Passing of torch

From one big man to another.

The looming arrival of Quentin Millora-Brown could signal the end of Japeth Aguilar’s career for Gilas Pilipinas in the international arena.

Gilas coach Tim Cone said he believes the 6-foot-10 Millora-Brown has what it takes to replace Aguilar, who has been serving the national squad since Serbian coach Rajko Toroman handled the original Smart Gilas program in 2009.

A former US National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I player who played one season for University of the Philippines, Millora-Brown has been wanting to don the national team jersey.

But the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) classified him as a naturalized player despite obtaining a Philippine passport before reaching the age of 16.

With that, Millora-Brown assembled a powerhouse legal team led by international sports lawyers Ale Mosca and Toni Verano to make an appeal and prove that he secured his Philippine passport when he was just four years old. The world-governing body in basketball granted their appeal and updated its player portal to reflect its decision that he is a local Filipino player.

With the massive roadblock formally removed, Millora-Brown can now join Gilas Pilipinas, forming a young and agile triple-tower combination with 6-foot-10 AJ Edu and 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto. Veteran June Mar Fajardo, a 6-foot-10 banger, will also still in the mix despite showing signs of slowing down at 35 years old in the recent 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah.

Cone said with Millora-Brown on board, Aguilar can finally hang his Gilas jersey.

“Let me say something about Japeth — he is a warrior. He didn’t want to come into this tournament and I begged him to join,” Cone told former Samahang Basketbol ng PIlipinas executive director Noli Eala during a Power and Play episode on Saturday.

“I felt we didn’t have enough size to compete without Kai so I begged him to come and, once again, he stepped up. HIs wife didn’t want him to come. There were all kinds of issues yet he still stepped up.”

The 38-year-old Aguilar has been wanting to retire from the national team duties.

One of the original members of the Smart Gilas program, Aguilar had been instrumental to the rise of the Filipinos in the international arena. In fact, he was part of the squad that emerged runner-up in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship in Manila that led to the country’s historic appearance in the 2014 FIBA World Championships in Spain.

He would eventually join two more editions of the World Cup in China in 2019 and Manila in 2023, making him the most decorated player in the current Gilas roster together with Fajardo.

Aguilar formally announced his retirement from Gilas in 2023, barely a few hours after winning yet another historic title in the 19th Asian Games.

But Cone — his coach at Barangay Ginebra in the Philippine Basketball Association — again asked him to go on board when Sotto crashed with an anterior cruciate ligament injury ahead of the third window of the FIBA Asia Cup Asian Qualifiers in February.

“My hats off the Japeth. He answers the country’s call time and time again. I believe he already retired three times,” said the American mentor, who is thrilled to have Millora-Brown on board as Aguilar’s successor.

“With QMB, we have a guy we can slot right there.”

Cone stressed that he believes Millora-Brown can fit into his system seamlessly, similar to what happened when Sotto and Edu, who are both international players with no PBA experience, first came on board.

“This team we’ve put together, we’ve never had AJ and Kai together — not even in practice,” Cone said.

“Now we have a chance to see that in the future. And having Quentin to that mix is something we can really build on.”

“I think he’ll fit well within our triangle system. I believe he’s going to enjoy playing that role.”