ANTIPOLO — Geo Chiu is very aware of the responsibility that he and his teammates will have to shoulder after Terrafirma gave away two of its potential franchise cornerstones via trade with San Miguel last June.
Whilst a rookie, the No. 1 overall pick of the recent draft knows that they all have to step up following yet another shake-up pulled off by the Dyip. And he showed precisely that right in the very first game of the season-ending tourney.
Chiu flirted with a 20-20 outing with 19 points and 23 rebounds to lead his side past Titan Ultra, 113-100, for a successful start to their campaign.
“‘Yung team po namin, nawalan po kami ng players,” the 25-year-old slotman reflected moments after the match at the Ynares Center here.
“‘Yung mentality naman po is to step up lang. And today po, ako ‘yung nakapag-step up.”
Terrafirma traded both Jerrick Ahanmisi and Paolo Hernandez to San Miguel in exchange for Juami Tiongson and Chris Miller, a move that drew mixed reactions from fans and observers online.
While some felt intrigued by how Ahanmisi and Hernandez could fit with the mighty SMB, a few questioned the perennial cellar-dwellers’ decision to send them away, citing the on-court impact they’ve brought to the squad.
(C) PBA Images
But for Chiu and the players that remain, it served as a prompt to do even better individually and collectively to fill in the void left by the duo.
And he wasted no time showing his willingness to do so, leading to career-high numbers. Chiu was just a point shy of what would’ve been a first 20-20 by a local in Terrafirm history, per PBA stats chief Fidel Mangonon III.
His 23 rebounds also made up nearly 25-percent of the Dyip’s 94 boards, which is now the new all-time league record — eclipsing the 87 made by Gilbey’s Gin in its 148-139 win over Toyota during the 1983 Reinforced Conference.
The Ateneo de Manila product, however, downplayed his big night, saying that he simply got fortunate to have delivered this kind of performance.
“Pero any given day naman po, ‘yung mga teammates ko po, kaya rin naman po nilang mag-step up. Ano lang naman po ‘to, kumbaga today, araw ko lang po siguro,” he said. “Tapos sa susunod na raw, ‘yung teammates ko naman po.”
Because for Chiu, he’s still at a point where he’s picking up and applying all the lessons coming his way—he’s only in his second conference, still.
“Siguro po kailangan ko lang po maging patient, at tsaka magtiwala sa sarili. Si Coach Ronald [Tubid], araw-araw po akong sinasabihan na magtiwala sa sarili ko. Tsaka be strong lang po talaga. ‘Yun lang po siguro,” he said.
He’s also still trying to get used to playing with new teammates like Tiongson, who’s back with the same franchise he starred for a few years ago, marking another learning curve for the former B.League Division 2 import.
“Si Kuya Juami, tinutulungan niya rin po kami. Leader po talaga siya eh,” said Chiu, who debuted in the last Commissioner’s Cup. “Malaking tulong po na napunta siya sa team namin, at siyempre kami, puro mga bata rin po kami.
“So ‘yung leadership po nila nina Kuya Mav [Ahanmisi], malaking tulong po sa amin. Especially ako, big man ako eh, so ‘yung play style po niya, malaking tulong po sa amin kung paano po kami magwo-work as a team.”
