TNT head coach Chot Reyes has had enough of Poy Erram’s antics which led to a heated spat between the two during their eventual loss to Ginebra in Game 5 of the PBA S49 Commissioner’s Cup Finals Sunday.
Never one to hold back in speaking his mind, the champion bench tactician confronted the temperamental big man during a huddle as the two became the center of attention with that rare argument between the two.
“I just got fed up with all the antics so I let him have a piece of my mind,” he told reporters moments after their 73-66 defeat at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Sabi ko, kung hindi ko siya mapagsabihan, edi siya mag-coach na lang.”
As the broadcast showed, Reyes was seen talking to Erram during a timeout at the 7:28-mark of the third quarter before the latter threw his towel out of frustration, leaving his coach irked to the point that he left the huddle.
#LOOK: Chot Reyes and Poy Erram were seen in a heated verbal exchange during a TNT timeout in the third quarter 🏀
📹 Pilipinas Live/Cignal TV#PBA2025 pic.twitter.com/6X4oLQ9f58
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) March 23, 2025
Barkley Ebona and Rey Nambatac tried to prevent Erram from leaving the huddle before veteran center Kelly Williams spoke and tried to calm him down. Still, Erram went all the way to the far end of the Tropang Giga bench.
Reyes eventually rejoined his team and the other players called back Erram from where he sat. Rondae Hollis-Jefferson even took his turn and talked the 35-year-old out of it as he appeared to still be arguing his case.
The rest of the team would go back to business but Erram was replaced by Williams, and that appeared to be a point in which the Kings gained momentum as they took a 53-51 lead behind Scottie Thompson.
It was a rough quarter all in all for TNT as they got outscored by their rivals, 22-11, thus the 57-56 deficit they faced entering the fourth.
Reyes himself had called that third-quarter timeout after the opposition went on a mini 6-0 run — capped off by a two-handed slam by Japeth Aguilar — to come close within just four points, 47-43, after staring at a 10-point deficit.
The coach hadn’t completely forgotten Erram, as he brought him back into the game with 9:59 remaining in the final period to substitute for Williams, before pulling him out for good with less than four minutes left.
It was at a time when Ginebra had a 67-66 lead and they eventually completed the comeback, sending the Tropa to a 2-3 deficit in the race-to-4 series.
The former Defensive Player of the Year finished with four points, six rebounds, a steal, and a block in the 21 minutes he played as a starter.
Erram left the Big Dome with a towel covering his head as he found himself the talk of the town once more following another outburst.
This is not the first time Erram has let his emotions run high. He had an outburst in Game 2 where he kicked a cooler near the team’s bench.
Reyes, for his part, only wants to focus on the all-important Game 6 on Wednesday still in the same venue in a bid to push the series to the limit.
“We just need to regroup, This is not over,” he said. “They need four wins to win the championship but like you’ve seen, it’s a tough team that we’re playing.
“We can’t make the mistakes we’re making against the national team — we’re playing Gilas, the first five. It’s tough. We have a very small room for error.”
#WATCH: “I GOT FED UP WITH THE ANTICS”
Coach Chot Reyes admitted as much after he and Poy Erram got into a heated argument during a timeout in TNT’s eventual Game 5 loss to Ginebra 🏀
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times#PBA2025 pic.twitter.com/KywiJClAjQ
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) March 23, 2025
