Despite not making the cut to the final 13 of Gilas Pilipinas, Kevin Quiambao is still grateful for a rare opportunity to train with someone like Jordan Clarkson.
It’s not common to train alongside a former Sixth Man of the Year. And that’s what Quiambao experienced during his short stint training with the national team.
“For me, sobrang laking moral-booster nun na dinala ko dito sa Filoil,” the 21-year-old shared to Tiebreaker Times. “Kahit hindi ako nakasama sa final lineup and thankful pa din ako dahil binigyan ako ng chance to train with Jordan and Kai [Sotto].
“And ayun nga, dinala ko lang yung mga experience ko sa practice dito sa FilOil.”
Quiambao was not able to train fully with Gilas as La Salle was competing in both the 2022 Filoil Ecooil Preseason Cup and the 2022 PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup.
The experience though was seen on full display after he finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and seven assists against College of Saint Benilde in the quarterfinals of the FilOil Preseason Cup while also taking the win.
The 6-foot-4 do-it-all forward also shared that he was glad to reunite with Kai Sotto.
Quiambao and Sotto had numerous wars in the UAAP back in the day.
“Nothing special naman. Kumbaga we’re just playing for our country and alam naman namin yung role namin,” he shared.
“Sobrang sarap na makasama ang ayun nga, future NBA player.”
When asked about the possibility to represent the country in the fifth window if given a chance, he had this to say.
“For me I will take it as a challenge na din. Yung time management. For now focus muna ako sa La Salle. Pag dating sa puntong yun saka na ko magdedesisyon.”
During the third window, Quiambao averaged 5.0 points, 2.5 boards, and 3.0 assists per contest.
