KELLY Williams admitted the return of Chot Reyes as coach of TNT Tropang Giga had a lot to do in his decision to come out of retirement and play in the PBA again.
The former MVP said Reyes' decision to go back into coaching 'pushed him over the edge,' leading to his move in resurrecting his playing career after abruptly announcing his decision to hang up his jersey last season prior to the start of the Philippine Cup bubble.
The 39-year-old forward disclosed in the Power&Play program of former Commissioner Noli Eala on Saturday that he received a text message from Reyes asking about his availability again shortly upon being named as new TNT head coach two months ago.
Williams initially wouldn't believe that his former mentor was back when long-time teammate Ryan Reyes messaged him from California in the wee hours of the morning telling him about the coaching change in TNT.
"I was like 'you're right, Chot's not coming back,'" Williams recalled his exchange of text messages with the veteran guard.
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But when the 6-foot-6 Fil-Am from Detroit did get hold of the news, someone quite familiar sent him a message on his phone.
"When I checked my messages, there was one from Chot and it said 'are you ready to comeback?'" Williams related.
It was only at that moment it eventually dawned on him that everything was for real.
"Literally from that minute on, I started to weigh everything up. Let's see how we might be able to do it," he said. "One hundred percent with Chot coming back, that's what pushed me to the edge."
Williams of course, has developed a deep relationship all these years with the 57-year-old Reyes, who was the one who personally recruited him for the national team in 2004.
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And when the two finally got together at TNT in 2010, the partnership won Williams three out of his six PBA championships.
Williams has since rejoined the Tropang Giga and signed a new two-year deal with the franchise.
"With Chot back, to me it was a no-brainer," he added. (RG)
