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| The PBA needs Chris Tiu |
Most of his Gilas teammates have moved on to the pros and enjoyed much success (JVee Casio, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Lutz) and even carried their respective fanbases with them. Tiu, ever the patriot, opted to stick it out with the Gilas team believing he'll still be an integral part of it (read: play heavy minutes) regardless of coach, teammates and other unseen factors.
Problem was, once Coach Chot Reyes took over for the sacked Rajko Toroman, Tiu faced even stiffer competition by virtue of the PBA veterans that were all set to join in.
His spot would've been a gimme had the team been made of amateurs from here and abroad. But against a PBA selection, Tiu would be terribly misplaced and singled out even further as a "favorite" of the big boss (MVP) and heckled endlessly by non-fans. This writer isn't claiming that Tiu's not a sound basketball player, because he is, but that you need the best available talent to win big and the country's proven best are definitely all in the PBA.
Tiu's stock is still on a high considering his last performance with the first Sinag Pilipinas team that featured guys who are years younger than he is. Serving as an anchor and "kuya" to current collegiate stars, Tiu did rather well in keeping up with the likes of Clifford Hodge, Chris Ellis and Eman Monfort.
But, all of those guys went on to score big and really served as the team's leading men during their run. Tiu was relegated to just another role player-- a part he's okay with, but not something you'd expect of a guy who was drilling in threes for the A team (Gilas) and playing point guard from time to time. Simply put, guys were either faster, taller, more athletic and so on than Tiu was thus making him irrelevant in the scheme of things.
Tiu was quoted as saying that the PBA has become too physical-- violent even. That his Gilas teammates told him that they were putting on muscle and training themselves not to be athletes, but to protect themselves from injuries.
If he were to go on with that thinking, then yes, Tiu should not join the PBA at all. It's a man's game. It's not and will never be the NBA where athletes are rewarded with protective rules. It's Filipino basketball-- rough and rugged as always. Tiu has a lot more going for him outside of the game and it wouldn't tarnish his image if he were to move on with his life outside of the game.
But...
... as a proven competitor with a proud lion's heart, you can't help but expect Tiu to toss his hat into the wild PBA Draft and see where he stands.
This writer has him going in the 1st round, by his merits beyond basketball alone. There are other, better players out there who'll enjoy longer careers, but with Junemar Fajardo, Clifford Hodge and Calvin Abueva locks as the number 1 to 3 picks, the timing couldn't be any better for Tiu.
Meralco, an MVP team, picks 4th. Just the right spot to bring in a guy like Tiu who instantly makes them fan favorites and takes the title of "alpha" from temperamental guys like Mac Cardona and Sol Mercado. He will instantly become what Phil Younghusband is to the Meralco-Loyola Sparks in football. Coach Ryan Gregorio will sing him praises and talk about him in interviews as the new Jesus. Shots will be given him as well as playing time at SG by default and he'll run away with it in a Jeremy Lin-like fashion.
He'll probably never be good enough to overtake the likes of Mercado, Jayson Castro, Paul Lee and reigning MVP Mark Caguioa at the SG spot, but he'll stick around longer than another Atenean chinito favorite Gec Chia.
This writer has bumped into Tiu before and exchanged some pleasantries, just a really, down-to-earth guy who's as approachable as your neighborhood pastor.
Honestly, Chris Tiu doesn't need the PBA. Meralco does. The PBA needs Chris Tiu.
Besides the clear cut favorite Meralco draftng Tiu I would like to suggest other teams that would want/need Chris Tiu on their team:
ReplyDeleteIf the rumors of Rajko Toroman coaching PBB are true I think the odds that he drafts Tiu with their 3rd pick over Abueva/Hodge/Mallari/Ellis are high.
Ginebra, who's already packed with guards, could draft Tiu primarily for marketing purposes.
And my favorite Rain or Shine. If Chris Tiu drops to them at 7 they should grab him. He's a physical guard, a good shooter who is a combo guard with a high bball IQ. He can be the 2nd PG behind Lee and take the playing time of BFF, TY Tang, + move KKS favorite Norwood to the "freelance" SF spot.
And the dark horse Barako Bull at 5. They could always draft him and trade him to a SMC team, probably PBB along with Danny Seigle.
Agree Jet, that would be awesome for Petron (though it would be weird for talent-hoarding KKS Vince McMahon to let a guy like Abueva go elsewhere-- specially to an MVP team).
ReplyDeleteAlaska already has classy guys on the roster so it's going to be either Petron or Meralco. Still, wherever he lands, I wish Tiu the best of luck. Just a solid good guy all around.