Jordan Clarkson has nothing but love and respect for Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes, who stepped down amid the deluge of fury and hate from fans and critics throughout the team’s campaign in the FIBA World Cup.
Reyes called it quits following Gilas’ 96-75 manhandling of China to end the classification round on a bright note last Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the country’s first in nine years.
His resignation came after Gilas failed to get a single win in the group stage and blew their chances to vie for a Paris Olympic slot with a blowout loss to South Sudan at the start of the classification phase before finally pulling one against their Asian rival.
Clarkson could only admire the man who took all the beating and bashing on social media with his head held high knowing he did everything he could to serve.
“I mean I could just start off with one word: just respect. Like he said, he didn’t apply for this job, he didn’t do that, he got chosen,” the Utah Jazz star said.
“And you know, he’s put everything on the line, like he said, for his family, and for the country as well.”
Reyes made his return to the World Cup nine years after calling the shots for Gilas in Seville, Spain – the last time Gilas won a game in the tournament after outlasting Senegal in overtime.
The 59-year-old mentor took the Gilas job last year after Tab Baldwin left his post. He received a lashing from fans after the national squad finished with an embarrassing runner-up in the pandemic-delayed Hanoi Southeast Asian Games where he tendered his resignation only to be rejected by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
Reyes would exact payback last May in Cambodia.
Reyes, who led Gilas to a silver medal in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, was showered with boos and jeers by the crowd during the World Cup that Clarkson found a ‘little weird, especially as host and home country.”
“You know, he’s done a good job of rallying all of us in the short time that we’ve been together,” Clarkson, who dropped 34 points against China, said.
“You know, trying to get stuff in as quickly as possible. So, I just got super respect for him, I’ve been talking to him since I’ve been, you know, young. We’ve been waiting for the opportunity to, you know, get together, play games, and do this for a while, so all I got is respect for him.”
Clarkson gave his full support to Reyes’ decision to let go of the Gilas reins.
“I tip my hat off to him if that’s his decision at the end of the day. But it’s all love,” he added.
