Defending UAAP champion La Salle shrugs off losing star player Kevin Quiambao to Gilas Pilipinas weeks before Final Four commences in Season 87.
The DLSU Green Archers aren’t sweating having to miss star player Kevin Quiambao with weeks to go before the Final Four in the UAAP Season 87, as he takes his latest tour of duty with Gilas Pilipinas.
Having been given special concessions by the UAAP for letting the national team borrow Quiambao for the upcoming window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers in Manila, head coach Topex Robinson sees no problem with the reigning MVP missing a couple of weeks practice with the Taft-based squad.
With Quiambao in the training bubble with Gilas Pilipinas, Robinson believes he’ll come out a better player both for flag and country, as well as the DLSU Green Archers.
“It's going to be a win-win. You know, physically, KQ's not going to be with us. But, you know, try to also imagine the sacrifice that he has to make. You know, when we committed to that Gilas call up in January, we know that the challenge is going to be him being away from his family, you know, him being in the bubble. But there's so much to gain,” said Robinson, who also noted transferee Mason Amos’ call-up to Gilas.
“That's one of our contributions to our national program. And sabi ko nga, minsan lang mangyayaring opportunity na yun. And it's really a no-brainer to bring them there. And the UAAP also told us that they're going to make adjustments for us. That's why we already played our last game. And it's going to give us a lot of time also to adjust pagbalik ni KQ. But sa amin, it's a win-win.”
More than looking at the short term effects of missing Quiambao as they make their final preparations for their title defense, Robinson said that his player’s inclusion in the national team meant that they were on the right track – program wise and Quiambao individually.
“It's just a testament of what this program is all about. You know, you produce those kinds of players that's going to get called up and yung experience there will benefit from it,” Robinson said.
“So it's really an honor for KQ and DLSU to really represent Gilas in this window.”
Robinson also underscored the need of being away from Quiambao as well – to help his team understand that the reigning MVP won’t always be there to bail out the Green Archers.
Though rarely happening this season, there will be off nights from Quiambao, just like his performance in their loss against NU where he went cold from the field with a 3-of-17 clip.
Having to train with Quiambao absent, La Salle will have to learn how to make do without him – even if he does get to return before the UAAP commences its Final Four hostilities.
“Looking at the brighter side of things, you know, I think this is a good time for us to, you know, see ourselves not having KQ, you know, not being so dependent on him, which we've done a few times during the course of the elimination round. So, you know, also a time for us to really spend time together,” said Robinson.
“You know, we're going to have our own training camp in one of the facilities of our managers in Cavite. So more or less, I think it's a time for us to really reflect on where we are and what we want to achieve moving forward. You know, trying to really spend more time together, you know, learning and growing as well and getting to know our players.
And especially, we still have a lot of young guys and I think that's going to be an opportunity para naman mabigyan namin din sila ng tamang atensyon. Especially now that it's going to be the Final Four, it's going to be something close that we really need to work on also,” he added.
As it stands, the Green Archers are still playing the waiting game on who they will face in the semifinals – with either the UE Red Warriors or the Adamson Soaring Falcons qualifying for that last Final Four spot.
Regardless, the defending champions will have Quiambao back along with a crucial twice-to-beat advantage when they resume their title defense early next month.
Meanwhile, Quiambao and the rest of Gilas Pilipinas will begin their two-game homestand on Thursday, November 21, against New Zealand at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.