TNT head coach Chot Reyes. PBA Images
MANILA, Philippines – TNT mentor Chot Reyes powered through failures and criticisms en route to another PBA championship.
Reyes had his fair share of failures, he admitted—but now, the 60-year-old basketball maestro is back on top after winning the 2024 PBA Governors' Cup with the Tropang Giga.
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"For me, the personal accolades mean very little because I know, ang buhay gano'n eh. Sometimes you're up, sometimes you're down, and I know what it means to be down. I've been down a lot as well," said Reyes after the Tropang Giga won against Barangay Ginebra in Game 6, 95-85, on Friday at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
For Reyes, TNT emerging victorious in the Governors' Cup would be something special and "bigger than basketball" as he bared that he and his players got "a lot of personal adversity."
READ: And still: TNT denies Ginebra anew, retains Governors Cup crown
For his part, Reyes faced a lot of criticisms from the public, especially during his stint as Gilas Pilipinas head coach.
"There’s something special about this team because a lot of our players are going through a lot of personal adversity, that’s why we said for us, if we win here, it’s bigger than basketball," he said.
READ: PBA: TNT beats Ginebra in blowout fashion, on brink of Govs Cup title
"A lot of our players have going on in their personal lives. The same with me, I guess everything that I had gone through, all the adversity I had gone through—but it's all part of the process."
The public may not have been in his favor, but Reyes is still a PBA champion coach, clinching his 10th overall on Friday.
Reyes was grateful for the triumphant campaign, especially for the trust the TNT players gave to him all throughout.
"If you’re asking me what my reflections are about this victory, it’s just really the gratitude I feel for everything that’s transpired, everything that’s happened, especially gratitude to the trust and the effort of my players. It is, I guess, the best way to summarize how I feel right now."
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