Tiu is the second eldest of five children of Jerry and Lianne Tiu.[1] He has two brothers, Christian and Charles, and two sisters, Cheryl and Cristine.[2] His father is president of Tagaytay Highlands Clubs, a leisure resort and owns several other corporations.[3][4] Cheryl is a lifestyle journalist for The Philippine Star, while Charles is the basketball coach of the Benilde Blazers.[5][6] He has Chinese blood that goes back to his great grandparents.[1]
He played juniors basketball for the Xavier School Golden Stallions, where he was part of the "three-peat" Metro Manila Tiong Lian Basketball Association Champion team from 2001 to 2003.[8] His teammates in Xavier included Joseph Yeo and TY Tang.[9] In 2019, he was honored by the school during its alumni awards.[10]
College career
Tiu played for the Ateneo Blue Eagles for his collegiate basketball career. He almost played for DLSU as his Xavier teammates Yeo and Tang had committed to that university.[11] He and his teammates managed to enter the UAAP Finals in 2003 where they failed to defend their title against the FEU Tamaraws. He skipped Season 68 as he was taking his junior term abroad at Lille Catholic University, but returned to Ateneo the following season.[12] They returned to the Finals in 2006, but they lost to the UST Growling Tigers in three games.[13] In 2008, they managed to break their six year championship drought against their archrival the DLSU Green Archers which was led by JVee Casio and Rico Maierhofer at that time in two games.[14] He was also a 2x UAAP Mythical Team Member.[12] His coach in college was Norman Black.
On August 3, 2012 he declared for the 2012 PBA Rookie Draft after years of focusing on the Smart Gilas national team.[17] On August 19, he was selected 7th overall by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters during the 1st round.[18] In 2013, he won that year's three-point shootout during the 2013 All-Star Weekend.[19] He won one title with the Elasto Painters in 2016 (Commissioner's Cup) before announcing his retirement in January 2019.[20] He also scored a career-high 30 points in his final game.
In 2010, Tiu also got to play in that year's Asian Games.[29] He had 14 points with four triples in a loss to Iran.[30] He then had 15 in a bounce back win over Chinese Taipei.[31] They went on to finish sixth in that tournament.[32]
Now coached by Chot Reyes, Tiu was in the lineup for the 2012 SEABA Cup.[37] They swept the tournament, making Gilas the best team in Southeast Asia.[38]
2018 Asian Games
In 2018, Coach Yeng Guiao and core players of Rain or Shine, including Tiu, represented the Philippines in the 2018 Asian Games.[39] This was his last international tournament.[40] He got to play with Fil-Am NBA player Jordan Clarkson.[41] They finished fifth, the highest a Philippine team has gotten since 2002.[42]
Tiu is known for his shooting, his basketball smarts and leadership, and his physicality.[45] Throughout his basketball career, he has made multiple clutch shots and clutch free throws.[46][47] Coach Toroman, who made him team captain when he was with Smart Gilas, called him the "best captain of the team" he ever had, with his commitment and basketball IQ.[48] His leadership was also seen in his PBA career as he became one of the veterans for Rain or Shine, soothing tensions within the team and mentoring younger players.[49][50] Despite his small stature and heartthrob looks, he could be tough on the court when needed, taking charges and challenging shots.[51][52] He is unathletic, so he relied on his effort to hustle on defense.[53]
Personal life
Tiu married investment banker Clarisse Ong on September 7, 2013 at a ceremony in Vancouver, Canada after twelve years of dating.[54] In May 2016, after winning the 2016 PBA Commissioner's Cup, Tiu announced through an Instagram post that he and Ong were expecting their first child.[55] Their daughter, Amanda Claire, was born on June 5, 2016.[56] The couple's second daughter, Mari Diana, was born on February 25, 2018.[57] The Tiu family are Catholics.[58]
While in college, he set up a food stall on the Ateneo de Manila campus called Chinky Chickens.[4] He was able to expand the business to another branch in Miriam College. Tiu's business ventures with fellow partners include:
Tiu was also an endorser of multiple brands such as Adidas, underwear brand Hanford, Dockers, Levi's, Nestlé, and many more.[7][4] He is currently the brand ambassador of IT solutions provider DFNN.[65]