Chot on TNT coaching return: ‘It’s not going to be easy’

FILE PHOTO– Returning TNT coach Chot Reyes. TRISTAN TAMAYO

MANILA, Philippines — Chot Reyes is keeping his expectations modest ahead of his second tour of duty as head coach of TNT.

Reyes is the franchise’s winningest coach, having led Talk ’N Text to four titles during his first stint from 2008 to 2012.

“It’s not going to be easy. I know a lot of fans are saying a lot of good things, but this is not going to be a walk in the park, it’s not going to be an instant thing,” said Reyes on Monday in an episode of The Game.

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Reyes, 57, replaced head coach Bong Ravena and active consultant Mark Dickel at the helm.

“I just want to make sure that we manage expectations because the competition as we all know is very, very tough and everyone is getting better,” added the eight-time PBA champion and five-time Coach of the Year. “So you know, simply changing the coach is not a magic formula, it’s not automatic. You really, really have to work like we’ve never worked before.”

But the pressure will be on Reyes, who will be tasked to end the Tropang Giga’s long title drought.

TNT hasn’t won a title since the 2015 Commissioner’s Cup under Jong Uichico.

Led by Roger Pogoy, Ray Parks and Jayson Castro, the Tropang Giga made as far as the finals in last season’s Philippine Cup bubble where they lost to the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings in five games.