SAMAHANG Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al Panlilio admitted that with the 2023 Fiba World Cup just months away, coach Chot Reyes' situation with Gilas Pilipinas must be resolved with urgency.
"That’s something we need to address, I think. It’s also unfair both to him, the national team and even TNT," he said on Wednesday during the Volunteers Program Launch of the World Cup at Novotel.
Panlilio expects Reyes to put all of his focus on the national team as the head coach and concurrent program director as the SBP looks to go all-in come 2023.
[READ: Chot in discussion with SBP to focus on Gilas next year]
In the lead-up to the World Cup, Gilas will host a pair of qualifiers against Lebanon and Jordan in the sixth window in February, take part in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia in May, and the Hangzhou Asian Games in September.
Reyes, though, still has TNT on his cupboard as it is also preparing for a compressed PBA Governors' Cup in early next year.
Panlilio, as the president and CEO of PLDT, admitted "it’s something that I think we should address with the governor of TNT and chairman of PBA si Ricky Vargas. We will also have consultations with [SBP chairman emeritus] MVP as to how to move forward."
"It’s a jampacked calendar next year and even beyond the World Cup, the Asian Games," he said.
"So technically, Chot will be up to his head the whole year — and that’s the national team program pa lang. And so I think we will have to decide on how we handle the TNT situation at least for that moment."
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