Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin. Photo from Fiba.com
Though disappointed with his ouster, Tab Baldwin is confident Chot Reyes will do well in his second crack as head coach for Gilas Pilipinas.
“I’ve always had a belief in Chot as a coach,” he said. “I’ve observed him up close for two years as his consultant. He’s a good basketball coach and he does a good job coaching Gilas, and that’s the only thing I’ve ever seen him do.”
READ: Chot Reyes returns as Gilas head coach, Baldwin as consultant
Reyes hired the American-Kiwi mentor as a consultant for the silver medal-winning Gilas Pilipinas crew at the 2013 Fiba Asia Championship here and for the 2014 Fiba World Cup in Spain. The 58-year-old tactician stayed on until he was elevated as the head coach on January 2015.
But as Reyes returned at the helm, Baldwin returns to his old consultant role.
Baldwin believes that this second chance for Reyes will allow him to atone the debacle in the 2014 Asian Games on Incheon, South Korea.
READ: Baldwin honored to still be part of Gilas even as consultant
“I said all the way back after the Asian Games in Korea, I thought that was a rough deal for Chot. Time doesn’t change that, current circumstances don’t change that,” he said.
Though he’s no longer the head coach, Baldwin said that he’ll still help the Gilas Pilipinas program in every way he can, and it all starts with his full trust on Reyes.
“Chot has got my support. It is my job to do the best I can to help him, make this program as successful as it can be,” he said. “That’s the only thing I ever asked of my assistant coaches, and I don’t think I can do any more than that, but he’ll get 100-percent out of me for doing that.”