Chot Reyes may have his haters as Gilas Pilipinas coach, but as TNT Tropang GIGA tactician, it’s hard to say anything bad about him. Whether he’s working behind the scenes in some executive role, or as head coach of the squad, he knows how to win.
If Chot Reyes wins the 2025 PBA Commissioner’s Cup for TNT, he will tie Norman Black for most championships. Of course, Tim Cone is the winningest coach of all time, with legendary coach Baby Dalupan as a distant second with 15 championships. Still, in terms of active mentors, he is above Leo Austria, Jong Uichico, Yeng Guiao, and Luigi Trillo, among others.
Also, he has this weird way of getting the rookies.
Ever since the Season 48 Draft, TNT scored mini-bangers in the draft. With the exception of Jielo Razon, who practiced with the team at the start of the season but had to finish his obligation with the MPBL’s Paranaque Patriots, their young guns of Henry Galinato, Kim Aurin, and CJ Payawal are already PBA champions.
Okay, maybe these players aren’t earth-shattering picks. TNT still relies on Blackwater and in some ways Rain or Shine, Converge, and Phoenix for roster resets, but for some reason, they are getting quality young guns in seasons they shouldn't be getting any.
Case in point, this has been TNT’s PBA Draft performance since 2019.
TNT PICKS SINCE 2010
DRAFT | ROUND 1 | ROUND 2 | ROUND 3 |
2024 (SEASON 49) | NONE | PICK 7 (ROS | TIONGSON) | NONE | PICK 19 (CON | JAVILLONAR) | JARED BROWN | PICK 31 |
2023 (SEASON 48) | NONE | PICK 9 (CON | WINSTON) | NONE | PICK 21 (NLE | NERMAL) | PASSED |
2022 (SEASON 47) | NONE | PICK 11 (BLA | DYKE) | NONE | PICK 23 (PHX | JOSON) | ROBERTO BARTOLO | PICK 35 |
2021 (SEASON 46) | GILAS ROUND | PICK 4 JAYDEE TUNGCAB
MIKEY WILLIAMS | PICK 4 (FROM NLE VS BLA)
NONE | PICK 11 (NOR | RIKE) | NONE | PICK 23 (ROS | CARACUT) | MICHAEL RIO-SIMMONDS | PICK 35
|
2019 | KIB MONTALBO | PICK 11 | NONE | PICK 23 (ROS | COMBOY) | SIMON CAMACHO | PICK 34 |
TNT looks bad from snubbing what could have been the picks that could give the squad Schonny Winston, Caelan Tiongson, and Andrei Caracut. However, they gave up the rights to get heralded veterans. The pick to supposedly select Troy Rike gave them Terrence Romeo. The picks used by Converge and Blackwater to select Schonny Winston and Mark Dyke were compensation from TNT to acquire Poy Erram.
Finally, the supposed Tiongson pick trade happened to ensure that the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters would release Rey Nambatac to Blackwater, which they swooped a couple of conferences after, using a bunch of assets headlined by Kib Montalbo.
And here's the main reason why TNT is adjusting their average age.
Jayson Castro and Kelly Williams are still in their lineup, with The Blur still getting at least 20 minutes per game. Ryan Reyes played one minute for the Tropang GIGA in the Governors' Cup. While he is really on the verge of retirement, TNT still uses their roster space for him. This season, TNT has used Brian Heruela, Barkley Ebona, Ping Exciminiano, Almond Vosotros, and Paul Varilla. These players are no longer projects and even potential starters when one of their stars gets injured. They are the group version of when Alaska had Joey Loyzaga, Joey Valdez, Dickie Bachmann, and Al David in their lineup when they were past their primes.
1998 PBA SEASON
PLAYER | DEBUT | 1998 PBA SEASON STATS |
JOEY LOYZAGA | 1984 | 9 GAMES | 0.8PPG – 0.7RPG – 0.4APG |
AL DAVID | 1992 | 19 GAMES | 0.7PPG – 0.6RPG – 0.1APG |
DICKIE BACHMANN | 1993 | 8 GAMES | 0.5PPG – 1.0RPG – 0.1APG |
JOEY VALDEZ | 1992 | 5 GAMES | 0.0PPG – 0.4RPG – 0.0APG |
Can you imagine the quandary of the Alaska management? They already lost Johnny Abarrientos, Jojo Lastimosa, Kenneth Duremdes, Bong Hawkins (although injured,) and Tim Cone to the Centennial Dream Team, and now they realized that they had a weak bench.
1998 could have been Alaska's grand slam year. However, aside from the Asian Games, they had to contend with most of their players leaving for other squads and other leagues.
