Chot Reyes rekindles overseas coaching connections

MANILA, Philippines—Chot Reyes has been out of coaching for nearly two years now but that hasn’t stopped the former Gilas Pilipinas mentor from still working on the craft that made him a household name.

During an interview with the Coaches Unfiltered podcast, Reyes said that he’s been working on improving himself and even got the help of NBA coaches in the United States.

The Philippines’ run in the 2014 Fiba World Cup allowed Reyes to get connections with some European teams and he recently reached out to them and even observed the practices of the Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards.

“Because of the performance of Gilas in the Worlds [in 2014], we had some interest from European things if I wanted to coach overseas and I put those off because I was CEO of TV5 then and I didn’t have the time… I kind of got rekindled last year and there were some inquiries,” said Reyes in the interview.

Reyes, who stepped down from his Gilas post in 2018, was able to join tour the Celtics, Wizards, and Brooklyn Nets’ facilities before the COVID-19 pandemic and he said that it was a “great experience” for him being in those environments.

Although Reyes got to study in an NBA environment, he said he’s not rushing to get back to coaching and would rather look at opportunities that may come along his way.

“I wasn’t really looking for a job per se but I was just trying to see what are the things that were available, what are the options overseas,” said Reyes. “It was a wonderful experience, making the connection with the GMs, the head of basketball operations and some other things I have to do.”