Ownage: Is Ato Agustin better than Chot Reyes?

Chess match: Agustin up 2-1.

Both camps will probably dismiss similar queries in a heart beat, but at this point of the heavyweight semifinals match-up between the Petron Blaze Boosters and Tropang Texters (Boosters up 2-1) it's starting to look more and more like PBB coach Ato Agustin has TNT's Chot Reyes' number.

From a fan's perspective, both guys are "players' coaches" who empower their players to do what comes natural to them on the floor (thus TNT's Japeth Aguilar's freedom to play whatever). If you've heard them speak on time-outs that aren't in the dying seconds, you'll hear both offering words of encouragement (or challenges) instead of drawing up plays.

The big difference of course, goes with Agustin who is not only a former basketball player, but an elite level PBA (and should've been MBA's 1st season) Most Valuable Player at that.

Agustin knows when to push his players and is able to react faster whenever a player is off his rhythm or just needs a few more minutes on the floor to get going. Reyes on the other hand, reacts but at a slower level than Agustin. The on going situational substitutions attest to that fact, with Agustin usually bringing in guys who immediately make an impact on the floor (Joseph Yeo, Danny Ildefonso and even Mark Agustin) while Reyes opts to squeeze everything out of his guys before replacing them.

Pedigree wise, Reyes wins hands down. But dating back last season with Agustin's PBA debut with the then San Miguel Beermen, it's hard to argue against Agustin who was able to score a draw versus his TNT counterpart (losing in the Philippine Cup, winning in the Governor's).

In reality, it seems that once the Boosters' line-up was simplified with the injuries to Jay Washington and Dondon Hontiveros, Agustin's coaching life became easier and the balance that he sought started to come out.

Attitude wise, the Boosters remain intact and solid (exchanging Tweets and what nots) and are 100% behind their coach who they appreciate.

Reyes' style has always been to praise his team for victories and call out individuals in losses. Being an educated man and all, it would be quite stupid to say that Reyes was merely passing the blame to his guys while keeping his hands clean. He's been coaching for years, he knows what he's doing and it's just a game of psychology within his own team.

Phil Jackson does it (he called Pau Gasol, arguably the most skilled *not dominant, that would be Shaq of course* big man he's ever coached, a chicken more than once), everyone does it. He's not blaming his players. He's firing them up.

Time will tell who's the better coach when it's all said and done, better yet, championships.

Right now, Agustin definitely has Reyes' number.