MANILA, Philippines — For Quentin Millora-Brown, rebounding and protecting the basketball will be critical as Gilas Pilipinas defends home court when the Filipinos battle visiting powerhouse squads New Zealand and Australia in the second window of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
The 6-foot-10 Millora-Brown is well aware that the Tall Blacks and the Boomers will use their size and experience in trying to impose their will.
“The size will be different. That’s the one thing I bring. You can’t train size. So, just being big and strong and physical with those guys because Australia and New Zealand are two crazy big teams,” said the Filipino-American big man in an interview posted at the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas Facebook page on Tuesday.
Millora-Brown, who joined the Gilas team late last week after his camp managed to reach a deal with the SBP, stressed the importance of having fun, too, noting that playing too tight could only lead to turnovers.
“I think (that’s what I’ll be) bringing and honestly, just have fun. You just need to have fun and everything takes care of itself,” he said.
“They’re going to be pressing, they’re going to be up on the rebounds, making sure we don’t turn the ball over because that’s what they want to do,” added Millora-Brown, who had a solid contribution of 7.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 19.7 minutes in his first two games in a Gilas uniform against Guam during the first window.
The Tall Blacks have lost their first two games in the first window against the Boomers, and are expected to bounce back strong against the Filipinos in their much-awaited match this Thursday, February 26 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Even the Boomers, who are currently tied with Gilas at 2-0 in Group A, are out to extend their pristine record when they face off with the Philippines on March 1.
"They want to speed us up, get us out of our rhythm. Those two things I think are vital for us to come out with a win but also make sure none of us have too much pressure on ourselves,” explained the former one-and-one University of the Philippines slotman.
"When you play tight, you don’t have fun, you don’t play well, you make mistakes.” While Kai Sotto won’t be around to anchor Gilas’ defense, Millora-Brown believes he can do a lot more this time for the national team compared to the two games he played against Guam.
“I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable with the system, with the way we want to play, that just last window obviously still new, still trying to figure it all out but this window I feel a lot more confident in how I would fit in, how I’m going to play,” he said.
Millora-Brown beefs up the Gilas front court pool that also includes June Mar Fajardo, AJ Edu and recent addition Justine Baltazar.