UAAP title completes Tiu’s college experience

MANILA, Philippines – Chris Tiu seemed to have it all while in college at the Ateneo de Manila University. An athlete while playing for the Ateneo Blue Eagles men’s basketball team, a student that has managed to consistently stay on the Dean’s List and a cum laude graduate when he finished his BS Management Engineering course in 2007. But one thing is missing in his whole college experience. A University Athletic Association of the Philippines championship ring. All of that changed on Thursday when the player wearing jersey number 17 for the Blue Eagles helped Ateneo spoil archrival La Salle’s title-retention bid with a 62-51 win. “Now I can say that my whole college experience is complete," said Tiu after leading the Eagles to a 2-0 sweep of the Archers in their best-of-three title showdown. “I couldn’t describe what I’m feeling right now. I can’t control my emotions because this is my first championship in the UAAP. The victory was sweet for me since it happened in my last year of playing for Ateneo and with La Salle as our opponent." Tiu actually had a lot of options after finishing his degree in 2007. He can either concentrate in his small business selling rice meals at the Ateneo canteen or continue to be a public servant after completing a five-year term as Sanguniang Kabataan chairman in Barangay Urdaneta. But the 23-year-old Xavier High School alumnus opted to play his last year for the Blue Eagles while studying Applied Mathematics in Finance. “For me it was unfinished business. We nearly won the title in 2003 during my rookie year and the same thing happened in the 2006 finals. Last year we lost in the Final Four and since I have one more year left, I came back for another chance." “Actually, it’s a dream come true. We always come out short in the past. Now I have to enjoy the moment," added Tiu, who stepped up after season most valuable player and teammate Rabeh al-Hussaini was called for his second foul with barely three minutes gone in the first quarter. “I have to be aggressive offensively since Rabeh got into early foul trouble. I became even more aggressive in the second quarter," said Tiu, who shot four-of-seven and scored 13 points as the Eagles enjoyed a 41-26 halftime lead. “I am also thankful that guys like Jobe (Nkemakolam), Jai (Reyes), Ryan (Buenafe) and Eric (Salamat) all stepped up. It’s the character of the team that helped us win the game. Everyone stepped up. The coaching staff also did a good job of motivating us as they pushed us up to improve." “Coach Norman Black is an unbelievable coach. This victory is for him since he helped us to succeed and pushed us hard every practice to give our best in all of our games. We really made sure to be aggressive and just gave everything that we had." Tiu said he could not control his emotions when Ateneo held on to a 59-49 lead with still one minute and 21 seconds left in the game. “I could not stop crying while I was on the bench. I was really happy." Even though La Salle made a brief run to trim Ateneo’s lead to 50-47 after three quarters, Tiu said they never lost their focus. “We’re determined this year. We just maintained our focus until the final buzzer. We expect La Salle to comeback since they are the defending champions and needed the game to extend the series. But we just kept our composure and were never rattled in the game." “There are times that we committed mistakes but overall we were able to control the game up to the final buzzer and came out victorious." Tiu said he was very thankful for all the blessings God has given him. “All of the blessings that I have now came from Him and I am very thankful for that." He also thanked the Ateneo community and all of the Blue Eagles’ supporters for staying behind them through the years. “We always came close to winning the title but fell short for a number of years. I’m sure you were also disappointed but you hung around and still believed in us no matter what. Now, it’s finally here. We finally won the title." Tiu sent out a parting message to his teammates saying that they continue Ateneo’s winning tradition. “Keep doing what you are doing. All of you are talented and have the potential to succeed. Just play as a team and nobody can beat you." – GMANews.TV