Chris Tiu’s late-game heroics for Rain or Shine in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup was of such impact that his head coach used a term that can also be used to describe the Virgin Mary.
The Elasto Painters needed every ounce of Tiu’s clutch gene in the fourth quarter to take down upset-seeking Blackwater 104-94 Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“The guy has heart, and he was immaculate earlier because he was there when we needed the points,” said Elasto Painters head coach Caloy Garcia in Filipino.
Rain or Shine trailed 80-72 at the start of the fourth quarter before Tiu’s teammates slowly chipped away at the lead and tied the game at 84.
READ: PBA: Rain or Shine ousts Blackwater, books quarterfinals berth
And it was after the stalemate that Tiu displayed his glorious presence, scoring on three straight three-pointers to give the Elasto Painters a 93-86 lead, capping off a blistering 21-6 run.
“I’m happy with the way I shot the ball today,” said Tiu who finished with 17 points, 13 in the fourth alone, on 5-of-11 shooting.
“Sometimes you just need courage to do those kinds of things because you practice it during training, you simulate it, you think about those shots so you just have to take risks and today it went in,” added Tiu in Filipino.
Tiu, however, wasn’t fully on board with Garcia’s description.
The 32-year-old combo guard shot an unholy clip in the first half going 1-of-6 from the field.
“I don’t want to claim I’m immaculate because I made a lot of mistakes also,” said Tiu. “But coach Caloy believed in me and kept the faith. I just try to help the team in whatever way I can, if we need some outside shots and we just got to try and take them and luckily they went in today.”