Chris Legend
text by rick olivares pic by miggy mendoza
(from an upcoming story in Business Mirror's magazine Personal Fortune)
text by rick olivares pic by miggy mendoza
(from an upcoming story in Business Mirror's magazine Personal Fortune)
Noted photographer Philip Sison has watched Ateneo basketball for more than two decades. He’s seen its rise and fall and eventual resurrection as a perennial Final Four contender in the UAAP.
As the starting five of the Ateneo Blue Eagles was introduced as they prepared to take on the Far Eastern University Tamaraws in the first round of the past Season 71 at the Araneta Coliseum, Sison looked up to the crowd and said to no one in particular among the assembled media that was scattered along the sidelines, “Here it comes.”
Four-fifths of the Ateneo had been introduced and game barker Rolly Manlapaz paused for effect before calling out the Ateneo captain, “At shooting guard number #17… Chris Tiu!”
And the female population of both Ateneo and FEU galleries shrieked like Beatlemania had come to town. It continued unabated for almost a minute. But then again, it has been like that for more than two years running.
Sison smiled then shook his head.
Another photographer wondered aloud -- also to no one in particular -- that he hasn’t seen this kind of fan adulation before.
Sison digressed.
Vince Hizon, who also suited up for Ateneo, also got the same reception although he played for only one year before turning pro. But for sustained and prolonged rabidness and assault on the decibel meter, Tiu is on another level. A higher plane reserved for demi-gods and celebrities.
If you were to count the billboards across the stretch of EDSA all the way to the Northern Luzon Expressway, he’s just below Manny Pacquiao, Marian Rivera, Ding Dong Dantes, and Angel Locsin for the total number of ads.
Tiu, who ended his playing career for Ateneo by leading the school to its fourth UAAP Men’s Basketball title, is both excited and perplexed by his popularity. “I think I am still in denial up to today. I'm occasionally slapped into reality when I realize that people turn their heads towards me, look away and then give a second look, and sometimes whisper to their companions when I'm walking in a mall or in a public place like a hospital. And sometimes they ask for photos too. But I'm always excited to see my new commercial come out because you never actually see the final product of your hard work until it airs on TV.”
The term “student-athlete” was for six years the most apt way to describe the young man. Tiu spent six long years in college because one half of a school year was spent in France as part of an exchange student program.
“My parents always remind me of the importance of getting a good education and doing well in school although they really didn't need to,” explained Tiu who graduated from his course of Management Engineering on time but took a second course, Applied Mathematics, while rounding out his playing eligibility.
“I never had to worry about pleasing them because I found it harder to please myself. I set high standards for myself. Ever since I began playing basketball, I was always reminded that basketball is a short term stint. It definitely cannot be a long term career. I play the game because it's fun and I love the game!”
Incredibly between classes, he managed to squeeze time to act as the Sangguniang Kabataan Chairman of his village in Barangay Urdaneta, Makati City, appear in several commercials and be the subject of dozens of magazine articles and covers, and co-host Pinoy Records on GMA-7 with Pacquiao. He also admitted to making a lot of sacrifices on the personal level because first and foremost, he was a student taking up the most demanding course in Ateneo.
And oh yeah, he also played basketball and was team captain for the Blue Eagles.
Tiu wasn’t simply another face on a resurgent Blue Eagle squad that lifted itself out of the dregs of college basketball with a renewed program in 1999. He was one of the most sought after players in the recruiting wars that followed Ateneo’s 2002 title-winning season.
He had game without a doubt. And he showed flashes of great court vision, an acute basketball sense tagged onto “smart” basketball players who might not be the most athletically gifted on the court. But for the most part, he largely sat because Ateneo was deep and talented with plenty of seniors to still carry the team on their backs.
Once he returned from France and cracked the starting line up in 2006, he became more consistent and became an outside threat. Perhaps more importantly, he had become Ateneo’s new Mr. Clutch with his game-tying and winning shots. There were many memorable wins; the sort that will grow with every re-telling. And there were the posters and t-shirts that mushroomed with every game to ensure that the legend lived and grew.
“Tiuperman” declared one in reference to his rebound with the behemoths of the lane in a single bound or to rain three-point daggers from the sky
“It’s Tiu’s day” declared one for the Ateneo captain’s ability to take over a game.
But there too were a few crushing defeats that kept Tiu and Ateneo from their ultimate goal of a UAAP championship -- the most prestigious college basketball title in the land. “Not Tiu-day,” rebutted a sign from one La Salle supporter after the Green Archers knocked off Ateneo in the Final Four of Season 70.
