Last October 17 at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City, Chris Tiu set his PBA career-high by unloading 23 points on 9-of-12 field goal shooting to tow his Rain or Shine Elasto Painters past the NorthPort Batang Pier, 120-98.
Exactly a week later – and days after going scoreless versus the Columbian Dyip – at the very same venue, the veteran floor general out of Ateneo De Manila reset his career-high, tallying 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting.
This time, however, the result was different.
Tiu’s career night went down the drain, as the Elasto Painters blew a 16-point lead they built in the third canto and bowed to a more resilient Phoenix Fuel Masters, 97-103, narrowing their chances of making the playoffs.
“Wala, talo eh,” Tiu exhaled.
“Siyempre, gusto natin manalo eh. Yung objective natin palagi, Manalo. Ma-qualify sa playoffs. Tagilid na ata ano? At least I know, I put out the effort and did what I could. Kinapos lang talaga. Wala, ganoon talaga ang basketball eh.”
The Elasto Painters are down to 2-7 after Wednesday’s loss. This season-ending conference has truly been dismal, but for Tiu, he has seen some positives, which could help Rain or Shine for the next season.
“I wish and I hope to see the young guys in the team continue to improve. They’ve shown a lot of promise and potential this conference despite the standing of our team,” said Tiu, the Elasto Painters’ seventh pick in the 2012 Draft.
“I guess, as one of the veterans of the team, I hope I can impart something to them para next time sila naman.”
