Vincent “Chot” Reyes regrets not having the chance to lead the Gilas Pilipinas in their quest for redemption at the upcoming Asian Games following their disappointing campaign in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
The resigned Philippine men’s basketball team believes that Gilas has a significant opportunity to compete for the gold medal in the Asian Games, especially with naturalized player Justin Brownlee nearing full recovery, now close to 100 percent after his operation.
“Several players were really looking forward for us to fight for the gold sa Asian Games. Sa akin, ‘yung ang pinakamahirap, ‘yung losing the opportunity to hopefully make amends,” Reyes said at the Power & Play program in One PH.
“So kung anuman ‘yung nangyari sa World Cup, may opportunity sana kami bumawi sa Asian Games,” he added. “Justin Brownlee is coming in with all the players available. I think (interim coach) Tim (Cone) has a good team to do something in the Asian Games.”
Reyes added that several Gilas players were also disheartened when he announced his decision to “step aside” from the team following their lopsided victory against China last week.
“For me, ang pinakamahirap in this whole exercise is my relationship with my players, like, yung ‘ay hindi na ikaw coach?’ Hindi ko na sasabihin kung sino ‘yung mga players na ‘yun,” Reyes said.
However, Reyes justified his decision to “step aside” from the national team to prevent any additional “distractions” as the team prepares for the upcoming Asian Games later this month in Hangzhou, China.
“The reason why I stepped aside is, yes, may factor ‘yung social media angle, but really the two main issues are one, because I did not deliver on the result, and two, because of everything that was going on, magiging distraction lang. It’s just going to start affecting the players if I stayed on,” Reyes said.
“Part of knowing when to get into business is also knowing when to get out of business,” he added.
The post Chot regrets missing opportunity to lead Gilas Pilipinas’ redemption in Asian Games first appeared on FASTBREAK.com.ph.
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