It's been almost a month since Willie Miller was dealt to the Barangay Ginebra Kings in exchange for the equally-talented Cyrus Baguio.Since that blockbuster trade, the two-time Most Valuable Player winner has yet to make an impact with the Kings. With a deep roster, particularly on the guard spot filled with veterans Jayjay Helterbrand, Mark Caguioa and Ronald Tubid, Miller has been forced to play a limited role similar to what Baguio encountered during his one-year stint with the Kings (he came over from a trade with Burger King, now Air21).
So what a perfect time for the "Thriller" to prove himself that he is still a big-time player even with a star-studded roster - a Wednesday night game with sister team San Miguel Beer, winners of nine straight and the solo leader in the PBA Fiesta Conference, in front of a good-sized crowd at the Big Dome.
Good thing, I was able to watch this game with Manila Standard's Jeric Lopez. We arrived in the second period after covering the Filoil tournament at The Arena in San Juan (Earlier, Air21 survived past Barako Energy, 99-98 after wasting a 31-point lead!). Ginebra was up by a slim margin and later hiked its lead to 62-48 at the half. By that time, Miller had 13 points.
But the Beermen tried to close in for most of the second half. The likes of Jay Washington and Arwind Santos contributed more on the defensive end while combining for a few baskets, point guard Alex Cabagnot had an all-around game (although spent some time on the bench to let Olsen Racela try to make SMB take the lead but he was soon back on the sidelines).
Import Gabe Freeman, meanwhile, was his usual self - using his athleticism and playing aggressive basketball that saw him at one point made a difficult tip-in off a missed shot. (I'm still amazed everytime he plays. It's been a while since I saw him play live in action. I covered his games with the ASEAN Basketball League champion Philippine Patriots.
The Kings, though, kept the lead with a mixture of productions from Helterbrand, Rudy Hatfield and import Mildon Ambres. Eric Menk spent most of the second half on the bench after a solid first half. Seems like coach Jong Uichico noticed he struggled when he was suddenly guarded by Freeman.
It was still close with around five minutes left. Dondon Hontiveros cut the lead to six, 91-88, on a three-pointer.
By then, it was Miller Time.
After hitting a three prior to Hontiveros' shot with the shot clock winding down, Miller later knocked another one with about three or two seconds left on the 24 keeping the Kings up by a solid margin.
A few possessions later and with maybe four seconds on the shot clock, Ginebra found Miller again - this time open on the right side. Hontiveros rushed to guard Miller faked then hit a leaner at the buzzer and all of a sudden it was 99-88 with more than two minutes left.
Virtually, it was game over and most fans, convinced that Ginebra had already won, headed towards the exits, perhaps some rushing to catch the last MRT ride.
Game ends with Ginebra winning 104-90, its eighth win in 12 games for third behind idle Talk N' Text while handing SMB its second loss of the conference but is on top of the standings with a 10-2 slate.
Miller, whose last big game performance I saw from him was perhaps during the 2007 Fiesta Conference when he powered Alaska to the championship, finished with 26 points and eight assists, a far cry from his near 8 and 3 averages since joining Ginebra. He also made 4-of-5 threes in 35 minutes.
Stat-wise and impact-wise, this was his best game since the trade. For sure, this kind of performance will be very rare for Miller in the next few games, given the talented lineup Ginebra has.
But those rare "Miller Times" could be very special
i hope miller has many more games like this. ginebra needs these types of games fro him even with its backcourt. that way, the kings have a threat off the bench.
ReplyDeletei think willie is better off with his limited role with ginebra. less pressure unlike when he was with alaska.
ReplyDelete