Despite the busy schedule he has both as TNT head coach and as an entrepreneur, Chot Reyes never misses a game of his younger brother Mike.
May it be with Southwestern University in CESAFI or KCS Computer Specialist in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, he would tune-in like a fan, cheering his heart out for his brother.
“I watch all of his games whether in CESAFI or VisMin,” said Coach Chot.
With KCS Computer Specialist, however, Coach Mike had a tall mountain to climb.
During the best-of-three finals that happened in a span of three days, KCS, who were coming off an emotional semis series against ARQ Builders Lapu-Lapu, faced a powerhouse squad in MJAS Zenith-Talisay — a team that is coming off a week-long break as well.
But Coach Chot has not just known Coach Mike for so long, he also knows that his brother’s style is not for the faint of heart.
“It was grinding because if you’re going look at the other team, they have much superior firepower. So he cannot compete in a high-octane kind of game,” said Chot.
“His chance was to play the game at a pace that they have a chance to win.”
Grind was what KCS did, limiting an MJAS team that averaged 90.0 points per game during their elimination sweep to just 68.0 points in the series. It led to KCS winning the championship.
The VisMin Super Cup’s Visayas Leg was Coach Mike’s second crown in two years as he was also the head coach of the Cobras team that won the 2019 CESAFI crown.
Chot, who worked with Mike during his time with Coke from 2002-05, said that it was a testament to the work his brother has put in over the past two decades.
“I’m very, very proud and very, very happy for him but I’m not surprised because he has paid his dues. He has put in the work,” said Chot, adding that the hardships his brother faced during the last few years led him to where he is now.
“I hope nobody thinks that this was an overnight success because that’s a 20-year overnight success. It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.”
With an impressive resume, many are asking if whether Coach Mike will head to the “next level.”
But what really is the next level?
“We all have our own definition of success. So if he is in a position of success now, why look for something else?” said Coach Chot as Coach Mike is also the athletics director of SWU.
“It’s for him to say but from where I’m sitting, why would he vacate where he is now.”
