SECOND TRY AT A GRAND SLAM IS LAST THING ON CHOT REYES' MIND

CHOT Reyes gets another crack at a Grand Slam that eluded him 14 years ago in the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup finals.

Reyes had his first chance at the rare feat during the 2011 season when Talk ‘N Text played Petron, one of the previous names that San Miguel carried, in the Governors’ Cup finals. Only, he fell short after TNT lost Game 7, 85-73, last August 21 of that year.

The last person thinking about a Grand Slam right now , however, is Reyes himself, as he remains focused on what lies ahead – Game 1 of the finals against the same franchise that denied him of history.

"2011 is really ancient history for me," said Reyes when reminded about his failed Grand Slam bid during Friday’s finals press conference at the Chardonnay by Astoria in Pasig City.

"This tournament, this finals is going to be nice to win on its own merits, not because of any past experience."

Game 1 is set on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum with the Tropang 5G facing once more with the Beermen.

After TNT ousted Rain or Shine in six games, SMB defeated Barangay Ginebra, 100-93, behind the Game 7 heroics of June Mar Fajardo and Chris Ross.

Reyes will look to join an elite group of coaches who won a Grand Slam in Baby Dalupan, Tommy Manotoc, Norman Black, and Tim Cone.

But Reyes said the total focus of Tropang 5G right now is the finals series opener, which they have actually won in the previous two conferences.

"Believe it or not, hindi ko iniisip ‘yung Grand Slam. Even up to now. When I come to coach, I coach what’s in front of me. Even in our team discussions, we really never talk about winning a championship," he said.

"We talk about being the hardest working, best conditioned team. If we do that, then the winning will follow. ‘Yun ang approach ko eh, just do my best, take it every game, every conference, and before we know it, we are here."

TNT's tall task

The 10-time PBA champion coach said San Miguel is going to be a tough foe, especially with the TNT still dealing with injuries to RR Pogoy and Kelly Williams, and the two previous Finals MVPs in Jayson Castro and Rey Nambatac already out of action.

But Reyes will be leaning on the Tropang 5G fighting spirit that has been on full display in the playoffs.

"The adversity that we went through is really a testament to the fighting spirit of the players. They just refused to give up. Ayaw talaga bumigay," he said.

"Maski na we could have called it a day and no one would take anything away from us; we won the last two championships, so even if we had given up, ok na rin ‘yan, but they kept fighting.

"So isa lang sinasabi namin palagi sa team namin, as long as you keep fighting, then you’ll give yourself a chance. And now we’re here, we’ve given ourselves a chance, we know napakalakas ng kalaban namin with all of our injuries as well. But we will just do what we’ve been doing the whole conference, keep fighting and just trying to give ourselves a chance."

2025-07-11T10:15:33Z