MANILA: It may have been a ridiculous decision, but it was made great by a player who is just as great.
Willie Miller knocked down what looked like to be an ill-advised three-pointer with 8.7 seconds left last night to lift Alaska to a high-wire 95-93 victory over Talk ‘N Text at the Cuneta Astrodome and a 3-2 lead in their Philippine Cup title series.
Getting instructions from coach Tim Cone to create with the Aces down by two, Miller took the first available chance he got with still a lot of time left, literally putting the result of last night’s Game 5 in his hands.
He won the game for the Aces and literally made up for two critical blunders in the stretch which almost put to naught the control that they wielded throughout.
“Lucky he made that shot because he had a lot of making up to do,” said Cone, smiling, later. “(The last play) wasn’t designed for a three (pointer), only for him (Miller) to get the ball and create for us.
“But Willie is Willie. He makes those big shots,” Cone, who won his 600th game with last night’s victory, added. “We put our trust in him to make the play. If he doesn’t, he was going to hear it from everybody. He was willing to make the play or take the blame.”
The potential championship-clinching sixth game is scheduled at 6 p.m. tomorrow at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao. And though the Aces won the last game, no one seems to have momentum considering how close the games have been.
“Closing out a series is the hardest thing to do,” the two-time MVP Miller told reporters later in Filipino.
“But if we execute well and play defense the way we can, we have a pretty good chance.”
Prior to that game-winning shot, the 6-foot Miller got his pocket picked by Jimmy Alapag, giving up a foul which resulted in two free throws for the Talk ‘N Text guard that had the Texters coming within 88-90.
And the Texters finally were able to seize the lead for the first time since going 11-2 up in the first period, when Miller, while going for a drive, lost the ball to the baseline and gave Mac Cardona a chance to knock in a triple on the other end for 91-90 with 37.4 seconds left. Sonny Thoss then gave Alaska a one-point edge on the other end with two free throws off Jared Dillinger, before Ranidel de Ocampo put Talk ‘N Text up for the last time with a short stab going into the final 17.8.
Ridiculous that attempt would have been had De Ocampo and Ren-Ren Ritualo made their shots in the last Talk ‘N Text play. History has been kind to the team that won Game 5 after a 2-2 tie, with 20 of the last 23 teams which took a 3-2 lead since 1999, or a going rate of 91%, going on to win the series.
Interestingly enough, two of those three teams that lost after a 3-2 lead were Talk ‘N Text squads with Alaska pulling out the feat in the 2007 Fiesta Cup finals against Talk ‘N Text.
“We got the shots we wanted in the end and just didn’t make them,” said a dejected Chot Reyes of Talk ‘N Text. “That was just a big shot that Willie made. We had our chances.” Reyes though, left the interview room in a huff after saying that it was his fault why his team is now down in the series. “I made some stupid things out there.”
Thoss, who has been holding his own against Talk ‘N Text’s frontline this series, led the Aces with 20 points, with Larry Fonacier coming off the bench to shoot 15 like Miller.
Jeffrey Cariaso sat out the game and could be out for the rest of the series because of a hamstring pull even as Joe Devance, LA Tenorio and Reynel Hugnatan each tossed in 10 points for Alaska . Cardona scored 16 points in the fourth period and almost single-handedly won the game for the Texters, Alapag had 19 points and six assists, with Dillinger, Yousef Aljamal and De Ocampo shooting in twin digits.
