Chot Reyes says he takes 'full accountability' as Gilas remains winless in FIBA World Cup

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes is taking full responsibility for the still-winless campaign of the Philippines in its hosting of the 2023 FIBA World Cup here.

The Filipinos recently absorbed another stinging loss to World Cup debutant South Sudan, 87-68, to formally bow out of the race for the lone Asian slot for direct qualification to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"I've [apologized] numerous times [to the fans]. I have already said that I’m really sorry that we were not able to deliver and I take full accountability," Reyes said in the post-game press conference.

"I take full responsibility."

Reyes also said this was no longer the time for "learning experience" as Gilas competed in the global cagefest for the third straight time now. The Philippines won one game in 2014, but went blank in 2019 to finish dead last among 32 competing teams.

Now, with one game left in the classification phase against China, the hosts are close to ending up empty-handed once again.

"No [this was not a learning experience]. This was a time for us to win and execute. The learning was supposed to happen way back. This was the time for us to win. And like I said, we didn’t get the job done," he added.

He did, however, praise the young players of Gilas like AJ Edu, Dwight Ramos, and Kai Sotto.

"But for the guys like AJ, we have a lot of young guys Kai, Dwight, they definitely grew from this experience and learned a lot. There’s a lot to look forward to for those guys."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News