Team Pilipinas defeats Chinese Taipei NT, 77-70

Willie Miller buried a booming three-pointer in the waning seconds that clinched Powerade-Team Pilipinas’ 77-70 thrilling win over Chinese-Taipei in the 25th FIBA-Asia men’s basketball championship Monday in Tianjin, China.

With the shot clock winding down and the Nationals holding on to a slim 72-70 lead, Miller dribbled the ball just atop the three-point area, waited for the seconds to tick away and then made his move by pulling off for a trey as Chinese-Taipei big man Tseng Wen-Ting Lei sagged on defense with 13.7 to go.

“Nakababa iyung kamay kaya alam ko may pag-asang pumasok," said Miller of his game-clinching shot, the last of his perfect 5-of-5 stint from downtown. He finished with 17 points, behind the 23 of top scorer James Yap, who went 6-of-11 from beyond the arc.

“Naka-tsamba lang," said the player who just a day before assured he wouldn’t have another poor shooting performance like the one he had in a 56-69 losing cause to South Korea.

“Willie is one of the best shooters in the Philippines, so we expect him to make the shot," said coach Yeng Guiao of his No. 11 man whom the international press kept on referring to as “Miller Time."

“But he’s just exceptional today."

The thrilling win pushed the Philippines within reach of making the quarterfinals of the tournament serving as the gateway for the 2010 World Basketball Championship in Turkey.

With the victory over an ousted team (against Sri Lanka) not carried over into the second phase of the eliminations, the Nationals now carry a 2-1 record and next meet defending champion Iran at 11:00 am. Tuesday.

They face Kuwait at 9 a.m. Wednesday for their final elimination round assignment.

One more win needed

“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, pero tingin ko kaya naman," said Guiao.

The Nationals were pounded inside by the Taiwanese, 38-16, but were extra hot from three-point land where they converted 15-of-30 for a high 50 percent shooting.

Miller and Yap both said they were hard on themselves during practice the other day after shooting a combined 3-of-18 from the floor in that loss to the Koreans.

But Guaio disagreed, hollering, “Nakuha lang yan sa mura at sigaw. Hindi mo naman puwedeng ma-perfect ang mga tira mo sa isang araw lang."

Before Miller took charge, it was Yap who did the most damage for the Nationals, hitting four three-pointers – including three straight in one stretch - in the third period when Team Pilipinas finally grabbed the lead, 56-50.

JayJay Helterbrand’s long three-pointer off the board that hit the third quarter buzzer gave the Nationals their biggest lead at 62-54.

Chinese-Taipei came back strong, however, stringing eight straight points to open the final quarter, and then regained the upperhand 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 made a side jumper as RP got back on top, 72-68.

Just when the Nationals appeared headed for the win, Lee Hsueh-Lin was fouled by Miller on transition for two free throws. He made both to pull the Taiwanese to within two.

“Miller Time" took over from there.

The scores:

Philippines 77 – Yap 23, Miller 17, Thoss 8, Helterbrand 8, Baguio 6, Raymundo 5, Dillinger 3, Pennisi 3, Taulava 2, Norwood 2, Aguilar 0. Santos 0.

Chinese-Taipei 70 – Tseng 21, Lee 8, Chang 8, Lin 7, Tien 6, Chang Tsung-Hsien 6, Wu 6, Yang 4, Yang Chin-Min 2, Su 2.

Quarterscores: 16-21; 33-35; 62-54; 77-70