SBP tells QMB: Don’t give up

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al Panlilio advised Quentin Millora-Brown not to give up on his dream of playing for Gilas Pilipinas in major international tournaments.

Panlilio said having the 24-year-old big man stay in the country and play in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will be a big boost to his goal of seeing action as a local player for the national squad.

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) recently classified Millora-Brown as a naturalized player, making it quite hard for him to play for Gilas since it already has three reinforcements in Jordan Clarkson, Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame.

He was in town to play for the Macau Black Bears that suffered a 98-103 loss to Gilas Pilipinas in a friendly match on Monday ahead of the FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

After his stint with the Black Bears in The Asian Tournament, Millora-Brown is planning to campaign professionally in Europe.

But if Panlilio will have it his way, he wants the former University of the Philippines rebounder to stay in the country and help in the development of local basketball to give the federation a good reason to appeal his case before FIBA.

“I told him not to give up his dream to play for Gilas Pilipinas. But he has to stay in the Philippines and help with the development of basketball here,” Panlilio said.

“I think FIBA looks at that as a favorable situation. Look at Newsome. The reason they gave the ruling is because Newsome invested his time here and helped develop basketball here, and he’s a big contributor to the national team.”

Unlike Newsome, who has been in the country since 20213, Millora-Brown played only one season for the Fighting Maroons in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.

He, however, is a legitimate Filipino-American as his grandfather, Angel, and grandmother, Anita, finished their degrees at UP and University of the East, respectively, before migrating to the United States.

Millora-Brown is still hoping FIBA will be able to grant him a local slot.

“They gave me a naturalized status. The lawyers told me we have a pretty strong position (so) we’re hopeful that we get FIBA to change their position from naturalized to local,” Millora-Brown said.

“But we’ll see what happens. Obviously, we don’t control what they say, but we’re hopeful.”

Even Gilas head coach Tim Cone is thrilled by the possibility of having Millora-Brown in the national roster.

“I can dream and wish. I dream we had Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, but that’s not possible either. But if I had an opportunity, man, I would love QMB (Millora-Brown) on the team,” Cone said.