UP one-and-done ace Quentin Millora-Brown is happy to provide rebounds for the Fighting Maroons, even if they may not be the prettiest stat on the sheets.
In a basketball game, players usually go for moves that help them end up on a highlight reel – from high-flying dunks to booming triples. But for UP big man Quentin Millora-Brown, he’s not about that life.
A one-and-done recruit pegged as a potential game-changer for the Fighting Maroons, Millora-Brown has shone in a category that players don’t usually go for – rebounding.
In his first five appearances with the Fighting Maroons in UAAP Season 87, Millora-Brown has tallied three double-digit rebounding games, including an 11-point, 14-rebound outing in UP’s 69-57 comeback win over the Adamson Soaring Falcons at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday.
[Related: UP overcomes 22-point deficit to down Adamson, keeps unblemished record in Season 87]
Though not his most eye-popping performance on the stat sheet, Millora-Brown’s rebounding – which included seven offensive boards – helped UP create more opportunities to come back after going down by as many as 22 points, 9-31.
After the match, Millora-Brown said that he’s just as eager to get to the boards as he is to get points – or maybe even more.
“You know, board man gets paid as they say in the NBA. So for me, I think that just taking pride in every rebound I can get. As I said, in the interview before, offensive rebounds especially because that can really help our team if we’re struggling offensively to find some rhythm, find points when we can’t just do it straight off of our flow,” said Millora-Brown, who actually debuted in the UAAP with a 17-rebound game. He also has one game with 13 rebounds.
“So, for me, I’ve always taken pride in it and I think that finding ways to just keep trying to improve that stat,” he added.
[Related: ‘Fully-healthy’ Terrence Fortea answers call, fires UP to 5-0 start in Season 87]
UP head coach Goldwin Monteverde spread the minutes among the Fighting Maroons, but Millora-Brown saw action off the bench for more than 28 minutes.
Understanding what they need to return to the summit in UAAP men’s basketball, the 24-year-old said he’s down to do whatever it takes for the Fighting Maroons to come home with the win.
“Really, [I’m] just [doing] anything to win. You know, it’s all about winning and finding that next level,” QMB said.
“I think everyone on the team knows you gotta step up whenever you have the opportunity to because opportunities don’t always come around. So, when you have it, you have to make the most out of it,” he added.
Millora-Brown fell short of claiming that his goal in his one and only season in UP was to regain the UAAP championship for State U.
Rather, he said that he just wanted to keep UP in their winning ways and waxed poetic about the legacy he wanted to leave behind after the season.
“I just wanna protect the culture of winning at UP. You know, it started in 84 when they got their first after a long drought, and then two back-to-back seasons so… I want us to leave a legacy of winning at UP for a long time,” said Millora-Brown.
“So I think, you know, I said this before in a different interview, where if I can look back 10 years from now, and see that everyone on the team has continued to win and continues to win, until then and beyond, then I think I’ll be really satisfied,” he added.
There’s a long way to go for UP in Season 87, though, and up next is the revamped UST Growling Tigers in their penultimate game of the first round.
They face off on Wednesday, October 2, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.