Former University of the Philippines big man Quentin Millora-Brown in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball Finals. Photo from UAAP Media.MANILA — Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone welcomed the addition of Quentin Millora-Brown to the list of players whom they can field for future competitions.
READ: FIBA classifies Quentin Millora-Brown as Philippine local
After FIBA re-classified the University of the Philippines product from a naturalized player to a local, the Barangay Ginebra mentor expressed excitement about getting one of the country’s most promising young big men today.
“You get a talented, athletic, and young 6-foot-10 player,” Cone said in an appearance on Power and Play on Saturday, before comparing Millora-Brown to his fellow UAAP alum and Season 87 Finals foe Kevin Quiambao when it comes to having a young star at their disposal.
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“He is a 6-10 KQ (Quiambao) in terms of what it means to the program,” he said of the 25-year-old QMB. “He is basically what the doctor ordered. “
During the 2025 Asia Cup, Gilas only had AJ Edu and veterans Japeth Aguilar and June Mar Fajardo to rely on in their frontline given Kai Sotto’s recovery from his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
“What a warrior he is. He didn’t want to go to this tournament, but I begged him to come because we didn’t have enough size to compete without Kai there,” said Cone of Aguilar. “His wife didn’t want him to come, but he still stepped up, so my hat’s off to Japeth. He has asked to retire three times already.”
Fortunately, aside from Sotto being eventually available for their assignments in the 2027 World Cup Qualifiers, Gilas will not have to rely heavily on their usual frontline anymore when it faces the likes of Australia and New Zealand anew.
“With QMB, we have a guy to slot in right there,” Cone said. “In this program, we have not had Kai and AJ together even in practices. Now, the opportunity to have that soon, then you add a QMB? Man, that’s something that we can really work on.”
“He works tremendously well within our triangle system, and I think he is really gonna enjoy that system,” he added.
However, with QMB’s addition and the possible exit of Aguilar, does this mean that Gilas will add more talent to its narrow pool?
“I think, just like any other team, you want to build on continuity, but we have never been adverse to making changes. Picking up a QMB, it’s like picking up a No.1 pick in the draft, you gotta make room for him,” Cone said.
“We’re gonna take a look at our lineup, try to make tweaks here or there. Would it be smart to find eight new guys? No. But there are definitely some guys out there that might be able to contribute in a bigger role or a more important role.”
"In a couple of weeks, we’re gonna get together to discuss. QMB is gonna be one of the changes, bringing Kai back in the line-up, those are two changes right there, and there could be one or two more," he added.
Still, given the scheduling constraints that his program is constantly dealing with, Cone stressed that continuity will still be held with the highest regard moving forward.
“The program started with an idea of continuity, and we’ll go with that continuity,” he emphasized.
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