Rain or Shine gets Tiu

Mukha lang choir boy pero mabagsik
din sa gulangan si Chris Tiu

After last year's masterful selection of eventual Rookie of the Year Paul Lee, the Rain or Shine Elastopainters found yet another gem in SMART Gilas alumnus/ TV host/ model/ entrepreneur/ heart throb Chris Tiu.

Not only will Tiu's addition boost the team with a capable rotation player, but he alone would uplift the Elastopainters' fanbase and improve their overall PR slant. As a player, Tiu will have time to develop and shine since Lee will be sidelined at the start of the Philippine Cup due to his shoulder injury/ surgery. A natural shooting guard, look for Tiu to play the point and steal minutes from his Xavier teammate TY Tang.

While Tiu made the news with his "indecision" and hesitance to join the PBA draft due to the league's growing, near-violent nature, let's not forget that this guy is far from being a saint on the hard court. He doesn't talk trash, but he does throw a mean elbow here and there (probably picked it up from playing so long with Gilas).

It was quite surprising that Tiu wasn't picked by the power and fame hungry Petron Blaze Boosters, passed upon by "home team" Meralco Bolts and even the crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. (LOL on all the Ginebra fans in attendance who shrieked when Commissioner Chito Salud said that "Ginebra picks Chris... Ellis.")

So when the Elastopainters saw that Tiu was still available for its 7th pick, the Governor's Cup champs immediately swooped in to get their man.

With Tiu, Coach Yeng Guiao finds an able filler for Lee and someone bigger than Tang. It also means that Gabe Norwood can slide back to small forward where he is able to contribute more rather than masquerading and looking a lot like Jason Webb 2.0 (magaling pa rin, pero hindi nasusulit ung talent). It wouldn't be surprising if Tiu makes an impact sooner rather than later, since Guiao allows his guys to get their shots as long as they play defense on the other end.

The selection also spares Tiu from being on the receiving end of hard fouls by Extra Rice, Inc. co-founders Beau Belga and JayR Quinahan. Pretty sure that Tiu wouldn't mind getting hit-- just don't tell that to his family, fans and product sponsors.

Oh, and just in case you haven't been paying much attention to Tiu's basketball game, here are some things that we've found him to be: scrappy, good perimeter shooter, knockdown corner three shooter, can make good reads, has ok handles and sub as a PG, rebounds and isn't afraid to get hit.

Just like Larry Fonacier and Jeffrei Chan in the past, there's no question that Tiu will have his day in the sun for Guiao and for Rain or Shine.