Reyes’ return excites Cone
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel coach Tim Cone couldn’t wait to challenge Chot Reyes to a coaching battle in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
Cone, the winningest basketball coach in the country with 23 crowns, said the return of a brilliant mentor like Reyes will definitely prompt them to work hard and propel their teams to the title. Reyes is returning as a full-time PBA coach after a very long hiatus.
The last time he called the shots was for TNT Tropang Giga in 2012 before steering Gilas Pilipinas in various international competitions, including the FIBA World Championships in 2014, from 2012 to 2018.
Then, he took a corporate role as president of TV5 until the Tropang Giga hired him to replace head coach Bong Ravena and consultant Mark Dickel last week. Cone said they are ready for the challenge.
“I don’t think he would be surprised by anything. He is probably the most advanced (coach) among all of us,” said Cone, who dominated the league while Reyes was away. “The game of basketball has evolved, but Chot has that kind of experience while we were in the PBA. He had an even better experience being outside the PBA playing in the world stage — and that’s where all his innovations came from.”
Cone and Reyes know each other like the back of their hands.
In fact, Reyes served as Cone’s assistant during the early part of his career at Alaska, where they won the 1991 PBA Third Conference.
Then, Reyes went on his own, coaching in various teams like Purefoods, Sta. Lucia, Coca-Cola, San Miguel and TNT to collect a total of eight PBA crowns with five Coach of the Year honors.
Cone said he wouldn’t be surprised if the 57-year-old Reyes duplicates the feat in his second tour of duty with the Tropang Giga.
“There’s really strong established teams in the league that have been, I would say, a little bit more dominant over the last three or four years,” Cone said.
“It’s been harder to kind of crack into that top echelon. If anything, Chot will bring in a lot more innovation to the PBA.”
Still, Reyes believes that it’s going to be a level playing field. “I’m a believer in values-based teaching. The philosophy will still be the same,” Reyes said.