AFTER two championships, three Finals appearances, and a long 75-game season, Chot Reyes now gets the icing on the cake.
The TNT mentor is set to receive a record-extending seventh Coach of the Year award from the PBA Press Corps as it holds the 31st edition of its Awards Night on Monday (Oct. 13) at the Novotel Manila.
Mr. Reyes, 62, unanimously got the nod of the men and women who regularly cover the PBA beat over San Miguel Beer counterpart Leo Austria in winning the coveted Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan Trophy.
Top sports patron and TNT team owner Manny V. Pangilinan shares the spotlight with his coach as he will be honored with the Danny Floro Executive of the Year award.
The 79-year-old business tycoon also serves as the special guest of honor and speaker of the annual event.
Mr. Reyes, the former Gilas Pilipinas coach, guided the TNT Tropang 5G to three straight Finals appearances in Season 49 and won the championships of the Governors’ Cup and Commissioner’s Cup, respectively.
But he was foiled in his attempt to score a first grand slam in the last 11 years when TNT lost against San Miguel in the Philippine Cup title series.
Nonetheless, his 48-27 (win-loss) record marked the best for the season, while the total 75 games that he coached is tied for the most since Tim Cone steered Alaska to a grand slam in 1996.
Mr. Reyes was the first ever recipient of the award named after the acknowledged “Maestro” of Philippine coaching, back in 1993 and repeated in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2011, and 2021.
Family and relatives of the late Dalupan will be attending the affair to personally hand out the award.
Other awardees include Magnolia’s Zavier Lucero (Defensive Player of the Year), Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser of TNT (Bogs Adornado Comeback Player of the Year), San Miguel’s Don Trollano (Mr. Quality Minutes), and Arvin Tolentino of Northport (Scoring Champion).
Completing the Press Corps’ honor roll for Season 49 are TNT’s Calvin Oftana (Order of Merit), the All-Rookie Team of RJ Abarrientos (Barangay Ginebra), Sedrick Barefield (Blackwater), Caelan Tiongson (Rain or Shine), Jordan Heading (TNT), Justine Baltazar (Converge), and Kai Ballungay (Phoenix), and Game 7 of the TNT-Barangay Ginebra Commissioner’s Cup Finals (Game of the Season). — Olmin Leyba
