That Gilas coaching staff is one tightly knit group.
Gilas Pilipinas is ramping up its preparations for the FIBA World Cup, and one of the Gilas coaching staff’s top priorities is to build team chemistry in the lead-up to the big dance.
But, according to Gilas assistant coach Tim Cone, building chemistry starts with the coaching staff, which means Gilas has a bit of a head start thanks to the national team’s tightly knit leadership.
And the leader of that band is, of course, none other than Chot Reyes, whose history with Cone dates all the way back to 1990 when Reyes was part of Cone's staff in Alaska.
“There’s a real strong familiarity between the two of us,” Cone told Quinito Henson in the latter’s Play It Right sports program. “I kinda understand what Chot likes to do, he understands what I like to do, and he does a great job of melding it and giving me freedom to do some of the stuff that I like to do.”
That should not be a surprise given the two’s shared history. But, apparently, Reyes affords everyone the same freedom.
“Chot is a great collaborator. That’s really his strength. He really knows how to corroborate, get Jong [Uichico] involved, get Josh [Reyes] involved, and me and Patrick [Gregorio],” Cone added. “We don’t feel like we’re on the outside looking in all the time. So, in terms of that, he allows us to create chemistry within the coaching staff. I like our coaching staff.”
There is a lot to like about this Gilas leadership. Reyes, Cone, and Uichico are all multi-titled tacticians, and are among the best the PBA has ever seen. Now they are working together for one common goal—helping one another and feeding ideas off each other.
“I told Chot that our chemistry as a coaching staff is really strong, and it has to start there before it can get to the players—and that’s all him, it’s the way he runs things,” Cone said further.
If Cone is right, the building team-wide chemistry won't be that big of a problem for Reyes and his lieutenants.
(GM)