CHOT Reyes is ready to take a bullet for Gilas Pilipinas.
Reyes said he can take the jeers which fans rained on him during the national team’s Fiba Basketball World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia for as long as they would not do the same thing to his players.
See: Chot Reyes hears boos from MOA crowd in Gilas game vs Saudi
“For me, I’d rather get booed by the crowd than the players get booed. Boo-hin ninyo na ako ng todo, huwag niyo lang boo-hin yung mga players. Suportahan ninyo lang yung mga players. That is fine with me,” he said.
The Philippine team mentor was repeatedly heckled by the crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena during the team introduction and every time he was shown on the jumbotron.
Despite the obvious distraction, Reyes managed to steer the Filipinos to victory, 84-46, to end the August window on a winning note.
The taunting didn’t escape the attention of the players either that Jordan Clarkson, Dwight Ramos, and Kiefer Ravena came to the defense of the under-fire mentor.
“Murahin ninyo na ako, i-bash ninyo na ako nang todo. Basta suportahan ninyo yung team, suportahan ninyo yung players,” said Reyes.
“Like I told the players inside the locker room, the relationships, the bond we’ve built, I’m willing to take all of that. As Jordan says, all of that shit.”
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