Remember Miller Time? It’s back.

Willie Miller, the man thought to be on a spiraling descent toward obscurity, finally came through with a performance worthy of his illustrious past, scattering his best output for the past five conferences as Barako Bull snapped a three-season, 14-game losing streak against Talk ‘N Text, 100-86, Wednesday night in the Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

Miller registered 27 points – 12 in the fourth quarter — on 12-of-17 shooting, and flicked six assists. It was his highest production since scoring 29 in the 2009-10 Philippine Cup while he was still with Alaska.

“It doesn’t really matter how many points I score,” said Miller, traded to Barako Bull by Ginebra toward the end of the Governors’ Cup last season. “The important thing really is that the team wins. I just hope we can sustain this.”  Rain or Shine was the one, too, that benefited from Talk ‘N Text’s defeat, securing solo second place later in the night after holding off Meralco, 89-84.

Paul Lee, limited to just 12 points, made two crucial assists to Larry Rodriguez down the stretch as the Elasto Painters booked their third win in four outings.

Petron still leads the 10-team standings with a 3-0 (win-loss) record.

“We’re back at second spot, and it’s a good win. I’m very happy at the way we played defense. It’s a good thing when you win with your defense. It always says something of your character,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao.

Gabe Norwood and Jeff Chan each had 14 points and Rodriguez had 11 for the Painters, who outscored the Bolts, 30-9 in the third quarter.

“The third quarter was, I think, the time when the game was won,” Guiao said.

Rain or Shine, which erected a 78-53 lead early in the fourth quarter, however, still had to survive a scary moment late in the game.

The Bolts unloaded a 26-6 blast after that 25-point deficit, coming to within 84-79 with merely 68 seconds left to go.

Lee, though, responded like a veteran, drawing defenses in drives to the basket before dishing off passes to the cutting Rodriguez in successive plays.

“It got scary for a moment, and I didn’t call a time-out because I want the boys to think through the situation,” said Guiao. “You have to take risks if you want to teach things to the players.”  Meralco dropped to 2-2, failing to apply a follow-up to its stunning 84-78 win over powerhouse B-Meg last Oct. 15.

Miller, who returned to the franchise that drafted him No. 1 overall in 2001 (Red Bull), actually has never reached his old dominating form when he demanded Alaska to trade him to Ginebra, a ball club that has an abundance of guards.

But he appears to have found a new lease in his career with the Energy Boosters right now, bouncing back from a pair of mediocre efforts this conference for a team that was never really given respect prior to the start of the tournament.

“We prepared hard for this game,” said Barako Bull coach Junel Baculi. “Maybe one factor is our defense. The veterans were willing to work on defense, the veterans were willing to share the ball, and Miller was bound to explode and it so happened that this was the game.

“I won’t discount the fact that (Ranidel) De Ocampo and (Kelly) Williams were out. But let’s give credit where credit is due. We played tough defense, and we held our composure.”  Mick Pennisi, who at 36 is the fourth oldest active player in the league, also had a superb offensive performance with 18 points, his highest since the 2008-09 Philippine Cup semifinals while he was still with San Miguel Beer (20 points), and rookie Dylan Ababou came off the bench to add 20 points and seven rebounds as the Energy Boosters picked up their second win in three games.

Interestingly, Barako Bull held the offense-minded Talk ‘N Text to only 11 points in the first quarter, and led by as many as 22 points – the last at 52-30 on a basket by Miller late in the second quarter.

The charge the Boosters projected came, and the Tropang Texters cut the imposing advantage to just within 73-67 early in the final period.

But Miller, now 34, scored eight points built around two three-point shots, and Pennisi contributed another triple in a 11-7 run as the ageing Barako Bull quintet seized momentum back by taking an 84-72 lead with 8:08 left to play.

Talk ‘N Text never threatened since then.

“I was surprised when we went up by a big margin. We expected a big comeback, but we were able to hold on,” Baculi said.

This is the second straight game that Barako Bull beat an elite team in lopsided fashion. Last Oct. 14, the Boosters, behind Ababou and Allein Maliksi, crushed Ginebra, 88-75.

Jayson Castro had 23 points and Ryan Reyes added 16 for Talk ‘N Text, which suffered its first defeat in a tournament it is hoping to defend and become the first franchise since Great Taste in 1985 to repeat as Philippine Cup champion