‘Outcoached’ Chot: Season ‘sucked,’ third place ‘useless’

A third place victory is hardly a feather on anyone’s cap, Chot Reyes’ most especially. So as Talk N Text conveniently thwarted B-Meg Derby Ace, 113-95, Friday to claim third place honors in the 2010 PBA Fiesta Conference, there was Reyes, in the middle of a post-game chat, allowing his pent-up frustrations to finally boil over despite easily bagging a supposedly consolation trophy. “It’s a useless game to play. You don’t play for third place,” Reyes instantly belted out. Mac Cardona and Harvey Carey listed conference-high 30 and 24 points respectively in the victory, but Reyes was not big on giving out praises for this particular night. “I’m happy we won. But my feelings won’t change, you only play for the championship,” Reyes said, even calling the customary third place battle “the worst games to play.” It was indeed the worst moment for Reyes, after his underachieving squad botched a myriad opportunities this post-season to other teams agonize through the battle for third place. “What a really disappointing finish for this year,” said Reyes in evident frustration. The Tropang Texters, a squad who came out firing on all cylinders with a 13-game winning streak in the eliminations phase, even warranting them a top seed in the playoffs, flubbed two golden opportunities to close out in the semifinals. In the concluding match of a grueling and emotional seven-game series, Talk N Text sorely wavered in the face of a resolute Alaska squad—a crucial defeat which rankles Reyes most in his entire career. “That’s going to rank as the most painful and worst losses ever,” he said, even admitting that long-time Alaska head coach Tim Cone “outcoached” him in the semis. But Reyes know it wasn’t just Cone who worked double time their last meeting. “Alaska outworked us. They wanted it more than we did,” he said, knowing that the Texters were solid favorites coming to this conference, boosted by the acquisition of Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes. With all the failures compounded, Reyes had one thing to say about the season: “This year absolutely sucked.” Talk N Text, which actually dominated the third place battle from the get-go, grabbing a 21-point buffer over the Llamados entering the payoff period en route to the win, will actually end the season with a franchise win-loss record of 32-17. Yet it’s not something that could ease the pain of an unexpected early exit for Reyes and his troops. “We have nobody else to blame but ourselves,” Reyes said. “Now, we rest, we recharge, we reevaluate. Hopefully 2011 with be a better season for us.”