THE last time Kevin Quiambao played at the UST Quadricentennial Pavilion in Season 86, he was one rebound shy of a triple-double in La Salle’s 83-75 win over UE.
There, the reigning and defending Season and Finals MVP fired 17 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists.
Nearly a year later, Quiambao put up a similar 17-point scoring output that yielded the same winning result — this time against Adamson.
But there’s more to the numbers, and even the result, for KQ.
Honoring 'Tatay Dha'
Little did people know that KQ almost opted to skip the Green Archers’ UST trip last season.
It was because Oct. 21, 2023 marked the fourth death anniversary of his 'Tatay Dha' Argana, whom the Muntinlupa native fondly considers his second father and the reason why he’s even in the sport to begin with.
READ: Tatay Dha is 'the real MVP' behind Kevin Quiambao's success
And as he pulled off a scoring encore that sent the Green Archers to the Final Four for the fourth straight year, a proud Quiambao was nearly overcome with emotion in recalling how much of an inspiration his 'Tatay Dha' was - and still is - for him.
“Sobrang halaga niya para sa’kin. Every day kasi, isa siya sa added motivation ko sa sarili ko na kaya ako nagpapatuloy mag-basketball dahil sa sa kanya,” Quiambao shared with SPIN.ph.
“Good thing na nakuha namin ‘yung panalo and then same venue, same stats. Basta nanalo kami ngayon, masaya na ako. ‘Yung stats, bonus na lang sa akin ‘yan, pero grateful ako na kahit wala na siya dito, ginagabayan niya pa rin ako.”
KQ a family man, through and through
It’s no secret that Quiambao has always been a family man even before the recent birth of his son.
READ: Kevin Quiambao adds doting dad to his sparkling resume
In fact, KQ named his baby boy Kevin Venann after his late grandfather to make sure the latter's legacy won’t ever be forgotten.
“’Yung baby ko ngayon, pinangalan ko rin siya sa lolo ko. Parang iniisip ko na ‘yung baby ko is ‘yung lolo ko na new generation," he said.
Quiambao furthered, “Tuwing makikita ko yung baby ko, naisip ko ‘yung lolo ko. Sobrang laki ng factor ng family dahil sila pinaghuhugutan ko ng motivation at ng lakas.”
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