Coach Chot Reyes walked, so Tim Cone could run.
Face it, you only hate the guy on the left because social media said so.
When the keyboard warriors and the critics started mouthing off online behind the protection of jejemon names and anonymity on the internet, you were probably swayed as well.
Or not? And if so, then you understand this fully well.
That Chot Reyes, for all his short comings, walked, stumbled and failed so that Time Cone could pick up the pieces.
The man who lead us to a silver medal finish back in 2013 of the FIBA Asia Championship, bronze in the 2014 FIBA Asia Cup, Silver in Hanoi and Gold in Phomh Penh for the South East Asian Games.
Yes, he deserves to be criticized for his short comings and coaching on the court but not to the level of online hate and bashing. Not to the level where other countries are left in awe, not because of how great Gilas Pilipinas is or how great the fans are, but because never had they probably ever seen an entire country voraciously, relentlessly and unforgivingly boo’ed their own national team head coach.
The man took on a job no one wanted and stepped up to the plate with no complaints. Despite the numerous political and admin challenges, we somehow still were relevant.
And that cannot be forgotten.
Now, as Tim Cone steps in for his moment under the sun, fans will probably see the dawning of a new age in Philippine Basketball. After all, this is the man many are now saying to be the Greatest coach of all time in the Philippines.
Hard to ignore when you’re a 25x PBA Champion, a 2x PBA grand slam champion, a 4x PBA coach of the year and in the international scene, won gold as an assistant in 2019 and 2023 SEA games, and now gold in Hangzhou for the Asian Games.
Tim Cone’s time in the limelight is well deserved and now expectations are sky high for a coach well equipped to handle them.
But let’s not forget: Chot Reyes walked – down an unforgiving road – so Tim Cone could run and lead us down the new road for Philippine basketball.