CHICAGO - Listening to newly-appointed Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes field questions at SPIN's Zoom In episode yesterday was immensely educational and deliciously mesmerizing.
The 58-year old Reyes, who is also the bench boss at TNT, was so charming he almost made me forget that his new office still has a "crime scene" tape around it as well as the chalk outline figure of the fired former occupant, coach Tab Baldwin.
After the euphoria wore off, I went back to business as usual, which included finding out what really happened to Tab and why the hell would he leave the most prestigious basketball job in the country in lieu of a college gig whose season is still pretty much up in the air.
Here's the latest.
A source told me that sometime last week coach Tab made a request to talk to MVP, as in the big kahuna, Manny V. Pangilinan.
But a separate SPIN.ph source revealed that it was MVP who kept calling coach Tab in the U.S. and couldn't get a connection.
Either way, both parties eventually got connected and while no one is privy to what the gentlemen discussed, it is important to note that shortly after that phone call the SBP issued the statement about Tab "stepping down."
A day or two later, PBA chairman Ricky Vargas, a top MVP deputy, went on a Zoom call with Baldwin.
THE MEETING DID NOT GO WELL, THE SOURCE ADDED.
Was Vargas unhappy at Tab over star players with ties to Ateneo making a beeline to the Japan B.League?
Did Baldwin scream back at Vargas insisting that he won't take a sizable pay cut from his Gilas salary?
No one knows.
And no one ever will until Raffy Tulfo starts sledge-hammering down those thick, tightly-guarded walls around the MVP group.
Amid all the mixed signals, one thing seems crystal clear: Coach Tab did not resign his position.
This one's also clear: Chot Reyes had nothing to do with Tab's departure.
Sure, there are plausible means and opportunities, but there is absolutely no motive.
Still on cloud 9 after delivering a title to TNT, punching the mouths of two SMC teams along the way no less, Reyes is well-paid enough that he does not need a side job that will take precious time away from his family and the golf links.
I mistook Chot for a cunning, power hungry narcissist who wanted to seize another job that was more high-profile than what he already held.
I WAS WRONG.
If anything, Chot deserves our appreciation for taking on a tough challenge. He could have cherry picked a different time to take over the national program but he accepted the challenge at a time when a perilous FIBA widow is coming where Gilas plays four days in five games, including two against South Korea.
I regret the miscalculation and have since directly apologized to Chot.
"Accepted. There is no rancor in my heart," he replied.
Tab, meanwhile, is refusing to talk to the media. But he has been touching base with a few coaches back in Manila, which is his prerogative.
The fear now is that his spot at Ateneo is the next domino to fall, which isn't surprising because all coaching jobs end. It's just a matter of when.
What's next for Tab?
San Miguel is what I'm hearing.
Soon, the ball will be in your court, Alfranchis Chua.
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