Chot Reyes on Jaworski as Gilas head coach: "He'll have a difficult time"

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Chot Reyes on Jaworski as Gilas head coach: "He'll have a difficult time"

Former national team head coach Chot Reyes has some ideas as to who should take his place in the Gilas Pilipinas program, but is also wary of pre-empting the Search and Selection Committee formed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).

Reyes last week requested the Committee not to consider him for the post anymore, paving the way for a smooth transition.

Reyes, in an interview on "The Bottomline with Boy Abunda," revealed that he does have some ideas as to who should be the next coach of the national team.

"I think, for me, in the best position are those who can provide continuity, and those are the people who are already on my staff," he said, referring to Jong Uichico, Tab Baldwin and Norman Black.

Baldwin's name has repeatedly come up when discussing the position, but the consultant said he has not given any thought to the issue yet.

"I'm not really involved at this process at this time, and we'll just see what happens," Baldwin said in a recent interview.

Reyes also believes that given enough time to prepare, Purefoods head coach Tim Cone "will do a great job as well."

Cone recently said that should he be considered for the job, he will give the matter some serious thought as he believes that coaching the national team is "truly an honor."

But Cone, who piloted Purefoods to a PBA Grand Slam in the previous season, also remains convinced that Reyes is still the right man for the job.

"If I had a choice, if it was up to me, I truly believe Chot Reyes is the right guy for the job, and he should continue to do the job," Cone said.

Asked if Philippine basketball legend Robert Jaworski should be considered, Reyes was non-committal.

"I love Coach Sonny," he said. "In fact, several times, I invited him to talk to the team, but I think he'll have a difficult time… No that he can't do it. But again, if they give him a lot of time to prepare…"

"There are a lot of great Filipino coaches," Reyes finally said. "But we have to give them all the support, give them all the players they want, and all the time they need to prepare."

Jaworski himself has acknowledged that coaching Gilas would be a "tough job." "But I think taking a serious look at it is not a bad idea, because it's calling," he added.

Reyes, for his part, said he does not want to pre-empt the search committee, which met for the first time last week and came out with the criteria for their selection.

The criteria will then be forwarded to the SBP executive committee for final approval, and the committee will then meet again this coming week once the criteria have been finalized.

The committee will then come up with a short list of candidates, which will be submitted to the SBP executive committee, headed by SBP president Manny V. Pangilinan.