Chot Reyes finds himself back in the PBA semifinals for the first time since his return of epic proportions in the league some three years ago.
The only six-time Coach of the Year accomplished as much after steering his TNT to the penultimate phase of the Season 49 Governors’ Cup following a gentleman’s sweep of NLEX in their best-of-5 quarterfinal series on Tuesday.
Yes, it is his first semis since leading the Tropang Giga to the 2021 Philippine Cup title, which marked his successful comeback to the league that saw them take down all San Miguel teams in the playoffs en route to the Perpetual trophy.
Why first? For a quick refresher, Reyes was not at the helm of the team that won the franchise its first Governors’ Cup crown in 2023.
Team manager Jojo Lastimosa was the one who called the shots in that golden run, as the nine-time champion mentor temporarily vacated his post to focus on Gilas Pilipinas’ campaign in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.
Fast forward to the present and Reyes has been back to his old role for two conferences now, and Tuesday night marked an important step toward their aspirations of going back-to-back in the import-laced conference.
But really, all that he reminded his wards was to not let history repeat itself, particularly their meltdown in the Season 48 Philippine Cup quarterfinals.
“That was our final reminder before coming out. I said we were in this exact same situation a few months ago,” the 60-year-old said moments after their 125-96 conquest of the Road Warriors at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
TNT already had the 1-0 lead in that best-of-3 affair, meaning that it could win the following meeting to reach the semis.
However, the Elasto Painters surprisingly snatched the next two, including a thrilling 110-109 win in Game 3, as they went on to book their first semis trip since Coach Yeng Guiao returned to the franchise in 2022.
“We were one win away from the Final Four, and we dropped two in a row,” Reyes recalled as it was his first conference back on the sidelines. “We missed the Final Four in the last conference by one point in a knockout game.”
That happened just last May, and it was all that Reyes needed to make his men laser-focused — and not waste the chance to close out their sister team.
TNT did, with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson once again showing the way with 35 points and 11 rebounds, alongside three assists, a steal, and a block.
“So, I just reminded the guys of that, to make sure that we don’t get to a knockout game this time around. Very glad that they responded,” Reyes said.
