One-and-done big man Quentin Millora-Brown lives up to the hype with a career-high performance in his first Finals game in the UAAP for the UP Fighting Maroons.
There was a lot of fanfare surrounding Quentin Millora-Brown when he first committed to the UP Fighting Maroons during the offseason.
If his performance in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 87 Finals is anything to go off of, it was all well-deserved for the one-and-done big man out of The Citadel in the US.
Millora-Brown finished with a UAAP career-high of 17 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting clip. He was also one rebound short of a double-double with nine boards, while also chipping in three assists, two steals, and one block.
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But perhaps more importantly, Millora-Brown was a +12 in efficiency in the 73-65 win by UP in Game 1, where he fueled a pivotal run in the third quarter.
He scored six straight points midway through the third to turn the tides for UP, who started with an 8-0 start to the third quarter to take over at 45-41.
QMB was also the one who gave UP its largest lead of the game, 65-54, with 5:56 left.
Tagged as the “missing piece” to UP’s title run, Millora-Brown said that it was something that he took the heart and used as motivation to step up to the plate every time he’s out on the floor for the Fighting Maroons.
“Definitely, I think about that a little bit. But for me, it’s all about the process of just every day, being there, being ready, being prepared to improve, being prepared to take the game plan,” said Millora-Brown.
“So I think that’s kind of… that stability is what they were looking for from me and that’s kind of what I try to do every day,” he added.
UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde also lauded his big man’s contributions, especially considering that it was his first foray into a stage as big as the UAAP Finals.
“You know, lahat naman kami, we expect from each other to give our best and for this game, Q really stepped up to the occasion, being in the finals. Ginawa naman niya lahat ng makakaya niya, and, sakin you know, ang laking bagay sa game kanina,” he said.
Monteverde and the rest of the Fighting Maroons will hope to obtain the same contributions from Millora-Brown when Game 2 rolls around on Wednesday, December 11, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.