and took full responsibility for what is arguably one of the darkest and most embarrassing chapters in the history of Philippine basketball.
Truly, it's time for Reyes to go.
But is he the only person who deserves all the blame for this humiliating performance? Definitely not.
The fate of Gilas had been cemented long before they battled the powerhouse Dominicans that fateful Friday evening in Bulacan.
If we really want to trace what went wrong in the Gilas program, we have to go back to as far as last year when Kiwi-American mentor Tab Baldwin suddenly resigned as head coach so he could focus on handling the basketball program of Ateneo de Manila University.
With no head coach and most of the players campaigning in either Japan or Korea, the SBP pressed the panic button and instructed Reyes to hop from TNT Tropang Giga back to Gilas so he could save the program that was already teetering on the brink of a massive disaster.
The results were far from impressive as Gilas blew hot and cold in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers and finished ninth in the FIBA Asia Cup.
The most shameful performance, however, was in the 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi when a rag-tag Gilas crew suffered a gut-wrenching 85-81 setback to Indonesia in the gold medal match, prompting Reyes to tender his resignation the moment he landed in Manila.
But the federation rejected it. Pangilinan and Panlilio wanted Reyes to stay until the FIBA World Cup and finish the job that was initially intended for Baldwin.
Now that Reyes has failed, the entire country is crucifying him.
Sure, Reyes is no saint. He also has a lot of shortcomings.
But before we bash him, let us remember: It's not just Chot.
