Chris Tiu hits career-high giving Rain or Shine second-straight win

Tiu contributed a total of 23 points to their win, redeeming himself from scoring only a total of 12 points during the first five games in the season. (Photo: Rain or Shine Elasto Painters/Facebook)

Former University Athletics Associations of the Philippines (UAAP) star Chris Tiu reached the most amount of points contributed in a Rain or Shine game since the start of his Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) career in a game against NorthPort at the Cuneta Astrodome last Wednesday, October 17. The 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup game ended the score at 120-98 in favor of the Elastopainters.

Tiu contributed a total of 23 points to their win, redeeming himself from scoring only a total of 12 points during the first five games in the season. Tiu’s performance also included three assists, one steal, and one block. He especially shone during the last quarter, where he scored 15 points that gave Rain or Shine their comfortable lead at 113-96 in the last two minutes.

Tiu shared that he “needed this game because [he’s] been struggling the past few games,” saying, “The team relies on me offensively, I’m happy I was able to get some rhythm going today.” When talking about the fourth quarter he added, “I had to take my usual shots, there are times that I hesitated a little bit but I just fought with my thoughts and said that’s not how it’s supposed to be and coach Caloy kept me in the game and thankfully I was able to deliver,” stating in Filipino, “There’s no more tomorrow. You have to give your all.”

This is the second game win in a row for the Elastopainters, following four consecutive losses. Rain or Shine head coach is very pleased with their “back-to-back good games,” stating, “I think what’s carrying us really is our defense. At the start of the game, we had energy on the defensive side. That’s where our offense came from.”

Besides Tiu, veteran James Yap had a notable performance as well with 20 points, 18 being from his six made three-pointers out of seven attempts. Terrence Watson and Beau Belga both also contributed 20 points.

NorthPort’s highest pointer was import Rashad Woods at 30 points, while Sean Anthony scored 17. Stanley Pringle, who normally performs, was limited to only 9 points, but also played with a triple-double at nine points, nine rebounds, and 12 assists.