•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   

Analysis

Sometimes it takes the strangest things to get professional athletes right mentally.

Manchester City defender Kolo Toure insists on being the last man on the pitch, a habit which has earned him yellow cards in the past. Baseball legend Wade Boggs, in addition to eating chicken before every game, wrote the Hebrew word chai, or living, in the dirt before each at-bat.

Hopefully Nakiea Miller’s routine does not include being verbally abused and punched in the family jewels. If it inspires him to produce like he did in Sunday’s 86-76 win at Singapore in the Asean Basketball League playoffs, though, why mess with success?

Satria Muda Britama’s American center received the rudest of welcomes in the first half. While on his way to the basket, he was struck in the groin by Slingers guard Al Vergara, leading to technical fouls for both players.

Miller did not mince words after the game.

“[Vergara] punched me in my balls. He should be kicked out of the league,” Miller said. “He’s a dirty, dirty guy, and if I ever see him in the streets, we’re going to have a problem. Touching my private parts? Who does that?

“It took everything out of me. It took my energy, my spirit. I couldn’t focus on anything. I wanted to hurt him. Where I’m from, we don’t play like that. For him to do that and league not kick him out or suspend him, something is wrong.”

Vergara had already earned a reputation after colliding with Satria Muda forward Christian Ronaldo Sitepu’s knee in Game 1, which resulted in the Indonesian tearing an ACL and missing the rest of the season.

It looked for a time as though Vergara’s antics would pay off. Miller was out of sorts, scoring just two points in the first half while Satria Muda leaned on Alex Hartman and Amin Prihantono to stay in the contest.

Just then, a voice called out to the big man.

“I was out of it in the third quarter. It took a fan. I missed a shot and a fan sitting on the sidelines said, ‘Miller you ****ing suck.’ I told him, ‘You keep talking, you’re going to regret it because you’re going to make me want to win that much more,’” Miller said. “When I missed that shot, it just clicked. After that, we picked and rolled, Mario [Wuysang] got me that and-one and it was on after that. I was so focused and ready to go.”

With Singapore struggling to pull away, an inspired Miller was the last thing it needed.

He went on to hit seven of his 10 shots in the second half, finishing with 22 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots as the Indonesian champion won its semifinal series 2-1 and advanced to meet the Philippines Patriots in the ABL finals.

While it was not the ideal way of going about it, an intense, competitive game was exactly what the Slingers-Satria Muda series needed after the first two contests ended in blowouts. An emerging rivalry, especially one with a bit of spice, can only help the ABL as it puts down roots.

Most heartening was the sight — and sound — of hundreds of Indonesian fans cheering on Satria Muda in enemy territory. Their songs and chants often drowned out the twee, if occasionally foul-mouthed, Singapore fans.

Few were as ecstatic at the final horn as Miller, who seemed to go out of his way to thank every Satria Muda fan in the house.

The Patriots, who swept Satria Muda 3-0 in the regular season, host Game 1 on Feb. 12 in Manila. Taking on the top seed may be less daunting, though, after scoring a rare win in Singapore.

If the team still needs inspiration, all it has to do is look to its captain.

“Everybody keep talking. The more they talk, the madder I get,” Miller said. “There’s nobody in this league who can guard me one-on-one. They have to double, and if our guys are on and they can’t double, there’s no one who can stop me.”