Chot Reyes back as head coach for TNT Tropang GIGA

Vincent “Chot” Reyes is back as the head coach of TNT Tropang GIGA.

The coach’s return was announced by Smart Communications, the company behind the professional basketball team. 

“Basketball is in the DNA of Filipinos, especially us at PLDT and Smart. That is why we are looking forward to working with Coach Chot as he leads TNT Tropang GIGA in the coming PBA season,” said Al Panlilio, Smart president and CEO and PLDT chief revenue officer. 

A seasoned professional coach in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), Reyes led many teams in the league to multiple championships. The five-time PBA Coach of the Year also became famous for the “puso” mindset when he led the national basketball team Gilas Pilipinas in their historic comeback to the international stage in 2013.

Reyes said he was humbled by the decision of the team’s management to bring him in as the head coach of TNT Tropang GIGA.

“Throughout my career, I have always tried to live according to my passion and purpose. My passion has always been coaching and building teams, whether in sports or business. And my purpose is to further the advancement of Filipino coaches, so we can, in turn, help develop the next generation of Filipino leaders,” Reyes said.

“Coaching again in the PBA provides me an excellent platform to advance this advocacy. I have spent the best years of my career as a ka-Tropa, and I look forward to this new challenge,” he added.

Ricky Vargas, team governor and chairman of PBA Board of Governors, said this was a homecoming for Reyes.

“He is a coach that gave us four championships. We look forward to a successful relationship with Coach Chot,” he said.

Vargas also thanked TNT Tropang GIGA active consultant Mark Dickel “for all that he has done for the team.”

“He brought us to the PBA Finals twice in the two years that he was onboard. We wish him well as he moves on to new endeavors,” he said.

Vargas shared that Reyes wanted Dickel to stay on as an active consultant, but the latter decided to look for new opportunities and recuperate from his recent operation in Las Vegas, Nevada. – RC, GMA News