TNT coach Chot Reyes is one of the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) brightest minds and decorated mentors.

But what sets him apart from other legendary coaches in Asia’s first play-for-pay league is how he approaches the game through the culture he instills into his team.

A master motivator and a brilliant tactician, Reyes builds a winning team from the ground up.

For him, there are no shortcuts to success. No cutting corners for instant triumph.

He preaches discipline, hard work, and commitment to his wards in achieving the ultimate goal of being at the top of an ultra-competitive field.

Reyes would humbly say that his team is not the most talented compared to other franchises, which stack their rosters with established stars up to the last man in their respective lineups.

He, however, takes pride in his effort to bring out the best in each and every one of his players, from his starters to second stringers.

“If there’s any kind of legacy that I can leave, is that I am a coach who’s able to get the best out of these players. We may not have the best talents, the best players but we can get the best out of them,” the 60-year-old Tropang Giga coach said.

Reyes and his dedicated crew proved they can rise above adversities through collective effort following back-to-back titles in the 49th season of the PBA.

Against all odds, TNT captured the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup at the expense of powerhouse Barangay Ginebra in a best-of-seven finals series to remember.

Escaping from the jaws of defeat in a Game 6 survival to force a winner-take-all, Reyes’ masterstroke of motivating and trusting his players’ capabilities collected dividends as the Tropang Giga pulled off one of the PBA’s most exciting finales.

“So, in the end, just like what you’ve witnessed today, they played their hearts out and gave everything on the floor. Ubos na ubos na sila,” Reyes said of TNT’s 87-83 Game 7 overtime win in front of a massive 24,274 crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“And if we lose, we can live with it because we left it all out on the floor and we gave it our best. For me, that’s the legacy I want people to remember me by,” the now 11-time PBA champion coach added.

Against all odds

TNT came into the conference brimming with pride after reigning supreme in the season-opening Governors’ Cup, beating the Kings handled by current Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone, in six games in the finals.

But the Commissioner’s Cup journey wasn’t all rosy for the Tropang Giga. The team had to rebound from an early slump to advance into the playoffs.

TNT eliminated guest team Hong Kong Eastern in the quarterfinals before weathering Rain or Shine in five games in the semifinals series which could’ve gone either way to set up a rematch against Ginebra.

The semis triumph, however, came with a steep price after Governors’ Cup finals Most Valuable Player Jayson Castro went down with a season-ending knee injury.

But that did not deter TNT. In fact, it even motivated the likes of eventual finals MVP Rey Nambatac and RR Pogoy to step up their game and provided support for workhorse and three-time Best Import winner Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

“For me, it’s just validation of the values that we really believed in: effort and togetherness,” the six-time PBA coach of the Year said.

“We keep talking about it. We keep reinforcing it to our players. (To) play for each other. It’s not about me, it’s about we. (It’s about) multiple effort,” the former national team mentor added.

“I always tell them, the harder we work, the luckier we get.”

Lucky indeed was TNT, that it outlasted the Kings in the first overtime in a finals Game 7 in a decade.

Incidentally, TNT (then known as the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters under Jong Juichico) was the team that emerged victorious in that battle for all the marbles that went into double overtime when it beat Rain or Shine for the 2015 edition of the Commissioner’s Cup.

“I’m not making any bones about it. There’s no disillusionment on my mind that we really had some help from above in this series. There’s no way we could’ve won this series purely on our efforts alone. Yes, our players gave it their best, they refused to lose but we, just to be honest about it, we got a lot of help (from above),” Reyes said.

The mentor would like to think of the grueling series as one on top of his list.

“Maybe, because given the stage, given the competition, given the fact that we’re not complete, plus the fact that it went into overtime,” he said.

“(But) for me, this championship is a tribute to this team. (To) our players who played their best and our coaching staff working together.”

With the first two titles of the season secured, Reyes now faces tremendous pressure with expectations at an all-time high about the prospect of the ballclub completing a rare and historic grand slam.

“I don’t think we can escape any talk of it,” Reyes said.

Shooting for a grand slam is nothing new for Reyes.

The coming Philippine Cup will be his chance for redemption after falling short in the 2010-2011 season.

Talk ‘N Text that season won the Philippine Cup and Commissioner’s Cup crowns, only to be denied by San Miguel Beer in the Governor’s Cup finals that went the full distance.

The PBA has only seen five grand slams. San Mig Coffee was the last franchise to achieve the feat in the 2013-2014 season under Cone.

Reyes right now is on the threshold of joining other legendary tacticians in Baby Dalupan (Crispa), Tommy Manotoc (Crispa), Norman Black (San Miguel) and Cone (Alaska, San Mig Coffee) on the elite club of grand slam coaches.

“But right now, we just want to enjoy this (Commissioner’s Cup championship) first and savor this. It took so much out of us. We’re absolutely drained,” he said.

TNT will surely be ready to face all the challenges and accomplish the tough task with the winning culture Reyes cultivated.