THE UP Maroons' new boy Quentin Millora-Brown has turned a lot of heads in his one-and-done season in the UAAP and it's easy to understand why.
Millora-Brown is a 6-foot-10, 245-lb. modern big with a wide wingspan and nimble feet. He also has great defensive instincts which were evident during his time at Vanderbilt and Citadel in the US NCAA Division 1, where he earned 2024 SoCon All-Defensive Team honors.
The Fil-American big took all those skills to the UAAP, where he has made quite an impact with his averages of 8.09 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks for the Final Four-bound Fighting Maroons.
Small wonder then that two of the college league's two best coaches, Ateneo's Tab Baldwin and Topex Robinson of La Salle, have both turned into QMB fans.
Robinson and Baldwin were so impressed, in fact, that they both endorsed Millora-Brown to the national team program, saying his size and defensive skills would come in handy for the current iteration of Gilas Pilipinas.
COLUMN: Baldwin, Topex believe Quentin Millora-Brown can help Gilas
But let's not get ahead of ourselves. One urgent question needs to be asked first.
Is he eligible to play for Gilas as a local?
As most of you know, world basketball's governing body Fiba has adopted stringent rules for dual citizens, requiring that they've been issued passports of the country they want to represent before turning 16 to be eligible.
The Philippines has taken a hit from that single rule change, losing the chance to call up a number of great players such as former NBA Sixth Man awardee Jordan Clarkson, Christian Standhardinger, and Stanley Pringle, to name a few, as local players.
But lo and behold, Millora-Brown is a different story.
According to sources, the UP Maroons center is very much eligible to play for Gilas as a local, baring that the 24-year old - thanks to his parents and late lolo - has been issued a Philippine passport before turning 16 years old.
Not only that. QMB has made it clear in interviews with local mediamen that he's more than willing to play for the national team if asked.
“Of course, aside from playing for UP in the UAAP, I also want to represent the Philippines with Gilas,” he said.
So how about it, coach Tim?
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