ULAANBAATAR (Mongolia) - Ian Miller proved to the be stabilizing presence Ulaanbaatar Xac needed to beat Hi-Tech, 88-80, and finish their BCL Asia-East 2025 Group Phase run unbeaten, Thursday at the UG Arena.
The well-travelled guard finished with 25 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter as he saved the Final 4-bound Broncos from spiraling down further on the way to collecting their sixth win in as many games.
He scored 11 - spiked by a pair of tough threes - to power a 14-2 run toward an 83-73 heading into the match's final three minutes to put them back ahead after losing a seven-point edge and trailing 69-71 early in the period.
And when their Basketball Thai League counterparts sliced the deficit to half, 85-80, he came through with the biggest assist of the night - a kick-out to Azbayar Altangerel for the dagger triple with 37 seconds left.
Miller knocked down a total of five triples and shot 44-percent from the floor, and also collected 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals to lead the Group B top seed to a perfect campaign in the preliminaries.
"We are so happy with this win," said head coach Ariunbold Erdene, proud of the turnaround his team has done after an early exit during last year's BCL Asia Qualifiers. "We're making history for Mongolian basketball."
Altangerel also delivered solidly with 21 points and 6 rebounds, along with a pair of blocks. Munkhtuvshin Davaadorj supplied 11 points, while Jordan Tolbert tallied a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Soon, the Broncos will turn their attention to Indonesia's Pelita Jaya Basketball as they will face each other in the knockout Semi-Finals of the Final 4, which is set to take place on May 30-31 at the UG Arena as well.
"It's the next step for Mongolian basketball. For me personally, I just wanted to come here and help change the culture, make history. And that's what we're doing so far," said the 33-year-old Miller.
Mike Singletary, on the other hand, nearly finished with a triple-double with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists to lead Hi-Tech, who finished their BCL Asia-East campaign with a 2-4 record.
Ryan Watkins had 16 points and 8 rebounds. Freddie Lish made 11 points and 7 rebounds while Emmanual Ejesu flirted with a double-double with 8 points and 9 rebounds in the defeat.
FIBA