Vincent "Chot" P. Reyes (born August 1, 1964) is a Filipino basketball coach. He is most recently the head coach for the Philippine national basketball team, where he led the team to a historic silver medal finish at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship and the subsequent appearance at the 2014 FIBA World Cup, the country's first in 36 years. He also coached the team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
In the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), Reyes has won nine championships as head coach and has been recognized as a six-time PBA Coach of the Year.
He was also the president and chief executive officer of TV5 Network from 2016 to 2019; as well as president of TV5 sales arm, Media5 Marketing.
Education
Reyes graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University. He also attended the Edinburgh Business School in the United Kingdom.
Playing career
Reyes has played for the Ateneo de Manila University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball championship in both the high school and collegiate level. As a player he was not able to clinch a UAAP title for his alma mater.
Coaching career
Early years
While playing for the Ateneo Blue Eagles team and is in his sophomore year, Reyes' girlfriend and future wife got pregnant which led him to finding a job for a source of livelihood. He would try being a encyclopedia salesman before he was made the Ateneo Blue Eaglets (high school) coach. He would concurrently still play with the senior team and do part-time work in the Ministry of Transportation and Communications.
After graduating from college, Reyes would join Purefoods. He helped the company establish a basketball team for the company which would play in the Philippine Amateur Basketball League (PABL) in the late 1980s.
Professional basketball
In his mid-20s, Reyes wanted to put his corporate career on hold and return to coaching. He wanted to join the Purefoods basketball team which already joined the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) by that time but there was no vacancy in the coaching staff.
Reyes would serve as head coach in the PBA from the 1993 to the 2012. He would make his comeback in head coaching in the PBA from 2022 to 2023, as the main tactician of TNT Tropang Giga.
As a head coach in the PBA, he has won nine PBA championships with the latest honor being the 2021 Philippine Cup title. He has also been named PBA Coach of Year six times by the PBA Press Corps.
Alaska
Reyes would become one of Tim Cone's assistant coaches during the early 90s with the Alaska Milkmen. He would also coach the Ateneo Blue Eagles and the Burger Machine team of the PABL.
Then only 27, Reyes took over the coaching for the Milkmen during the 1991 All-Filipino Conference as Cone was barred from coaching due to a case filed by the Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines questioning Cone's hiring over other Filipinos. Reyes steered the Alaska franchise to a third-place finish in after beating San Miguel in a best-of-three series.
Coney Island / Purefoods
In 1993, Reyes was hired head coach of the Coney Island Ice Cream Stars (later known as the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants). In his first conference, he led the Ice Cream Stars to a series win over the San Miguel Beermen to win the All-Filipino Cup, creating history by being the youngest coach to win a championship in his first tournament at age 29. This feat led him to win his first Coach-of-the-Year award. In 1994, he again led the Purefoods to the Commissioner's Cup prior to helping them make three more finals appearances until the conclusion of the 1996 season.
Purefoods decided not to renew his contract, a move Reyes did not question since he often incurred league fines.
Sta. Lucia
In less than a month after Purefoods let him go, Reyes was appointed as head coach of the Sta. Lucia Realtors. That year, he led the Realtors to a third-place finish in the All-Filipino Cup After eight months, Sta. Lucia removed Reyes as its head coach.
Pop Cola / Coca Cola
In 2000, Reyes became the new head coach of the Pop Cola Panthers. A program was started with the goal of Pop Cola winning a championship by its third season.After a frustrating first season, he led the Panthers to a third-place finish in the 2001 All-Filipino Cup. The last conference of the team as Pop Cola would be the 2001 Governor's Cup, where it finished fourth behind Shell.