THE burning desire to rejoin Gilas Pilipinas was rekindled for Geo Chiu, especially after serving as practice player for the national team in the recently-concluded 20th Asian Games.
Last season’s top overall draft pick said he learned a lot playing a support role to the team of coach Tim Cone, as it prepared for its gold medal defense in the continental showpiece.
Of course, Gilas didn’t achieve the result it wanted, having tumbled out of the running for a quarterfinals berth to finish ninth overall – the country’s worst placing in Asiad basketball history.
Nonetheless, the 6-foot-10 Chiu said having practiced with some of the best players in the PBA today was enough to boost his confidence about improving as a player - and one day be able to represent the country again in major international tournaments.
“Siyempre, andun yung desire, yung masama ka sa history if given the chance,” said the big man out of Ateneo Wednesday following Terrafirma’s loss to San Miguel in the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup.
“Pero alam ko naman na it’s a process and malayo pa tayo sa gusto kong maging performance.”
The 25-year-old Chiu was a fixture in the Batang Gilas program in the past, and later, was part of the seniors squad in such tournaments as the 2021 Olympic qualifiers and 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
Gilas Geo
The Dyip's man in the middle said he didn't mind being tapped as a practice player by Cone and his coaching staff for the Asian Games.
“Thankful ako sa opportunity na matawag to help the team. Yung goal naman doon is to help them prepare, especially noong una medyo kulang pa sila,” he said, referring to the late entries of Justin Arana, Justine Baltazar, and RJ Abarrientos.
He said just being with the best-of-the-best on a daily basis for about two weeks was an enriching experience which will further help him develop as a player.
“Malaking bagay rin sa akin yun,” he said. “From time to time, you savor that moment, kaya tuloy-tuloy din naman yung improvement ko.”
So far, Chiu is averaging a double-double of 10.0 points and 11.1 rebounds for Terrafirma in the season-ending conference.
He had a monster game of 18 points and 20 rebounds in the Dyip’s 146-127 rout of Macau last week, although he was held to just eight points, two boards, and two blocks in the loss to the Beermen.
Following a cameo role with the current national team, Chiu said no advice has been given about making him part of the program in the future.
But in time, he does hope there will be one.
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