CHOT Reyes is back at the helm of the Philippine basketball team after the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) announced his return on Tuesday.
The announcement was made during a meeting among Gilas cadet players, as Reyes himself confirmed the news through an interview posted in the official Sports5 Facebook page.
“The most important is, in the end, we don’t turn our backs from serving the flag and country,” said the mentor, who steered the national team back to the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) World Cup of Basketball after 40 years in 2014. “You can never really be prepared with life. It was a difficult decision.”
Present during the special meeting were cadet players Mike Tolomia, Russel Escoto, Arnold van Opstal, Kevin Ferrer, Mac Belo, RR Pogoy, Almond Vosotros, Jio Jalalon, Von Pessumal, Ed Daguioag, Carl Cruz and Filipino-Canadian standout Matthew Wright.
Reyes was recently appointed the new TV5 president. Tab Baldwin, who coached Gilas since Reyes left the program in 2014, will remain with the team as consultant.
“I guess we continue working with him. He will be part of the Gilas program. I value Tab a lot, especially his contributions for the team,” the 53-year-old coach added.
This marked the second instance that Reyes and Baldwin joined forces to lead Gilas, back in time when the former Talk ’N Text mentor called the shots for the national team in 2014 while the American-New Zealander took the consultant post.
Asked about his initial plans for the national team, Reyes said he will look to patch holes in the team and prepare for the upcoming tournament.
“We will complete the coaching staff. The cadets will be doing their conditioning program. We will still furnish things,” Reyes said.
Reyes propelled Gilas, through a core of professional players and naturalized import Andray Blatche, to the Fiba Asia silver medal here in Manila in 2013 and the William Jones Cup title in 2012.