Millora-Brown blending nicely with Gilas

It didn’t take long for Quentin Millora-Brown to fit into the system of Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone.

Barely a game into his national team career, Millora-Brown declared that he is blending nicely with his Gilas Pilipinas teammates while learning the intricacies of the Triangle Offense — the system that made Cone the winningest mentor in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

The 25-year-old slotman played a significant role in Gilas Pilipinas’ 87-46 victory over Guam in the first window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers last Friday at the Calvo Field House in Guam.

He delivered six points on 3-of-5 field goal shooting topped with 10 rebounds in 17 minutes of action. But more than that, he was tapped to be part of the first unit and conspired with June Mar Fajardo and AJ Edu in terrorizing the paint, prompting the Filipinos to pull down a total of 61 rebounds — the most number of caroms in an Asian qualifying tournament game.

Gilas is facing the Guamanians in a rematch at press time at the Blue Eagle Gym inside the Ateneo de Manila University campus in Quezon City.

The former University of the Philippines star stressed that he’s having fun learning Cone’s system.

“It’s been good. We’re building it up step by step,” Millora-Brown said.

“I feel I’m starting to get a grasp of it (triangle). But I know there’s still a lot more to learn.”

Despite drawing a lot of attention in his one-and-done season in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, Millora-Brown still fought hard for his spot in the national squad.

In fact, he had to hire a battery of lawyers just to prove that he could play as a local as he secured his Philippine passport when he was four years old in 2005, meeting the International Basketball Federation requirement of obtaining a passport before turning 16.

At Gilas, he is not only considered a major boost to its frontcourt; he also represents the future as 38-year-old Japeth Aguilar and 36-year-old June Mar are already in the twilight years of their national team careers.

Millora-Brown said Cone is preparing him well for a bigger role in the coming years.

“He’s (Cone) really talking to me about what my roles are, the usual things that you expect from a young guy, just play hard, work hard, and get to know the system,” he said.