ALASKA’S 1998 PBA SEASON ROSTER SUBTRACTIONS
PLAYERS | 1998 LEAGUE | 1998 TEAM |
MERWIN CASTELO | PBA | MOBILINE PHONE PALS |
MICHAEL OTTO | MBA | PASIG BLUE PIRATES (?) |
BRYANT PUNSALAN | MBA | PAMPANGA DRAGONS (?) |
JACK TANUAN | MBA | NEGROS SLASHERS |
TNT's problem for some time now is their bench. Oftana is their top local and while we can see Pogoy, Nambatac, Erram, and Castro as their secondary stars, they need a good amount of second-stringers to compensate for them in case of injury, foul trouble, or in-game frustrations. Once upon a time, TNT had a best five of Jimmy Alapag, Kelly Williams, Larry Fonacier, Ranidel De Ocampo, and Jayson Castro, to go with an awesome relief core led by Ali Peek, Ryan Reyes, Jared Dillinger, Aaron Aban, Mark Yee, and Harvey Carey.
The PBA Draft, to the surprise of no one, is a great source of new blood and talent. That said, teams need to give their all to make these players matter. Championship-driven teams like San Miguel, Ginebra, Magnolia, and TNT look for the draft to acquire veterans.
At the moment, these teams have sensed the flaws in their actions. The PBA is trying hard to level the competition. And while for some fans, we have yet to see this taking place, we have seen a lot of teams getting nerfed.
And unlike Meralco's ability to build stars from their rookie year, TNT is mixing youth with experience.
2023 (SEASON 48 DRAFT)
PLAYER | DRAFT | ROUND | PICK | DRAFT TEAM | NOTES |
HENRY GALINATO | 2023 | RD 2 | PICK 15 | RAIN OR SHINE | TRADED TO TNT |
KIM AURIN | 2023 | RD 3 | PICK 34 | GINEBRA | SIGNED AS ROOKIE FREE AGENT |
TNT PICKS | NONE
2024 (SEASON 49 DRAFT)
PLAYER | DRAFT | ROUND | PICK | DRAFT TEAM | NOTES |
CJ PAYAWAL | 2024 | RD 3 | PICK 28 | PHOENIX | SIGNED AS ROOKIE FREE AGENT |
JIELO RAZON | 2024 | UNDRAFTED | NONE | SIGNED AS ROOKIE FREE AGENT |
TNT PICKS | JARED BROWN (THIRD ROUND), NEIL CRUZ (FOURTH ROUND)
The Seasons 48 and 49 picks might not be generational talents, but considering their draft positions each year, I’d say they’re solid enough. That said, claiming TNT hasn’t utilized Henry Galinato and Kim Aurin well would be an understatement. Sure, TNT traded second-round Galinato for a future first-round pick, but I doubt they’ll lose sleep over giving up a number 11 or 12 selection.
Late first-rounders often face rocky starts to their careers or fade into obscurity, largely because the teams that pick them aren’t prioritizing their development. TNT, for example, is more focused on finding reliable second-unit players. For this reason, they don’t mind selecting guys with one-dimensional skill sets.
Still, Galinato is more than just a defender. He’s shown flashes of potential as a near-double-double machine. The same goes for Aurin, who may have been a scorer during his Perpetual Altas days but has also proven he can contribute defensively in the PBA. In Aurin, Chot Reyes has a mix of RR Pogoy’s scoring and Rey Nambatac’s grit.
As for Payawal, while his performance dipped in the Commissioner’s Cup, he showed enough promise in the Governors’ Cup to keep him on TNT’s radar.
Then there’s Jielo Razon. Having watched his NCAA games, I can see how his style fits TNT’s system. He’s not going to take over games just yet, but he’s shaping up to be a budget Jayson Castro understudy, somewhere in the mold of Brian Heruela, Kent Salado, or RK Ilagan.
This isn’t the first time TNT has found hidden gems. I genuinely believe they asked the other teams to overlook Razon, just like how the league collectively allowed Fran Yu to reunite with Bonnie Tan as the 40th pick in the 2023 PBA Draft (Season 48). This reminds me of 2016 when TNT—whose first pick that year came in the fourth round—snagged RR Pogoy in the Special Gilas Draft while NLEX ended up with Fonzo Gotladera.
No offense to Gotladera, but NLEX should have gone with Pogoy.
Chot Reyes has a specific type of player in mind when drafting, though not every move pans out. Mikey Williams, for instance, is a star talent but has had his share of off-court settling issues. While TNT addressed some of that by acquiring Calvin Oftana and winning two titles with Williams at the helm, they may have been better off selecting someone like Santi Santillan for long-term stability.
These players won’t become stars unless allowed to shine. Take San Miguel, for example—its struggles at this conference stem largely from their import situation. If they had a Rondae Hollis-Jefferson instead of Malik Pope, they wouldn’t be in this mess. TNT also tried to pursue Avan Nava, but San Miguel blocked the move, asserting their claim on the rookie.
Magnolia, meanwhile, is navigating its youth movement by transitioning away from Jio Jalalon. Zavier Lucero and Jerom Lastimosa seem poised to lead the team in the future, but this shift means retooling the rest of their roster.
As for TNT, they won’t have a first-round pick in the Season 50 Draft. However, you can expect them to maneuver trades to acquire new assets. With Castro and Chot Reyes steering the ship—and considering the current struggles of the non-Ginebra SMC squads—it’s clear TNT is in a win-now mode.