Chot Reyes to coach Gilas in WCQ despite TNT in PBA Finals says Sonny Barrios

Chot Reyes will juggle both TNT and Gilas coaching duties later this month. Dennis Acosta (file photo)

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA—Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Sonny Barrios said on Thursday that Chot Reyes will call the shots for Gilas Pilipinas in the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers even if his PBA team, TNT, is in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

In an interview with Andrei Felix on CNN Philippines Sports Desk, Barrios, now acting as SBP's spokesman, reiterated Reyes' curt statement on Sunday that he will put a premium on "country over club".

"Right now, Chot's priority is the Gilas team, so he will coach in Beirut, Lebanon and he intends to coach Gilas in MOA on the 29th," Barrios said.

The likelihood is that Reyes will miss Games 2 and 3 of the Tropang Giga's championship series against the San Miguel Beermen as they will fall within the time he will be in Beirut.

There is a chance that Reyes might coach TNT in Game 4 of the finals, which will happen the night before Gilas hosts Saudi Arabia, but him coaching different teams in back-to-back evenings has a not-so-big probability.

In his current coaching setup, Reyes is training TNT in the morning and Gilas in the afternoon.

The SMB-TNT series begins on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, which will also host Game 2 on Wednesday night.

The MOA Arena gets its turn to host the series in Game 3 on Friday night, but beginning with the following week, the Smart Araneta Coliseum will host the remainder of the finals.

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