“Coming back for my final playing year wasn’t an easy decision,” admitted Tiu at a point of reflection. “Remember I was there for five years already although I had played for only four. And it’s easy to say I’ll come back for one more because there’s unfinished business but the losses have been painful. I’ve also started to do other things and another year of basketball would push them – at least some of them – back.”
He took his time mulling over the decision to play. His coaches and teammates understood for he had a lot of options outside basketball but ultimately the strengthening of the team with blue chip rookies, the maturity of the game of key players like Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Nonoy Baclao, and Jai Reyes, and the lure of… unfinished business reeled him back in.
And it was a decision that he will never regret nor forget.
His perseverance and hard work handsomely paid off with a championship; one so rare for the Jesuit school that notched only its fourth basketball crown in 30 years of play. “I can still vividly remember the details of the past season and the moments that will be cherished forever,” he said with obvious glee. “The experience is something that cannot be bought and is truly immeasurable. I will miss playing for the university so much and all the people I've worked with and met along the way.”
In the aftermath of every game, fans and supporters – not just from Ateneo – flock around him to ask for a photograph with him or an autograph. He never says no even after a loss. It takes a while before he can even follow his teammates to the dugout and dress up.
And after the huddle and short meeting with team officials inside the locker room, there are more autograph seekers and well-wishers outside. But no matter what the emotions that reside in him at that point in time, he’s there patient and ever gregarious.
“I've always kept in mind that we as players are also ambassadors of Ateneo.” He said once more displaying a maturity that belies his youth. “We are very visible and what we do will determine outsiders impression of the school. Therefore, we must all the more serve as good role models especially to the young who look up to us. It is not really a burden because it has become engrained in my lifestyle I guess. I also believe that we should live a life of virtue as taught to us by St. Ignatius of Loyola. So there's no need to be pretentious.”
It was already the wee hours of the morning after the bonfire celebration of Ateneo’s victory. The lines of autograph and souvenir picture takers were still long. The players were visibly tired from their post-championship schedule from school requirements and a demanding media.
A few kids who should rightfully be in bed at this time had finally reached the front of the line for an autograph with Tiu. Still he gamely signed a couple of posters that were handed out earlier by adidas, the apparel supplier of Ateneo. He capped it off with a quick photo with the kids while flashing that megawatt smile of his. He then gave them a high five before sitting down to oblige the next person in line.
Here it comes.
Post script: Chris Tiu signed up for the next two years to play basketball for the Men’s National Team. On the side, he will continue to host shows and do social work. He plans to take up further studies in an Ivy League school. But like his earlier career, he plans on taking it step by step.
Thanks so much, Chris! I still owe you those shirts.
As the starting five of the Ateneo Blue Eagles was introduced as they prepared to take on the Far Eastern University Tamaraws in the first round of the past Season 71 at the Araneta Coliseum, Sison looked up to the crowd and said to no one in particular among the assembled media that was scattered along the sidelines, “Here it comes.”
Four-fifths of the Ateneo had been introduced and game barker Rolly Manlapaz paused for effect before calling out the Ateneo captain, “At shooting guard number #17… Chris Tiu!”
And the female population of both Ateneo and FEU galleries shrieked like Beatlemania had come to town. It continued unabated for almost a minute. But then again, it has been like that for more than two years running.
Sison smiled then shook his head.
Another photographer wondered aloud -- also to no one in particular -- that he hasn’t seen this kind of fan adulation before.
Sison digressed.
Vince Hizon, who also suited up for Ateneo, also got the same reception although he played for only one year before turning pro. But for sustained and prolonged rabidness and assault on the decibel meter, Tiu is on another level. A higher plane reserved for demi-gods and celebrities.
If you were to count the billboards across the stretch of EDSA all the way to the Northern Luzon Expressway, he’s just below Manny Pacquiao, Marian Rivera, Ding Dong Dantes, and Angel Locsin for the total number of ads.
Tiu, who ended his playing career for Ateneo by leading the school to its fourth UAAP Men’s Basketball title, is both excited and perplexed by his popularity. “I think I am still in denial up to today. I'm occasionally slapped into reality when I realize that people turn their heads towards me, look away and then give a second look, and sometimes whisper to their companions when I'm walking in a mall or in a public place like a hospital. And sometimes they ask for photos too. But I'm always excited to see my new commercial come out because you never actually see the final product of your hard work until it airs on TV.”
The term “student-athlete” was for six years the most apt way to describe the young man. Tiu spent six long years in college because one half of a school year was spent in France as part of an exchange student program.
“My parents always remind me of the importance of getting a good education and doing well in school although they really didn't need to,” explained Tiu who graduated from his course of Management Engineering on time but took a second course, Applied Mathematics, while rounding out his playing eligibility.
