Chris Tiu reflects on heartbreak of defeat in Asian Games stint

Chris Tiu has had a long career representing the Philippines in international competition.

A day after the national team's defeat to South Korea knocking it out of medal contention in the Asian Games basketball tournament, the Rain or Shine guard took to Instagram to reflect on the loss.

"I've been playing professional and international basketball for 10 years now and there are a few games that hurt pretty bad and are almost never forgotten. This one vs Korea in the QF of the 2018 Asian Games is one of them," he wrote.

"It is painful because we know we could have made millions of Filipinos happy even for a moment & have a legitimate shot at bringing home a medal that will make you all proud. It's not the wasted effort or sacrifices or absence of leaving a legacy that bothers me, but what's hard to swallow is letting people down and disappointing them when they trusted you to deliver," he added.

 

Warning, long caption... but I'm glad I got that off my chest! I've been playing professional and international basketball for 10 years now and there are a few games that hurt pretty bad and are almost never forgotten. This one vs Korea in the QF of the 2018 Asian Games is one of them. It is painful because we know we could have made millions of Filipinos happy even for a moment & have a legitimate shot at bringing home a medal that will make you all proud. It's not the wasted effort or sacrifices or absence of leaving a legacy that bothers me, but what's hard to swallow is letting people down and disappointing them when they trusted you to deliver. Personally, this is my last Asian Games (I'm 33 now) and possibly my last int'l competition. It would have been perfect to bring home a medal for the PH. Sayang. Looking back, maybe it was really not meant to be. Against China, we were one layup, or one defensive stop, or one bad call away from beating them and seeding #1 w/c would have given us a smoother road to the finals & a guaranteed medal of at least a silver. We would have been up against Indonesia in QF then Chi Taipei in semis whom we match up pretty well against (no disrespect intended). Against Korea, it was clear that we lacked familiarity, chemistry and experience vs a resilient Korea team especially in the 4Q when it mattered. Basketball is a metaphor of life. You try to do everything to make things work but sometimes God has other plans, usually better ones for us in His perfect time. We just have to accept, pick ourselves up and move forward. Thanks to the PH basketball officials for allowing us to represent the country & working so hard to bring JC in to reinforce the team! Thank you also for your messages support & prayers! Let's get that 5th spot. #LabanPilipinas #puso #AsianGames2018 Thanks @rockypadilaphoto For the photo. 2nd photo is not mine. 3rd is from @charlestiu

A post shared by Chris Tiu (@chris_tiu17) on

Aug 28, 2018 at 7:22am PDT

He also noted the possibility that at 33, the Asian Games stint could possibly be his last international competition.

"It would have been perfect to bring home a medal for the PH. Sayang," he said.

He rued missed opportunities that could have paved the way for a podium finish for the Philippines.

"Against China, we were one layup, or one defensive stop, or one bad call away from beating them and seeding #1 w/c would have given us a smoother road to the finals & a guaranteed medal of at least a silver. We would have been up against Indonesia in QF then Chi Taipei in semis whom we match up pretty well against (no disrespect intended)," he wrote.

"Against Korea, it was clear that we lacked familiarity, chemistry and experience vs a resilient Korea team especially in the 4Q when it mattered."

Despite the frustration, he still found time to highlight the lessons learned from the whole experience.

"Basketball is a metaphor of life. You try to do everything to make things work but sometimes God has other plans, usually better ones for us in His perfect time. We just have to accept, pick ourselves up and move forward," he wrote.

"Thanks to the PH basketball officials for allowing us to represent the country & working so hard to bring JC in to reinforce the team! Thank you also for your messages support & prayers! Let's get that 5th spot. #LabanPilipinas #puso #AsianGames2018," he added. —JST, GMA News