It was
a rocky relationship to begin with. It had a predictable ending but everyone
was turning a deaf ear. In the end, the Barangay
Ginebra Kings have traded 2-time MVP
Willie Miller to Air21 for KG Canaleta and for the Kings’ 2012 draft pick.
According
to the tweets of Patricia Hizon and blogger
extraordinaire Fire Quinito plus the
post from the GMA News Online and the
Interaksyon websites, the possible
cause for this parting is because of Miller’s depleted playing time.
Valid
reason?
Most
definitely.
Let’s
break down his season:
In the
Philippine Cup, Miller was third in
the team in points (13.1ppg), was
tied for second in steals (0.9spg),
and led the team in assists (4.0apg).
He also had 4.7 rebounds as he
played in all of Ginebra’s 23 games
with an average playing time of 32.5mpg.
By the way, he ranks first in the team in minutes that conference.
In the
Commissioner’s Cup, Thriller’s
minutes went down from 32.5mpg to 23mpg.
He still averaged in double figures but he finished the conference with 10.2ppg, 3.6rpg, 2.0apg, and 0.4spg.
His outputs were MIA in the finals against the Talk N Text Tropang Texters and because of his inability to produce
his usual numbers, John Wilson, Rob
Labagala, and JC Intal saw action and unsurprisingly upstaged him in all
aspects.
In the
Governor’s Cup, Miller was good for
only 4 games and in 15.5 minutes (almost an eight-minute drop), Miller averaged
only 2.5 points, 2 rebounds, 0.5
assists, and 0.3 steals. Miller was lost in the shuffle because Mark Caguioa has a much more solid game
and guys like Wilson, Intal, Ronald Tubid, Mike Cortez, and a returning Jayjay Helterbrand are providing better
support for the squad.
At
least now Jong Uichico chose the
better player to man his shooting guard spot. Fans troop behind Mark Caguioa
because may be cocky but he backs his words up. Miller at one point had a bunch
of endgame miscues that gave him no love from the Ginebra faithful. It was his
request to be traded out of Alaska
because he hates the fact that he is the main man of the Aces. The pressure’s
on for Thriller and the jolly scorer hates that scenario. He left the Aces after pissing off Rosell Ellis and Diamon Simpson. Tim Cone
would have loved for Miller to stay but having Cyrus Baguio in the lineup makes Miller’s absence unimportant.
Curiously,
Baguio is enjoying the minutes Miller had in Alaska – which actually solves
Baguio’s former Ginebra issue where he was begging the squad for additional
playing time.
With
Miller in the Express, Air21 gains the offensive firepower stay still lack.
Having Miller, Danny Seigle, and Dondon
Hontiveros is never a bad thing although the pressing need for the squad is
to bolster up their frontcourt.
The
trade would be beneficial for Ginebra though especially since Miller is coming
from the injured list when the trade happened. The loss of Enrico Villanueva to injury and Rudy Hatfield to... other endeavours left the Kings with a huge
void at the middle. Unfortunately for the Kings, KG Canaleta is not a post up
threat and despite his height is not a strong rebounding player. But in the
long run, his presence will still play a big part for the Kings’ semifinal
campaign.
Fact
is, with Uichico hoping for his rookies to develop well, Miller became
expendable. Miller has been thrown to his third team in two seasons and if that
Governor’s Cup run is an indication of things to come, then Miller leaving the
Kings camp is the best decision for his career.
I can
still see a couple of years left on The Thriller... depending on how seriously
he takes his career.
For
those keeping count, bouncing from team to team proved to be the slow death of Vergel Meneses’ and Bong Alvarez’ pro careers.
Game
over.
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