Home|Sports|Miller, Shizuoka keep rolling as they win their eighth straightSports

Simba FrenchSend an emailDecember 28, 2022 109 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email

Senior men’s national basketball player Tavario Miller and the Shizuoka Veltex continue to rule the Japanese B3 League, winning their eighth straight game on Christmas Eve with a dominating 86-56 victory over Tachikawa Dice.

Miller was able to come away with a double-double on the back half of a home series against Tachikawa. He scored 16 points and had 11 boards on his team’s home floor inside the Shizuoka City Center Gymnasium in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka, Japan.

Miller, who came off the bench, played 28 minutes on the night. He shot lights out from the field, going 7-for-9, finishing at a 77.8 percent clip. The Long Island native pulled down seven defensive boards and had four on the offensive side. Defensively, he picked up two steals and also had a block.

Also playing in this game was Bahamian Gjio Bain who played for Tchikawa. He played 27 minutes and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the field. Bain grabbed five boards and had two assists. The center also had a block.

The win by Shizuoka improved them to a 22-2 win/loss record on the season as the league enters a break. They have the best record in the league with Iwate and Kagoshima as their closest competitors with identical 20-4 records.

Shizuoka was dominant in the paint, scoring 54 points compared to Tachikawa’s 20 points. They were too big for the visitors as they held a 35-26 advantage on the boards. Shizuoka was unselfish with the ball as they dished out 24 assists on 36 made field goals.

In the front end of the back-to-back on Friday, Miller had 10 points and five rebounds in 17 minutes as his team won 70-60. He also had two steals in the victory. His teammate, Alexis Elsener, was able to lead all scorers with 28 points.

Miller went 5-for-11 from the field in that game. Bain played 14 minutes in that contest and he went 3-for-4 from the field and was able to pull down two boards. The big man had two blocked shots and one steal.

Shizouka had a strong defensive outing in this game, coming away with 13 steals as Tachikawa had 19 turnovers.

This season, Miller is averaging 12.6 points to go with 8.4 rebounds per contest. He is averaging 1.5 steals and 22.5 minutes per game in 24 games.

Miller and his team return to action with back-to-back home games against the eighth ranked Gifu Swoops (10-14) on January 7 and 8.

Miller spent last season in Brazil’s Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) with Minas Belo Horizonte. The team reached the league’s semi-finals before their playoff run came to an end.