MBA ace looms as top pick in PBA draft

The PBA will soon have its own version of "Miller Time."

Willie Miller, the former ace Letran Knight who wowed the MBA crowd the past two years, decided to bring his act to the PBA, filing his application for the rookie draft of the country’s premier pro league yesterday.

Miller became the first player to officially apply for the draft set Jan. 14 at the Glorietta in Makati although a number of PBL players, including Cebuano sensation Roger Yap, have filled up their application forms and forwarded it to the PBL Commissioner’s Office for clearance under the PBA-PBL memorandum of agreement.

A bumper crop of rookies is expected next year in the PBA with marquee players in both the PBL and the MBA signifying their intention to join the draft. The PBA set the deadline for the draft application at noon on Jan. 3.

Nonetheless, Miller is likely to become among the top picks as the 5-foot-10 guard has long been the prospect of a number of teams, including Red Bull and Mobiline.

Both teams have offered to buy out Miller’s contract with the Nueva Ecija Patriots in the MBA early this year but MBA backer ABS-CBN, which took care of the player’s monthly pay, declined.

But with Miller’s contract with the MBA expiring at the end of the year and the player making himself available for the draft, Red Bull could win its tug-of-war with Mobiline with the Photokina franchise having a chance to gain the first draft pick.

Red Bull and Shell, being the teams with the worst cumulative finish in the 2000 season’s three conferences, will dispute the first pick in a lottery. Ginebra will be No. 3, Pop Cola No. 4, Mobiline No. 5, Sta. Lucia No. 6, Tanduay No. 7, Alaska No. 8 and either Purefoods-San Miguel or San Miguel-Purefoods at No. 9 and No. 10.

The 23-year-old Amerasian from Olongapo said he prefers to land at Red Bull where he thinks he can have playing minutes and be reunited with Letran teammate Kerby Raymundo.

Adviser-agent Molet Pineda expects Miller to immediately make an impact in the PBA, saying his player is not intimidated on the court. He said: "Walang hiya-hiya iyan at walang sinasanto. Kahit sino binababoy sa court."

Miller said playing in the PBA has been his dream since he started playing the game as a kid in backyards and sandlots in Olongapo.