Charles Tiu has found a replacement for Angelo Kouame.
Kevin Quiambao will suit up for Strong Group in the upcoming 32nd Dubai International Basketball Tournament which takes place from January 27 to February 5.
Kouame was ruled out of the tournament as he is still recovering from dengue fever.
Tiu initially was looking at either Justin Brownlee or Andray Blatche — both of whom were part of Mighty Sports.
However, Brownlee has Ginebra commitments while Blatche is already committed to a team.
Pressed for time, Tiu, with the help of EOG’s JR Guevara, talked to La Salle head coach Topex Robinson if he could borrow Quiambao for the tournament.
“We decided to ask Kevin Quiambao, and thankfully DLSU allowed him to join. It will be a great experience for him,” said Tiu, who is also the head coach of College of Saint Benilde.
Strong Group, which is owned by Jacob Lao, is in a rush though to process the Dubai visa of Quiambao.
“We need to find a way to rush and get his visa because we are playing already on friday. Don’t know how he will pick things up, but hopefully, he will cause he’s a high IQ player anyways,” Tiu added.
Quiambao, who was the UAAP Season 85 Rookie of the Year, put up numbers of 11.23 points, 6.54 rebounds, 3.23 assists, and 1.08 steals in his freshman season.
He joins fellow collegiate standouts Jerom Lastimosa, Will Gozum, JD Cagulangan, Francis Lopez, and Miguel Oczon in the team.
The rest of the squad is composed of Renaldo Balkman, Nick Young, Sedrick Barefield, Justine Baltazar, BJ Andrade, and Inand Fornillos.
