Dieonte Miles’ bond with the University of the Philippines has grown quickly over the past nine months, and the seven-foot center hopes to showcase that progress in the upcoming 2nd Asian University Basketball League Championship this August.
Miles will be a one-and-done center for the Fighting Maroons in UAAP Season 89. He spent three years at Xavier University in Cincinnati before playing two more seasons at Morehead State University in Kentucky.
The 24-year-old big man will make his first appearance for UP in the AUBL, scheduled from August 2 to 9 at the Binjiang Gymnasium in Hangzhou, China. The Fighting Maroons will face top university teams from the host nation, as well as Japan, South Korea, Chinese Taipei, Mongolia, and Australia.
“I feel like it’s going to be a good test for us. I feel like it’s us stepping out of our comfort zone a little bit, you know, getting against new competition. Teams that are going to push us to our limit,” said Miles.
“I feel like it only helps us in moving forward into the UAAP season.”
A former NCAA Division I player in the United States, Miles believes joining the Fighting Maroons was the right decision for his continued development and pursuit of success.
He committed to UP while the Fighting Maroons were in the middle of their UAAP Season 88 campaign, witnessing the final season of the team’s celebrated “Maroon 5” core and its Finals loss to De La Salle University.
“I think I chose UP because I think it was a good fit for me. Very team-oriented, you know, very hard-working group of guys,” said Miles.
“Coach Gold (Monteverde) is a very good coach, and you know, just seeing last season’s team and how they were fighting and how they were playing well with each other is just something that was good for me. It benefited me, it’s something I like to be a part of.”
The Fighting Maroons have been drawn into Group B of the AUBL alongside Hakuoh University of Japan and Korea University. UP must finish in the top two of its group to advance to the knockout stage.
With the second edition of the pan-regional intercollegiate tournament serving as a tune-up ahead of the UAAP season, which begins in September, Miles sees the competition as an important step in the team’s preparation.
“The main goal is to just get better. I mean, you know, keep adjusting, because there are a lot bigger goals we have outside of that. So I feel like just, you know, use that as a way to get better,” said Miles.
“Get a good experience, get different level of competition, adjusting to how to play on different schemes and things like that, you know, against different teams. So I feel like just preparation for the UAAP season.”
