It was just a casual conversation – nothing more, nothing less.
TNT head coach Chot Reyes downplayed his verbal exchange with Beau Belga during the third quarter of their eventual win over Rain or Shine in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup best-of-3 quarterfinal opener on Friday night.
“Sabi ko, ‘OK, no problem, relax ka lang, ‘wag ka magalit,’ sabi ko kay Beau,” the champion mentor said during the postgame press conference of their 116-99 victory at the SMART Araneta Coliseum to move on the cusp of the semis.
Reyes was seen talking to the veteran bruiser during the 40.6-second mark of the aforementioned period, when play was stopped following the foul he committed that sent Calvin Oftana down to the floor.
But the outspoken bench tactician said that he only advised Belga to keep his cool as the latter was in discussion with the referees, apparently disagreeing with the call that saw him make contact with the air-borne winger.
Along with that simple reminder was a minute clarification that Reyes, together with his son Josh, was talking to the refs and not to anyone else as they were asking for a review of that particular play that saw Oftana lie down for a while.
“We were asking kasi for a review kasi ang sama ng bagsak niya. And sinasabi ni Beau that it was just a regular basketball play,” he said. “Tsaka hindi naman siya ‘yung kinakausap namin. Kinakausap naman namin ‘yung referee eh.
“It’s just our regular game management, ‘di ba? Us coaches, we have these conversations with referees, especially ako as a coach, I really don’t talk to the opposing team’s players. ‘Yun lang ‘yung sinabi ko kay Beau,” he added.
It was, overall, a rough night for Belga, who got held to only five points. It was the fewest he’s scored thus far in the conference, where he averaged 17.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 5.4 steals in the eliminations.
Reyes admitted that containing the all-around center was a goal of theirs.
“The key, we felt, was to control Beau,” he said.
“Because Beau is really, I think, the heart and soul of this team. I thought if we could defend him – there’s no way we can really stop him – then that would increase our chances of winning. I think we were able to achieve that.“
