By WAYLON GALVEZ

When Talk ’N Text won its first championship in 2003, Chot Reyes sat stunned on the opposite side of the court, his dream of gifting Coca-Cola a second PBA title dashed by a talented crew handled by Joel Banal.

The two coaches would meet again six years later in different capacities Reyes as TNT coach and Banal as Alaska assistant coach.

This time, Reyes took his turn to take the spotlight.

Reyes lost no time to attribute their victory to good organization.

"This is a great example of having a good organization. We may not have the best talent like the previous Talk ’N Text teams, but this team worked hard to win the title," Reyes said moments after the Tropang Texters outlasted the Aces, 93-89, last Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.

"In a situation where good organization (from members of the coaching staff, to players and team officials) comes together, it usually results to a championship," he added.

Reyes joined TNT beginning of last year, five months after steering the all-pro national team to a disappointing ninth place finish in the 2007 Olympic qualifying tournament in Tokushima, Japan.

He described the Japan debacle the lowest ebb of his career.

But his latest title with TNT – his fifth PBA crown – proved that his decision to return was right.

"For me, this is really a validation that I made the right decision to continue. It reinforced my love for the game of basketball and erased somewhat the Tokushima debacle," he said.

When Reyes replaced Derrick Pumaren as TNT head coach prior to the 2008 Fiesta Cup, Asi Taulava was no longer part of the team.

After a disastrous campaign in the Fiesta Cup, Reyes began to rebuild the team beginning with a training camp in Europe during the off-season.

In the PBA Rookie Draft, TNT tabbed Fil-Am wingman Jared Dillinger as the second overall pick, and then traded Anthony Jay Washington to San Miguel Beer for the No. 3 pick which it used to get former three-time PBL MVP Jason Castro.

The team also netted Fil-Am forward Rob Reyes and San Beda College playmaker Pong Escobal.

Now known by the new moniker, Tropang Texters, the team retained Mark Cardona, Jimmy Alapag, Harvey Carey, Renren Ritualo, Yancy de Ocampo, Don Allado, Yousif Aljamal, Gilbert Lao, Gec Chia and Ali Peek, who was part of the Taulava deal.

Before the end of the Philippine Cup elimination phase, TNT shipped Allado to Air21 for 6-foot-5 Ranidel de Ocampo.

Reyes built a team that he believes would go all the way.

The Texters finished with the second-best record (11-7), behind the Aces (12-6) to earn an automatic spot in the semifinals.

TNT defeated San Miguel Beer while Alaska dethroned Sta. Lucia Realty both in six games to arrange the title showdown.

Ranged against good friend Tim Cone, the Alaska coach, Reyes and his team lost the first two games, but the flamboyant TNT mentor did not lose hope.

"When we were down, 0-2, all we want to do was to get to a Game 7. So even when we were down, 2-3, my desire never changed. All I want to do was to get to a Game 7. My prayers were answered," Reyes said.

Talk ’N Text won Games 3 and 4 to draw level before finding its back against the wall when Alaska took Game 5.

But the Texters held on to a 99-94 win in Game 6 to force sudden death.

Reyes became the first coach to win an all-Filipino title with three different teams after guiding Coney Island (Purefoods) in 1993 and Coca-Cola in 2002.

The victory also completed a grand slam of sorts for telecommunication tycoon Manny V. Pangilinan who also supported the title conquests of Ateneo de Manila in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) and San Beda College in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).


http://www.mb.com.ph/SPRT20090213148032.html