Chris Tiu. Image: INQUIRER.net/Tristan Tamayo
Chris Tiu of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters took to Instagram to reflect on his recovery after taking an elbow to the face from GlobalPort import Malcolm White.
Tiu shared on his Instagram page a picture from May 20 — the night he got hit, his lips visibly swollen and scarred from the injury — and seven days after surgery, another photo showing his face healing and nearly back to normal.
“It was the hardest hit on the face I’ve ever experienced causing a 1 second blackout,” he said of the 6-foot-9 cager’s blow.
In an interview with INQUIRER.net after the incident, he said the hit was “clearly intentional” and that “it was like getting punched by [Manny] Pacquiao.”
“My doctor, who is a plastic surgeon, said that my tooth ripped through my lip muscle so deep that only the skin was left,” he explained. “There could have been worse complications with the brain and face.”
He credited his doctor, Gerald Sy for stitching him up “with minimal pain during and after.”
Tiu said there should have been “concussion protocol” where he shouldn’t have been allowed back to the court after he was clocked.
He had been advised to seek medical attention at a hospital but only had himself checked by trainers and continued with the game.
“I guess this is a lesson for myself, the league and for other athletes,” he said.
Rain or Shine went on to win 96-90 that Sunday. White said he had attempted to apologize to Tiu and that it wasn’t deliberate. JB
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