It may sound cliche, but Reyes might be onto something here.
Things happen for a reason.
This is one of the mantras that Chot Reyes holds onto in his life, he says. With Reyes being a six-time PBA Coach of the Year and one who has crafted a career as a motivational speaker, it's a statement that some might say is plainly on-brand.
But coming from the same coach who led Gilas Pilipinas to the 2014 FIBA World Cup, and yet continues to have his own fair share of critics to this day, it might be insightful to deduce what Reyes is trying to say here—especially when it has to do with the national team's recent failures.
Most notable of those letdowns took place in May 2022, when Team Philippines lost to Indonesia and settled for silver in the Southeast Asian Games, a tournament we used to rule.
Reyes believes the setbacks are enabling us to perform better, as it also paved the way for the biggest decision-makers in the country to band together.
“All of the failures and frustrations that we had in the past, I think the reason for that was for the entire country to get together,” Reyes said on Friday after Gilas won over Lebanon in their FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers sixth window matchup.
The tactician was specifically referring to the naturalization of Justin Brownlee, which was completed just in time for the ongoing qualifiers. The naturalization process started in November 2022. Brownlee became a full-pledged Filipino by January of this year.
“We’re very, very thankful to the Senate and the Congress, the PBA and all the stakeholders for getting together and finally getting Justin’s papers done.”
Even with just one game in the books, fans loved what they saw in the RP five that featured Brownlee as the naturalized player.
Nonetheless, Ange Kouame and Jordan Clarkson remain as options for the lone naturalized player slot in the team, but that’s a discussion for the World Cup.
For now, it’s safe to say we’re off to a right re-start. And coach Chot hopes the national basketball program will only continue to move forward.
“I know we’re not gonna win every game, but I think we should continue to see improvements in the way the team plays,” he said.