QMB has little doubt Gilas will be a force in Jeddah
After being a firsthand witness to what Gilas Pilipinas can do as a collective unit, Quentin Millora-Brown became a believer that the Philippines will be a force in the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup.
Millora-Brown, who suited up for the Macau Black Bears in a tuneup game against Gilas on Monday, said the Philippines would “do well” in the continental meet after a tremendous showing in front of a home crowd.
“They’re a well-coached team with so much experience and talent,” the big man had said. “I’m excited to see how they perform over there. I think they’re going to do well.”
Champion Maroon
QMB, who helped University of the Philippines to the UAAP title last season, also had a firsthand feel at how Gilas’ collective defense can starve anyone as he was limited to only six points and seven rebounds in a 103-98 comeback win by the Filipinos that night.
His defense on Justin Brownlee was also ineffective, as the naturalized ace went on to finish with 32 points and 15 rebounds.
Millora-Brown was also on the ugly end of an AJ Edu poster dunk. He also had a verbal spat with CJ Perez.
“If you play basketball long enough, those things are going to happen, especially if you play hard,” he said. “If you play hard, it’s going to get chippy. He (CJ Perez) came off a screen hard and a little bit too much but obviously, it’s all good nature between us. It’s just part of the game.”
That same intensity, QMB said, will propel Gilas to wins in the Jeddah games beginning on Wednesday.
Gilas had already won its second tune-up game, against Jordan this time, 75-61, three days before the official opening of the Asia Cup.
QMB’s name rang across Gilas roster discussions a few months back, with the team needing all the big men that it can find with Kai Sotto out of commission. But those talks came to a halt when the big man wasn’t classified as a local by Fiba for the Philippines.
Currently, Millora-Brown’s agents are working on an appeal to make him go from a naturalized to a local player.
