MANILA – Rain or Shine guard Chris Tiu still cannot say for certain if he is retiring for good – amid signs pointing to that direction – as the Elasto Painters end their 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup campaign Saturday with a victory.
Tiu was given lengthy minutes by head coach Carlos Garcia – longer than usual in his six-year pro career – in their 107-101 upset of the playoffs-bound NLEX Road Warriors.
The 33-year-old former national team player finished the match with career-high 30 points – on 9-of-22 field goal shooting, including three outside hits – to go along with four rebounds, five assists and a steal.
“I will leave it up to the management if they still want to extend my contract,” said Tiu, who earlier admitted that he already spoke with Painters bosses Raymond Yu and Terry Que on the possibility of ending his pro career this year.
“I have a lot of other commitments and a lot of new ventures and projects that require my time and concentration,” he added. “So it’s really a conference-to-conference basis, depending on the development of these other ventures and commitments that I have.”
If ever Tiu decides to quit the pro league this year – which saw him resetting his career-high points three times just this Governors’ Cup alone – he will leave the PBA a decorated player.
Tiu, who started his PBA career in 2012 when he was selected seventh overall by the Painters in the Rookie Draft, was a one-time champion and four-time runner-up with the team in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Aside from that, the 5-foot-11 guard was part of the 2013 All-Rookie Team while he also ruled the Three-Point Shootout in the 2013 PBA All Stars in Digos City, Davao del Sur./PN
