Tyler Tio makes up for lost time, debuts with a splash for Ateneo

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Ateneo guard Tyler Tio had to sit out Season 79 due to his citizenship, and when Season 80 started he had to wait once again as his bum ankle wouldn’t allow him to play.

So when he finally got the chance to hit the floor on Wednesday, the Canadian-born guard released his pent-up frustrations.

Tio was perfect from the field going 6-for-6 en route to 14 points in just 11 minutes as he helped Ateneo flatten University of the Philippines, 92-71, at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“I was excited to play but I wasn’t thinking that I had to score this amount of points, I just wanted to make sure that I played correctly,” said Tio, who had 10 points in the fourth quarter alone.

The 5-foot-11 guard wasn’t able to play in Season 79 as he couldn’t secure a Philippine passport in time and was considered as a foreigner.

Ateneo had Nigerian Chibueze Ikeh in the roster and the UAAP allows just one foreigner per roster.

Tio, despite his hot shooting, said he still needs to adjust to playing in the UAAP and it just so happened he had the stroke against the Fighting Maroons.

“I won’t say I already grasp the UAAP but at that moment I was feeling good so I had the confidence to shoot,” said Tio.