THE AIRASIA Philippine Patriots have turned to a former rival to be their import after acquiring the services of Nakiea Miller.
The team leaves for Thailand tomorrow to compete in the “To Be No. 1 Basketball Challenge”, a fund-raising tournament that will start on Thursday.
Miller, the league’s reigning Best Import, is going to team up with the returning Anthony Johnson in the tournament that will also serve as the final phase of their preparation for the 3rd AirAsia ASEAN Basketball League, which is set to open on Jan. 14 next year.
This early, the 6-foot-10 Miller already expressed his readiness to lead the team co-owned by Harbour Centre boss Mikee Romero and businessman Tony Boy Cojuangco back to the zenith after losing to the vastly-improved Chang Thailand Slammers in the second offering of the regional tournament early this year.
Miller first played for Indonesia’s Satria Muda BritAma in the inaugural season before suiting up for the Kuala Lumpur Dragons last year.
On the other hand, the 6-foot-3 Johnson will have his second tour of duty with the Patriots but he hopes to have a longer stint this time.
Johnson, who had stints as import of Sta Lucia and Coca-Cola in the PBA, was limited to just two games last season after suffering a hamstring injury against the Brunei Barracudas in the season opener./Correspondent Jonas Panerio