CHICAGO - The legal fight to secure from FIBA the local classification for Quentin Millora-Brown was long and brutal.
It was also high-priced, high stakes, and was burdened by a degree of difficulty that included having to navigate the politics that has taken roots within Philippine basketball.
According to sources with intimate knowledge of the process, QMB's bid to represent his grandfather's homeland was burdened by passive-aggressive behavior from powerful people who allegedly put implied pressure on the 6-foot-10 center to play locally.
READ FIBA changes QMB's Gilas eligibility from naturalized player to local
That side of the story, however, will have to wait pending our thorough due diligence which will require reaching out to all the parties involved.
For now, though, we celebrate the inevitability of QMB reinforcing our national team roster with his size, mobility and efficiency as both a defender and a rim protector.
Sadly, for every beginning, an end comes.
Which means the arrival of the Vanderbilt alum with a degree in engineering could signal the imminent conclusion of Japeth Aguilar or perhaps June Mar Fajardo's tours of duties with Gilas Pilipinas.
END OF AN ERA?
Both bigs were used sparingly during our ill-fated run at the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup largely because, as a former national team coach pointed out, "they were chased out of the gym for the struggles to defend the ball screens."
No shade, just an eternity of gratitude, should be thrown at Fajardo and Aguilar. Their defensive shortcomings were a combination of a function of age and wear and tear and that the international style of play is simply a different beast than what they're used to in the PBA.
The hole in the middle, which was punctured by the absence of torn ACL-stricken Kai Sotto, will now be adequately patched not only by a 245-lb wide body but by a modern big that is nimble-footed, agile, and seasoned by his years of action at the ultra competitive US NCAA Division 1.
The idea of QMB patrolling the middle and Kai morphing into a stretch four is breathtaking. And when you add 6-foot-10 AJ Edu in the equation, endless possibilities clutter the mind.
For generations, height had always been an impediment to our international sorties. And here we are now blessed with a roster loaded with two 6-foot-10 bigs and a 7-foot-3 phenom.
A slew of obviously non-Ginebra fans commented that Gilas coach Tim Cone had suddenly looked vanilla after he seemed like the best thing since ice cream during our title run at the 2023 Asian Games.
I am not the biggest Cone cheerleader but that's an unfair take. Many coaches will lose their flavor if they lose a piece as big as Kai Sotto.
This stretch of misery for Cone and Gilas is poised to end with QMB about to slip in our red, white and blue jersey.
And we thank the basketball gods for this manna from heaven.
[POSTCRIPT: The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas [SBP] on Friday confirmed SPIN.ph's report that Millora-Brown's FIBA status has been changed from naturalized player to local.]
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