Quentin Millora-Brown has been on Tim Cone’s radar since his stint with the University of the Philippines last year.
After eight months of waiting, Cone will finally have him in the Gilas Pilipinas pool.
On Thursday evening, the 25-year-old Filipino-American successfully won his appeal with FIBA, reclassifying him as a local instead of a naturalized player.
“Oh man! What can you say? You get a talented, athletic, young 6-foot-10 player who is still… He is a 6-10 KQ in terms of what it means to the program,” Cone said during Saturday’s episode of Noli Eala’s Power & Play.
“A big guy like that is basically what the doctor ordered. AJ (Edu) and June Mar (Fajardo) were out there pretty much on their own during the Asia Cup.”
The decision couldn’t have come at a better time for Gilas.
In the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup, the Philippines struggled to find consistency.
They went just 1-2 in the group phase, managing their lone win against lower-ranked Iraq while falling to tougher opponents.
Gilas then outlasted host Saudi Arabia — another lower-ranked team — in the playoff match before being routed by powerhouse Australia in the quarterfinals.
(C) FIBA.basketball
Veterans June Mar Fajardo and Japeth Aguilar bore the brunt of the inside battle during the tournament, often struggling to match the athleticism and length of younger big men from other countries.
Now, Cone believes that having a 6-foot-10 addition for the World Cup Qualifiers is like getting a “number one pick.”
“In a professional team, you have the draft to bring new guys in. This is not unlike any other team. This whole program is based on continuity. We want to see how long we can go with this team, but we have never been averse to making changes. It’s just that the continuity idea was paramount to us,” Cone explained.
“Picking up a QMB is something like getting the number one pick in the draft.”
Cone stressed that Millora-Brown’s addition is a clear boost to the pool.
He also revealed that in the coming weeks, he will meet with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas to discuss the possibility of adding two more players.
“You have to make room for him. We’ll take a look at the lineup and try to make tweaks here and there. We won’t do a wholesale change and look for eight more guys. These guys are the best in the country, but there are still others who may contribute and play a bigger role. That’s what we are going to do in the next couple of weeks with the SBP and our staff,” Cone said.
“QMB is going to be one of the changes. Bringing Kai (Sotto) back in the lineup by February is another, and there could be a couple more. The program started with an idea of continuity.”
