MANILA, Philippines – Work continues for Chot Reyes even as he conceded that he is the “most hated man” after he failed to guide Gilas Pilipinas to a gold finish in the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.

Reyes vowed to do his best for the national team despite receiving flak for the SEA Games fiasco that saw the Philippines lose to Indonesia in the virtual gold medal match, with fans calling for his resignation.

“With that loss, I am today the most hated man in Philippine basketball,” Reyes said.

“There are a lot of people who ask me how do I get up. My answer is I simply do,” he added in a mix of Filipino and English.

“As long as I know that I’m doing my best, I’m doing the job that I’ve been asked to do, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability, regardless of what other people say.”

Fortunately for Reyes, he has steered clear from all the noise by keeping himself busy with his other responsibilities, particularly his job as head coach of the TNT Tropang Giga in the PBA.

Reyes and Tropang Giga opened their title-retention bid in the Philippine Cup with a gritty 78-72 win over the Magnolia Hotshots on Sunday, June 5.

It also helps that Reyes took a break from social media.

“I am completely logged off. I do not see anything that is being written about me. I am not on any social media, I’m not on Instagram, I’m not on Twitter, Facebook,” he said.

“Aside from the gift of busyness, it is the gift of silence, and I’m very thankful. Because I’m logged off, I’m able to do so many things. I can do a lot of things because distraction is not the picture.”

Knowing he has players who rely on him is also crucial for the way Reyes copes with the criticisms he faces.

“Really my refuge and my source of solace is my team, the players who continue to, in spite of everything, give their trust to me,” Reyes said. – Rappler.com