His story underscores how important chemistry is in the game of basketball.
It didn’t matter that Willie Miller was a two-time PBA MVP. His stint with the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel from 2010 to 2011 still ended up as a regretful experience. It wasn't only because he bumped heads with his Ginebra teammate Rudy Hatfield, but also due to the fact that he was coached by two of the three tacticians he dreaded playing for in his PBA career.
In an upload by the PBA Motoclub, the legendary combo guard identified the coaches he never saw eye to eye with during his playing days in Asia’s first professional basketball league. The first two on his list was Ginebra’s Siot Tanquingcen and Jong Uichico.
Tanquingcen and Uichico shared head coaching duties with Ginebra in 2011, before the latter left the San Miguel Corporation franchise in 2012 to become part of the Smart Gilas national team.
According to the PBA 40 Greatest Players member, Barangay’s coaching tandem wasn’t able to utilize his strengths properly as the rookies were prioritized over himself, a veteran.
“Alangan naman mas maayos ‘yung rookie sa’kin. Sa tatlong rookie, paulit-ulit. Talo na, hindi pa mag-adjust,” Miller prefaced.
“Si coach Siot Tanquingcen, si coach Jong Uichico, ito ‘yung mga sumunod na coaches ko, papaano ko magugustuhan, eh hindi ako ginagamit ng maayos,” he revealed.
Miller met the third coach who ended up on his horror list when he suited up for the Barako Bull Energy and the GlobalPort Batang Pier from 2011 to 2013. During that time, he was mentored by Junel Baculi.
“Si Coach Junel, same din. Sa lahat ng napuntahan kong coach, beterano ang ginagamit ‘pag huli. So, hindi ko alam kung anong problema sa beterano na 'di baleng matalo kayo sa rookie kaysa sa beterano. So ito ‘yung mga hindi ko gusto,” Miller divulged.
In his last tour of duty for Barako Bull in 2014, Willie recalled being reunited with Coach Siot. Obviously, the reunion didn’t do much to change his opinion about his old drillmaster.
The Olongapo City native was a straight shooter when it came to naming his least favorite coaches. With the same level of honesty, he also showed how much he appreciated playing under the likes of: Tim Cone when he was part of the Alaska Aces, Yeng Guiao with the Red Bull franchise, Joel Banal with the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals, and Bong Ramos as part of Barako Bull once again.
(GM)