If winning the Governors’ Cup was tough, Coach Chot Reyes expects the Commissioner’s Cup to be even tougher.
Chot Reyes relished winning the Season 49 PBA Governors’ Cup with TNT Tropang Giga. As his 10th PBA championship, this was, at least to some extent, retribution for all the backlash he had faced as a coach in the past two years, admitting that this particular victory had a “different kind of sweetness.“
But just over a week since he lifted the trophy, he is already making plans for the upcoming PBA Commissioner’s Cup set to tip off later this month.
When asked by the media about his expectations for the second conference of Season 49, Reyes acknowledged, “[It will be] very, very, very tough. Kasi we all already see the teams beefing up…So if the Governors’ Cup was difficult, I find the Commissioner’s Cup is going to be doubly, if not ten times more difficult.”
Reyes expects that the upcoming challenge will largely be owed to teams in the PBA invigorating their sides to make for an even more competitive conference.
However, focusing on his own team, the six-time PBA Coach of the Year Awardee also revealed some of his plans in preparation for their first game.
Reyes disclosed that Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who has been TNT’s reliable import since 2023 and has since won two titles for the team, will remain the team’s import for the upcoming Commissioner’s Cup.
“Well, we just won a championship with him, the chemistry is already there and I thought, when we analyzed it, we thought we would have our best chances of winning,” Reyes explained.
Apart from being a two-time PBA champion, Hollis-Jefferson also holds two Best Import of the Conference awards. And adding to his resume under Coach Chot, the former NBA player averaged 28 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 6.4 assists in the recent Governors’ Cup.
However, the six-foot-six forward may err on the smaller side of the PBA’s imports for the next conference.
“Yeah, we’re still on the lookout, always. Like I said, if we can find a really good 6’10, 6’11 guy, then we’ll definitely consider him,” Coach Chot admitted. “But for now, with the options that we’ve seen, we have some really good 6’8, 6’9 prospects. But kung ganong height din lang, eh Rondae na lang.”
With plans already in motion, practice, on the other hand, still has yet to begin. After celebrating their recent PBA championship, and with the November window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers coming up later this month, Coach Chot shared that TNT will be resuming their practice once the dust settles.
“Because we’re going to wait for Gilas to be over, Calvin Oftana is there, Coach Josh Reyes is also there. So we want to make sure the players are complete before we resume our practice,” he shared.
After winning the first conference of Season 49, the 10-time PBA champion coach will definitely be eyeing another title win with TNT Tropang Giga to keep the hopes of an elusive Grand Slam alive.
But before he can think about winning all three, Coach Chot Reyes has to first get his team off on the right foot when the Commissioner’s Cup kicks off on November 27 — and as he mentioned himself, it won’t be an easy ride back to the top.
Banner image from PBA Media Bureau.