The Philippines has seen its basketball program rise from relative obscurity since the Gilas team's historic feat in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship.
Chot Reyes put Philippine basketball back on the map.
Though Reyes had been on the receiving end of online vitriol during his stint as head coach, there is no denying that he laid the foundation for the Gilas Pilipinas program that has had its fair share of ups and downs in over a decade.
In fact, Reyes' two iterations of Gilas squads for the 2014 World Cup and the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship went 1-2 in FIBA's Top Five list of the best Philippine national basketball teams of all time.
The seasoned mentor, who just recently won his 10th title in the PBA with TNT, deflected the credit to the players.
Chot Reyes steers TNT to its second straight PBA Governors' Cup diadem after beating Ginebra in Game 6 of the Finals last Nov. 8. | Photo (c) RM Chua/One Sports
“Obviously, very proud, not for myself but for my players. For the top two all-time teams for the Philippines to be our 2013 and 2014 teams, that’s a testament to what they have achieved for Philippine basketball,” Reyes said.
“The players, the 2013 and 2014 teams, in my mind they broke the glass ceiling.”
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Indeed, those teams started everything.
Behind the mantra “Puso,” the 2013 Gilas team broke the Curse of Korea to punch a ticket to the World Cup for the first time in four decades.
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The Nationals, which featured the likes of Jayson Castro, Jimmy Alapag, Marc Pingris, Gabe Norwood, Ranidel De Ocampo and naturalized player Marcus Douthit, wound up second to gold medalist Iran.
Gilas continued breaking barriers the following year in the World Cup in Spain.
Behind the very core that made this breakthrough stint possible, Gilas reintroduced the Philippines to the basketball world.
Alapag rained down threes. Norwood posterized NBA player Luis Scola. Castro blitzed past taller and better defenders from Europe. Andray Blatche showed he deserved another stint in the NBA with his all-around game.
While the squad only brought home a solitary win from Spain, they earned the respect of the rest of the world.
“Being able to return to the World Championships is really special,” Reyes said.
Gilas has been a fixture in the World Cup since then. And now with new coach Tim Cone, it seems the national team is bound to achieve more.
“Since then, tuluy-tuloy na ang participation natin sa World Cup. We really owe a lot to those two teams,” Reyes said.
“Very, very happy and, even more so, I’m really, really proud.”
(With reports from Gillian Trinidad, One Sports Digital)