MANILA, Philippines — Veteran coach Chot Reyes is readying himself for a "very difficult" situation as he takes over the head coaching reigns for Gilas Pilipinas ahead of the February window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Coming in as a replacement after Tab Baldwin's shock resignation, Reyes faces a tall task of putting together a team and getting them ready for battle in a couple weeks time.
"I knew that it was going to be very difficult because, you know, the situation is far from ideal because we're playing in three weeks and I don't even have a team," Reyes told Quinito Henson and Dyan Castillejo on Friday's episode of Playitright TV.
"But it's very difficult really to say, to turn your back on the call of flag and country," he added.
This is Reyes' fourth stint as Gilas Pilipinas' head coach.
In his campaign with the team from 2012 to 2014, he guided the Philippines back to the FIBA World Cup after a 36-year drought.
Knowing how far he could steer the team, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas thought him an apt candidate to replace Baldwin.
But Reyes admitted that he was in no way aware that he was going to return to the Gilas program as head coach anew.
"I've always said this before that, you know, I'd always make myself available in whatever capacity. [But] I didn't know that I was going back in this capacity, it was truly a shocker for me," he said.
Nevertheless, Reyes is up to the task to assemble a Gilas team in a couple of weeks time.
He is expected to use a Gilas core made up of his TNT Tropang Giga players and a handful of Gilas cadets like Juan Gomez de Liano, Dwight Ramos, Jaydee Tungcab, Will Navarro and naturalized Gilas player Angelo Kouame.
The Philippines face Korea, India and New Zealand in the qualifiers.
The games, however, of no bearing as the Philippines is already qualified due to being co-hosts of the World Cup with Japan and Indonesia.