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Singapore. Don’t make Nakiea Miller angry. You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry.

Singapore point guard Al Vergara dabbled in the dark arts early in the second quarter of Sunday’s Game 3 between the Slingers and Satria Muda Britama, punching Nakiea Miller in the groin as he drove to the basket. The move appeared to work as the American was out of sorts for almost three quarters.

Unfortunately for the Slingers, Asean Basketball League contests -- as in the rest of the world -- last for four quarters.

Miller, incensed by Vergara’s shenanigans and jeering from the Singapore Indoor Stadium crowd, roared back to life when it counted. Satria Muda pulled away down the stretch to win 86-76 and claim the semifinal series 2-1, advancing to the finals against the No. 1 seed Philippines Patriots.

“[Vergara] is the same guy who undercut [Christian Ronaldo Sitepu], and he’s the same guy that tripped me in Game 1,” Miller said. “It’s all good, though, because they’re going home and we’re going to the championship. He could punch me 10 times as long as we won.”

Vergara’s punch struck a nerve with Satria Muda as the team holds him responsible for the torn ACL which ruled Sitepu out for the rest of the season. The Filipino guard collided with Sitepu’s leg as he was airborne in Game 1, depriving the Indonesians of one of their best post players.

Miller went into halftime with two points, two rebounds and two fouls, having received a technical foul in the jostling that followed Vergara’s punch. Satria Muda stayed in the contest despite its anchor being out of sorts, though, as Alex Hartman and Amin Prihantono carried the scoring load, hitting 12 of the team’s 17 first-half shots and combining for 34 points at the half.

Singapore built a small lead in the third quarter but could not string together a decisive run. Miller, growing in confidence, began displaying his usual dominance down low and capped the quarter with a step-back 3-pointer, tying the game at 62 and offering the Slingers a preview of the quarter to come.

“We got back at halftime and said, ‘Nakiea, you’re still our go-to guy’ Luckily he stepped it up,” Hartman said.. “His first play of the half was the and-one, and an and-one always gets you going. It makes you feel like you’re strong, you can go to the hoop on a guy and get him in foul trouble. That was the key to getting Nakiea sparked and ready to go.”

The pressure began to tell in the fourth quarter as both sides clamped down on defense but could not translate those stops into points.
With a place in the ABL finals on the line, Satria Muda made the decisive plays. Mario Wuysang capped off a 3-point play, Hartman threw down a run-out dunk, and Miller brought the hundreds of Indonesian fans to their feet with a strip-and-score 3-point play to end the game.

Slingers coach Frank Arsego said his younger players became hesitant down the stretch.

“We didn’t give ourselves the best opportunity to put pressure on Satria Muda,” he said. “The second and third quarters were great. At the end, we made some indecisive decisions which led to turnovers and didn’t let us get scoreboard pressure. They maximized their opportunities and we didn’t.

“We’ve always encouraged [the younger players] to step up and be the person they can be in training. We’ve encouraged them all season long to step up and deliver. As the environment gets tougher, that’s when you learn how close you are to the player you want to be.”

Kyle Jeffers had 19 points and 16 rebounds for Singapore, while Michael LeBlanc finished with 15 points on 6-of-23 shooting to go with 14 rebounds. Marcus Ng added 15 points and five assists, and Hong Wei Jian scored 17 points.

Miller finished with 22 points, 14 rebounds and five blocked shots for Satria Muda, which opens the best-of-five finals in Manila on Feb. 12. Hartman scored a game-high 30 points, Amin had 13 and Mario scored 12.

Miller hailed Mario, Amin, Rony Gunawan and the team’s other local players for making a telling contribution in the absence of Sitepu and during his struggles.

“Our locals played how they’re supposed to play. They played with heart and determination,” he said. “Sometimes when we lose, the locals take it hard because they didn’t play well. I take most of the blame because if I don’t get them ready for the game, it’s my fault because I’m the captain. They came out and showed me from the jump they were ready to go.”