Chot Reyes on Gilas supporters: ‘Dito sa atin, bawal matalo’

Chot Reyes’ burdensome and excruciating position as head coach of Gilas Pilipinas has become unbearable.

Reyes bared that he can endure the hatred, the online vitriol, and the demands for his resignation, but when his family and loved ones became involved, it’s a different story.

And at that point, the embattled mentor decided it was time to step away from the national team.

“And subject myself to this again? Maawa naman kayo sa akin. It’s just been brutal. You all know. You are there. You are part of it,” said Reyes who announced his resignation shortly after the Filipinos defeated China in the squad’s final playdate in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

“It’s just been brutal. Never mind me, but on my family and my loved ones. It’s just been brutal,” he added.

Reyes stressed that he did his best to make the most of the situation he had been dealt with. He had grand plans for the preparation for the World Cup, but he there were things that was just beyond his control.

“We had a great preparation plan as we started preparations for this on June 12 but we got our first complete practice as a team on August 18, one week before our first game. Think about that,” lamented Reyes.

Worse, with overly enthusiastic fans, Reyes is expected to deliver wins practically every time the team gets on the court, regardless of who they’re up against.

“Still, we fought all of those opponents, Italy, Dominican, Angola, but we fell short. But France didn’t advance, Australia is not advancing, there’s so many powerful teams that are not advancing pero sa Pilipinas bawal matalo e,” said Reyes.

“Dito sa atin, bawal matalo. It’s just too heavy, masyado ng masakit,” he added

Gilas’ three losses in the group stage and the thrashing at the hands of World Cup debutant South Sudan, which slammed the door on Gilas’ hopes for an automatic Olympic berth, added fuel to the already raging animosity towards Reyes, with some of the insults simply below the belt.

“Just to be very honest, bastos naman talaga ‘yung mga ibang pinagsasabi so I don’t deserve it and my family doesn’t deserve it.”