CHOT REYES: I THINK IT IS TIME FOR ME TO STEP ASIDE
The national coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes announced his resignation after his team’s 96-75 win over China, which is also the final game in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. The International Basketball Federation, abbreviated FIBA (Fédération Internationale de Basketball), is an alliance of national organizations that organizes international basketball competition. Despite the recent win, many avid fans found Gilas Pilipinas’ performance to be underwhelming, and being the coach of the national team, Reyes was not able to save face and continued to receive backlash from basketball fans. In a press conference, Reyes attributed the team’s poor performance to a lack of practice. Reyes had shared that they started practicing as a team with the complete lineup only on August 18, which was just a week before the first game. Despite this, the team persisted in playing against other countries, and Reyes even cited other “powerful” teams who did not advance as well, “pero sa Pilipinas bawal matalo, eh, diba?”, Reyes added. Justin Brownlee, a PBA best import who lost his spot to Jordan Clarkson for the 2023 FIBA games, defended Reyes by asserting that the Philippines did compete with strong teams, having players who are gifted with athletic prowess. Reyes had stepped down because the negative reactions he had been receiving were not only affecting him, but his family as well, and he insisted that they did not deserve the disrespect they were getting at this point. In his announcement of coaching his last game as Gilas Pilipinas coach, Reyes admitted that they did not perform well in the recent games. He also revealed in the conference that he already had plans to step down as the coach after the tournament, regardless of the result. “I hate using the word ‘resign’ because I am not a quitter”, Reyes said when asked if the decision to step down was his and not the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP). Chot Reyes is an experienced coach in the country, to say the least. He started coaching the national basketball team in 2005 and has been in and out of the scene ever since. He also served as the head coach in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from years 1993 to 2012 and then 2022-2023, winning nine PBA championships which gave way to him being recognized as the PBA Coach of the Year six times. Regardless of these acknowledgments, Reyes always had a bad image for Filipino basketball fans. During the Gilas Pilipinas introduction in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, he was met with heavy “boos” by the crowd. This isn’t the first time, though, as he received the same reaction from the audience in the 2022 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers against Saudi Arabia. He is often heavily criticized social media to the point that he himself recognized that he is the “most hated man in Philippine basketball”. Reyes, having the record to have mostly led the national team, continues to be under fire due to the Philippines’ poor performance in international games. Basketball being the most loved sport in the country, Filipinos will always have strong opinions on the team, and the coaches involved are not exempted. The SBP is yet to release a statement on their position on Reyes’ decision to step down.
