QMB 'just what the doctor ordered' for Gilas Pilipinas, says Tim Cone

With Japeth Aguilar stepping away from his storied national team career, the responsibility begins to shift to the young guns to carry the fight moving forward.

One of those future anchors for Gilas Pilipinas is Quentin Millora-Brown, who has already made a strong impression on head coach Tim Cone just two games into his national team stint.

For Cone, the Filipino-American bruiser is exactly the missing piece they have been searching for the past years. 

"He’s just scratching the surface of his ability to help us. We’re still exploring his game [and] he’s exploring his game within the system, [but] there’s a lot more levels for him to go," Cone said on Monday.

"He’s just what the doctor ordered. He’s a big man, he’s a really strong defender. He’s just a very active, active big man and again, that’s just what the doctor ordered for us."

The 6-foot-10 Millora-Brown proved his worth in his Gilas debut, dropping six points, 10 rebounds, and one assist in the Philippines' 87-46 win against Guam in the opening window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers last Friday. 

He then followed it up with a near double-double of nine markers and nine boards in their repeat victory over the same team last Monday, 95-71, in front of a home crowd at the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym. 

Millora-Brown, who played for the University of the Philippines in the UAAP last year, is expected to strengthen Gilas Pilipinas’ already-promising frontcourt alongside Kai Sotto, AJ Edu, and Carl Tamayo. 

The young quartet will still be guided by longtime Gilas big man June Mar Fajardo.

"Very confident ako sa kanila. Very malayo ‘yung mararating nila and kailangan lang suportahan natin sila. Patuloy ang ‘yung pag-trust sa system, sa process," Aguilar said of Gilas' future stars.

"Sana maging healthy at buo ‘yung core. Actually hindi pa natin nakikita ‘yung full potential nila so abangan natin sila and suportahan natin sila."

(I’m very confident in them. They will go very far and we need to support them. The trust in the system, the process, should continue… I hope the core remains healthy and while. Actually we haven’t see the their full potential so let’s watch for them and support them.)

—JMB, GMA Integrated News