“I never had to worry about pleasing them because I found it harder to please myself. I set high standards for myself. Ever since I began playing basketball, I was always reminded that basketball is a short term stint. It definitely cannot be a long term career. I play the game because it's fun and I love the game!”
Incredibly between classes, he managed to squeeze time to act as the Sangguniang Kabataan Chairman of his village in Barangay Urdaneta, Makati City, appear in several commercials and be the subject of dozens of magazine articles and covers, and co-host Pinoy Records on GMA-7 with Pacquiao. He also admitted to making a lot of sacrifices on the personal level because first and foremost, he was a student taking up the most demanding course in Ateneo.
And oh yeah, he also played basketball and was team captain for the Blue Eagles.
Tiu wasn’t simply another face on a resurgent Blue Eagle squad that lifted itself out of the dregs of college basketball with a renewed program in 1999. He was one of the most sought after players in the recruiting wars that followed Ateneo’s 2002 title-winning season.
He had game without a doubt. And he showed flashes of great court vision, an acute basketball sense tagged onto “smart” basketball players who might not be the most athletically gifted on the court. But for the most part, he largely sat because Ateneo was deep and talented with plenty of seniors to still carry the team on their backs.
Once he returned from France and cracked the starting line up in 2006, he became more consistent and became an outside threat. Perhaps more importantly, he had become Ateneo’s new Mr. Clutch with his game-tying and winning shots. There were many memorable wins; the sort that will grow with every re-telling. And there were the posters and t-shirts that mushroomed with every game to ensure that the legend lived and grew.
“Tiuperman” declared one in reference to his rebound with the behemoths of the lane in a single bound or to rain three-point daggers from the sky
“It’s Tiu’s day” declared one for the Ateneo captain’s ability to take over a game.
But there too were a few crushing defeats that kept Tiu and Ateneo from their ultimate goal of a UAAP championship -- the most prestigious college basketball title in the land. “Not Tiu-day,” rebutted a sign from one La Salle supporter after the Green Archers knocked off Ateneo in the Final Four of Season 70.
“Coming back for my final playing year wasn’t an easy decision,” admitted Tiu at a point of reflection. “Remember I was there for five years already although I had played for only four. And it’s easy to say I’ll come back for one more because there’s unfinished business but the losses have been painful. I’ve also started to do other things and another year of basketball would push them – at least some of them – back.”
He took his time mulling over the decision to play. His coaches and teammates understood for he had a lot of options outside basketball but ultimately the strengthening of the team with blue chip rookies, the maturity of the game of key players like Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Nonoy Baclao, and Jai Reyes, and the lure of… unfinished business reeled him back in.
And it was a decision that he will never regret nor forget.
His perseverance and hard work handsomely paid off with a championship; one so rare for the Jesuit school that notched only its fourth basketball crown in 30 years of play. “I can still vividly remember the details of the past season and the moments that will be cherished forever,” he said with obvious glee. “The experience is something that cannot be bought and is truly immeasurable. I will miss playing for the university so much and all the people I've worked with and met along the way.”
In the aftermath of every game, fans and supporters – not just from Ateneo – flock around him to ask for a photograph with him or an autograph. He never says no even after a loss. It takes a while before he can even follow his teammates to the dugout and dress up.
And after the huddle and short meeting with team officials inside the locker room, there are more autograph seekers and well-wishers outside. But no matter what the emotions that reside in him at that point in time, he’s there patient and ever gregarious.
“I've always kept in mind that we as players are also ambassadors of Ateneo.” He said once more displaying a maturity that belies his youth. “We are very visible and what we do will determine outsiders impression of the school. Therefore, we must all the more serve as good role models especially to the young who look up to us. It is not really a burden because it has become engrained in my lifestyle I guess. I also believe that we should live a life of virtue as taught to us by St. Ignatius of Loyola. So there's no need to be pretentious.”
It was already the wee hours of the morning after the bonfire celebration of Ateneo’s victory. The lines of autograph and souvenir picture takers were still long. The players were visibly tired from their post-championship schedule from school requirements and a demanding media.
A few kids who should rightfully be in bed at this time had finally reached the front of the line for an autograph with Tiu. Still he gamely signed a couple of posters that were handed out earlier by adidas, the apparel supplier of Ateneo. He capped it off with a quick photo with the kids while flashing that megawatt smile of his. He then gave them a high five before sitting down to oblige the next person in line.
Here it comes.
Post script: Chris Tiu signed up for the next two years to play basketball for the Men’s National Team. On the side, he will continue to host shows and do social work. He plans to take up further studies in an Ivy League school. But like his earlier career, he plans on taking it step by step.
Thanks so much, Chris! I still owe you those shirts.
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