Quentin Millora-Brown feels determined to leave a lasting impact in his one and only season with University of the Philippines.
The UP center found himself targeted by physical play in their UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball Final Four clash against the UST Growling Tigers on Saturday.
In particular, he was on the receiving end of two unsportsmanlike fouls from Forthsky Padrigao.
At the 9:33 mark of the third quarter, Millora-Brown was on a fastbreak layup attempt when Padrigao pulled on his jersey to stop the shot.
Then, with 3:24 left in the game, Millora-Brown set a screen on Padrigao, who responded by elbowing UP’s big man straight in the stomach.
Despite the aggressive fouls, Millora-Brown kept his composure, continuing to play without reacting violently to the physicality.
For the one-and-done big man, the rough play came as no surprise, as head coach Goldwin Monteverde had prepared the team for this kind of challenge.
“The coaches prepared us for that,” said Millora-Brown. “They said whatever happens, the game’s gonna get scrappy. So just play through it and don’t let them get into your mind because you don’t want to be in a situation where you sacrifice your future for what we’re looking at. So they just prepared us that way.
“For me, it’s just all about winning. Whatever it takes. Everyone needs to step up on the team. Everyone knows that there are sacrifices to be made. It’s just about being prepared to do whatever it takes.”
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Millora-Brown played his role as the anchor for UP in the paint, finishing with nine points on 7-of-10 shooting from the free-throw line. He also had 19 rebounds, four blocks, and three assists.
In 29 minutes and 12 seconds of play, he drew six fouls – five of which sent him to the charity stripe – and was a key positive factor with a plus-10 rating.
With the victory secured, Millora-Brown and the Fighting Maroons now set their sights on the Finals, aiming to break free from their back-to-back runners-up finishes.
Next up for UP will be the winner of the De La Salle Green Archers versus the Adamson Soaring Falcons.
“It was a hard-fought game for us,” Millora-Brown said. “The coaches prepared us for what we needed to do. They said from the start that it was going to be a war. But we have two more games that we have to lock into.”
#WATCH: Forthsky Padrigao is disqualified from the UAAP Men’s Basketball Final Four after committing unsportsmanlike fouls against QMB 🏀
📹 Ernest Tuazon/Tiebreaker Times#UAAPSeason87 pic.twitter.com/1BGSPfkOt9
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) November 30, 2024
