Chot Reyes blames Mikey Williams’ exit for TNT’s struggles last season

TNT Tropang Giga head coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes blamed the sudden exit of guard Mikey Williams for their struggles during the PBA Season 48.

According to Reyes, the absence of Williams left a huge hole in their point guard rotation, which led to their quarterfinal exit in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup.

Williams, who led TNT to the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup championship against the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, left the Tropang Giga last season after failed contract extension talks.

“I think what we saw when we lost to Rain or Shine in the quarterfinals really was that we missed Jayson (Castro) because he got injured. So, in Game 3, we essentially had no point guard,” Reyes said. “Without a legit guard of the caliber of Jayson, you saw the result; we lost.”

“That’s why we felt that the point guard position is one position we have to shore up (during the offseason), which was never in our plans (last season) because we had a guy named Mikey Williams all along,” he added.

Reyes stressed that the Tropang Giga’s long-term plan is to have Williams as the team’s lead point guard, but all of that changed when the Filipino-American guard decided to leave.

“When we built this team, it was built to have a perfect complement of Jayson and Mikey Williams, and Kib Montalbo (now with the Blackwater Bossing) and Brian Huruela were perfect backups,” Reyes said.

“But losing Mikey Williams drastically changes that equation; that’s why we made changes in the offseason,” added the former Gilas Pilipinas head coach.

Reyes, however, said he is happy with his new additions, Rey Nambatac and Calvin Payawal, as well as their free agent tryouts, Jielo Razon and Avan Nava.

“I think Rey Nambatac fits our team very well; he fits the style we want to play. His demeanor, his personality, and his temperament fit very well with us. We hope we can see more of that from Rey in the coming season,” Reyes said.