Playing like his illustrious NBA namesake Reggie Miller, Willie Miller hit a perfect five-of-five from beyond the arc to power Team Philippines to a rousing 77-70 victory over Chinese-Taipei Monday in the 25th FIBA-Asia men's basketball championship Monday in Tianjin, China. With 13.7 seconds left in the game and the Filipinos holding on to a precarious 72-70 lead, Miller dribbled the ball atop the three-point arc, faked his defender and uncorked a booming trey that swished the net to the delight of millions of Filipino fans watching the game in China and via satellite television in the Philippines. Humble in victory, Miller said his game-clinching shot was just sheer “luck.” He finished with 17 points. “Willie is one of the best shooters in the Philippines, so we expect him to make the shot,” said Powerade Team Pilipinas head coach Yeng Guiao of his ace point guard whom the international press calls “Miller Time,” referring to the exploits of his namesake Reggie Miller of the Indiana Pacers who has the reputation of hitting game-winning shots. But if Miller was hot, James Yap was hotter. The Purefoods TJ Giants' star topscored with 23 points, going six-of-11 from three-point range. Their prolific production was an atonement for Miller and Yap who just the other day had miserable performances, shooting a combined 3-of-18, leading to 56-69 loss against South Korea. At one stretch in the third quarter, Yap drained four three-pointers, enabling the Philippines to grab the lead, 56-50. The victory boosted the Philippines' hopes of reaching the quarterfinals of the tournament which serves as the ticket for the 2010 World Basketball Championship in Turkey. With the victory over an ousted team (Sri Lanka) not carried over into the second phase of the eliminations, the Philippines now totes a 2-1 win-loss record. The Filipinos face a tougher opponent Tuesday when they play defending champion Iran before tangling with Kuwait on Wednesday for their final elimination round assignment. “I feel relieved because I think we have one foot in the door already in the top eight. Of course, we still need to assure ourselves by winning one more game, but I think we can do it,” said Guiao. Despite Taiwan's huge edge in rebounds, 38-16, the Philippines compensated by sizzling hot from beyond the three-point arc. They knocked 15-of-30 for a high 50 percent shooting. JayJay Helterbrand's buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the third quarter gave the Filipinos their biggest lead at 62-54. Chinese-Taipei rallied, scoring eight straight points to open the final quarter. They regained the lead on two free throws by Wu Tai Ho, 68-67, with 4:49 seconds left. But Kerby Raymundo hit three straight free throws and Sonny Thoss scored on a jumper as the Philippines took the lead anew, 72-68. Lee Hsueh-Lin scored two free throws to pull the Taiwanese to within two. But then came “Miller Time.” In other games it was: South Korea beat Kuwait 78-58; Jordan beat Kazakhstan 98-80; Iran beat Japan 101-71; China beat the UAE 81-65; and Lebanon beat Qatar 73
