The captain said what had to be said.
When Gilas Pilipinas announced its lineup for the 32nd Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, not everybody was impressed. After all, big names such as Scottie Thompson, June Mar Fajardo, and Japeth Aguilar weren’t available, and thus, weren’t included. Skepticism surrounded the "Redeem Team" in the beginning.
As a result, the bashers came alive and once again targeted Gilas coach Chot Reyes. Calls for his resignation grew louder, and it didn’t help at all that the Philippines lost its group stage game against the import-laden Cambodia.
But boy, did they turn the tables on the haters, or what?
Since dropping the preliminary game against the host country, Gilas racked up three straight impressive wins, including the thrilling semifinals triumph over Indonesia and the masterful revenge victory against Cambodia in the finals. The players, led by Justin Brownlee did an amazing job, and so did the coach.
That’s why Gilas captain Chris Ross did an Instagram Live right after his squad captured the gold medal in Phnom Penh to address their doubters.
“I know a lot of y’all doubted us. We didn’t,” the 38-year-old floor general said as he was celebrating on the court with his teammates.
All fired up from their hard-fought win over the Cambodians, the PBA veteran took the opportunity to give his coach some love by telling the latter’s detractors to leave the veteran tactician be.
“There’s my man right there,” Ross said while turning the camera towards Coach Chot who was underneath the basket taking snaps of his players.
“Get off my man’s back,” the two-time PBA Finals MVP uttered several times.
Whether you’re a fan or not, there’s no denying that Reyes did an excellent job steering Gilas to reclaiming the gold medal in the biennial meet. Ross’ plea isn’t unfounded. The longtime Gilas mentor’s harshest critics might want to listen and tone things down.
(GM)