JOSH Reyes serves as the lead deputy of TNT Tropang Giga in the PBA, the reason he was the one tasked to call the shots when head coach Chot Reyes became unavailable for Game 7 of the Philippine Cup Finals against San Miguel.
That explains why it was he, and not Sandy Arespacochaga, was the one calling the shots from the sidelines of the Smart Araneta Coliseum in the winner-take-all match against the Beermen.
Reyes, of course, is also the head coach of the Philippine youth team and son of TNT mentor Chot Reyes.
[READ: Josh Reyes on late SMB run in Game Seven]
The elder Reyes missed Games 2 and 3 of the best-of-seven series as he tended to his duty as Gilas Pilipinas coach in the August window of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers in games against Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.
During that same period, Josh was likewise out of the country, looking after the Batang Gilas’ campaign in the FIBA U-18 Asian Championship in Tehran, Iran where the Filipinos finished sixth overall.
The non-availability of the younger Reyes paved the way for Arespacochaga to assume the TNT coaching role for the two games, which the Tropang Giga unfortunately lost.
But an opportunity for Josh to handle the Tropang Giga in the finals presented itself when his father was put under the league’s health and safety protocols days before the deciding game.
Chot apparently was no longer feeling well shortly after TNT’s 114-96 loss in Game 6. The following day, he was placed under health protocols and no longer joined the team in its practice.
Josh already handled the team from thereon all to way to the final game of the conference.
“In constant communication naman siya (Chot), yun lang very limited,” said the TNT top deputy.
“I guess a lot of things happened that weren’t anticipated at the last second. So we just had to be agile and adjust the best way we can so that we’ll still find a way to do our jobs.”
With Josh calling the shots, the Tropang Giga valiantly battled the Beermen toe-to-toe for three quarters before folding under the weight of a huge 17-0 run by San Miguel in the first five minutes of the fourth period.
It was game over from there.
“We were competitive for the first three quarters, but at the latter or the second half of that fourth quarter, things just went sour,” said Josh Reyes after the 119-97 loss to the Beermen in Game 7.
Nonetheless, it was the biggest game so far in the PBA coaching career of TNT’s top deputy
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