George Christian T. Chia (born August 19, 1979), better known as Gec Chia, is a Filipino business executive and former professional basketball player.

Amateur career

Chia initially wanted to play tennis, but due to the growing popularity of basketball in Zamboanga, he started to play for St. Joseph High School. He went on to represent Zamboanga in the Palarong Pambansa. Despite being a high-school standout, he was not recruited by any Metro Manila programs. Chia went on to major in computer science in Ateneo de Manila University, where he was an intramurals legend for the CERSA team in the intramurals. He was noticed by then-coach

Joe Lipa Jose "Joe" Lipa, Jr. is a Filipino basketball coach and executive who currently coaching the Terrafirma Dyip's 3x3 team in the PBA 3x3. Lipa formerly coached his alma mater, the University of the Philippines, in the University Athletic Ass ...

and was added to the Blue Eagles roster in the 2001 season. He rode the bench, substituting for players such as

LA Tenorio Lewis Alfred Vasquez Tenorio (born July 9, 1984) is a Filipino professional basketball player and an assistant coach for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is also the head coach of the Gilas You ...

and Wesley Gonzales. He played three games and scored a grand total of 10 points throughout the 2001 season. With Ateneo failing to win the finals, Ateneo fired Lipa and hired former Mapúa Cardinals coach

Joel Banal Joel Banal (born February 6, 1958) is a retired Filipino professional basketball player, and former head coach in the Philippine Basketball Association. He is the former commissioner of the now-defunct Pilipinas Commercial Basketball League (P ...

. The Blue Eagles advanced to the playoffs in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

as the third seed after beating the

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

De La Salle Green Archers The De La Salle Green Archers and Lady Archers are the varsity teams representing De La Salle University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, among other leagues. The "Green Archer" is the traditional university mascot. Whi ...

in the end of the elimination round denying them of a 14–0 sweep. As the third seed, Ateneo had to beat #2 seed

UE Red Warriors The UE Red Warriors, Lady Warriors, Junior Warriors and Lady Junior Warriors are the collegiate men's and women's, and high school men's and women's, respectively, varsity teams of the University of the East (UE) that play in the University Athle ...

twice in the semifinals in order to advance to the finals.

, who had just returned from an injury, led the Eagles to a Game 1 triumph to set a winner-take-all game to face La Salle who had just eliminated the

UST Growling Tigers The UST Growling Tigers, Tigresses, Tiger Cubs and Tigress Cubs are the Collegiate athletics, collegiate and high school men's and women's varsity teams of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in the University Athletic Association of the Phili ...

. With 7.8 seconds left in Game 2, and the score tied at 70–all, UE player

Paul Artadi Paul Anthony Dy Artadi (born May 5, 1981) is a Filipino politician, basketball coach, and former professional player. On his eleven-year career in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), he played the point guard position and was a three-ti ...

turned over the ball. Tenorio raced towards the other end of the court but was well covered by the bigger

James Yap James Carlos Agravante Yap Sr. (born February 15, 1982) is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the Blackwater Bossing of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known by his nickname Big Game James, he is widel ...

. Tenorio passed the ball to Chia, who shook off Ronald Tubid, and made the shot over the outstretched hands of Olan Omiping. The shot brought Banal to his knees and he later described the shot as "a miracle." In the finals, Chia scored 5 points in a game 1 win, fouled out with 4 points in a game 2 loss, and 11 points in Ateneo's title-clinching game 3 win.

Professional career

Chia was selected twenty-eighth overall in the 2003 PBA draft by the

Coca-Cola Tigers Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

. He was later signed by the

Barangay Ginebra Kings The barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as ''barrio'', is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines. Named after the precolonial polities of the same name, modern barangays are political subdivisio ...

, and was part of the 2008-09 PBA Philippine Cup

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters The TNT Tropang 5G is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the PLDT, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) since 1990. The ...

champion team. He then became a free agent, eventually being signed by the Barako Bull Energy Boosters early in the 2009-10 KFC-PBA Philippine Cup.

Life after basketball

Chia is currently the managing director of Poliform, a company that produces high-end Italian modular home line in the Philippines.

References

External links

Gec Chia
a
PBA.phGec Chia's buzzer-beater in the 2002 UAAP semifinals
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chia, Gec 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Zamboanga City Ateneo Blue Eagles men's basketball players Filipino men's basketball players Point guards Shooting guards Powerade Tigers players Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players TNT Tropang 5G players Barako Bull Energy Boosters players Powerade Tigers draft picks