CHOT Reyes and the rest of Gilas Pilipinas conquered a handful of odds en route to the men's 5x5 basketball gold medal in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Cambodia.
READ: Gilas restores PH pride with vengeful win over Cambodia in final
Apart from his hardworking cagers and coaching staff, Reyes took to Instagram on Wednesday to give his flowers to an unsung hero behind the scenes.
Chot on Alfrancis Chua
"When everyone was down on us and doubting, and the bashers as usual were hating, one voice kept the faith, kept believing. That in the end we’d come out winning," Reyes said.
"Salamat Gov. Al Chua. You’re part of this," he added.
In the said post, the Gilas mentor shared screen grabs of his Viber exchange with Chua throughout the course of the competition.
"Morning, keep coaching positive lang. Huwag mong intindihin mga tao, kasama sa buhay natin 'yan. Goodluck," Chua said in a message to Reyes.
Another message shows Chua reminding Reyes to fully focus on leading the national team and shut out the external noise.
"Basta coach ka lang. Alam ko mahirap, just block mo lang sa isip mo," the San Miguel Corporation sporting director said. "Concentrate lang sa team, ok?"
Gilas' golden triumph over Cambodia marks Reyes' first SEA Games gold medal and the country's 19th overall in 22 editions of the biennial meet.
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