Rousing start for Tiu

It was a long matriculation for Charles Tiu before he finally got a head coaching job in the PBA. He was an assistant with Gilas, Powerade, Barako Bull, Meralco and Converge, became Nueva Ecija head coach in the MPBL, moved up from assistant to head coach at Mighty Sports and College of St. Benilde then took over from Willy Wilson at Phoenix starting this Commissioner’s Cup.

Tiu, 37, has led Benilde to two NCAA finals and with his appointment at Phoenix, is now the Blazers’ coaching consultant as the PBA disallows a head coach from taking on a similar position elsewhere. Tiu’s coaching resume lists three Jones Cup championships and a Dubai Invitational title, each with pick-up teams that he personally assembled, displaying a knack for spotting talent and building chemistry among unfamiliar players.

The first thing that Tiu did when he joined Phoenix was to regroup the troops. From last conference’s lineup, several players like Sean Manganti, RJ Jazul, Yousef Taha, James Kwekuteye and RR Garcia were struck out before Tiu’s arrival. He then brought back JC Cullar to the active roster, welcomed first round draft pick Will Gozum and signed up free agent JL de los Santos. The key recruit was import James Dickey, a blue-collar worker who never averaged in double figure points in four years with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro varsity but shot 54.1 percent from the field and grabbed 8.3 rebounds an outing. Dickey, 29, worked through a long matriculation, like Tiu, and played in Hungary, Germany, Israel, France, Ukraine and Indonesia before landing in the PBA.

Tiu has started this conference with a bang, leading Phoenix to back-to-back wins over Magnolia, 101-98 and Titan, 109-76. Six Fuel Masters scored in twin digits against Magnolia and five against Titan, showcasing a balanced offense that is Tiu’s trademark. But more than offense, Tiu has to be extremely content with the way Phoenix locked down on defense. Dickey did as was expected. He’s averaging 18.5 points, 21.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists. In trouncing Titan, Jason Perkins and Tyler Tio sat out yet Phoenix had more than enough firepower to win convincingly. Evan Nelle came off the bench to pour in 14 points, including 3-of-3 from four and all in the fourth period to go with eight assists. Tiu started his Benilde boys Gozum and Cullar then brought out the fire in Ricci Rivero who compiled 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

It’s too early to celebrate and Phoenix has a long way to go before stamping its class in the PBA but it’s a promising start compared to last conference’s 1-5 opening. Phoenix didn’t make the playoffs in the previous Philippine Cup, finishing No. 10 with a 3-8 record. Now, the goal is to get over the hump.

Tiu couldn’t be happier with Dickey. “He’s solid, great energy, great motor,” said the coach. “We took in JL and it’s a good thing I already had experience with him in the past. Jason needs to rest his Achilles but could’ve played (against Titan) if we pushed him but we decided to play it safe.” Phoenix returns to action against Meralco at Ynares Antipolo on Saturday then battles Terrafirma, also at Antipolo, on March 25.