Gilas Pilipinas forward Kevin Quiambao during the Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Decorated coach Tim Cone heaped praise on Kevin Quiambao, calling the do-it-all forward the “future” of Gilas Pilipinas.
Cone believes it’s just a matter of time before Quiambao gets to show the world why he’s one of the best young talents in the country today.
“Kevin’s an absolutely huge part of this program. He is, without a doubt, our future. Within a year or two, he will be a veteran in this pool,” said Cone during a press conference in Mandaluyong on Monday.
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“Some of the vets that we have will get a little older and may not be available for the World Cup but that’s just the way you build a team, right?”
Quiambao, the reigning UAAP MVP from La Salle, was part of Gilas’ semifinal run in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) but played limited minutes.
But that doesn’t mean Quiambao, who’s only 23 years old, is not a valuable piece of the national team especially moving forward.
“We want to try and keep the core as intact as possible and Kevin represents that core.”
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While Quiambao’s commitments to La Salle come the next UAAP season could pose problems in terms of his availability for the national team, Cone said that matter has already been taken care of by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).
“As far as I know, we have a complete agreement with the UAAP and it was already established before the first window that they would free up their players and mend their schedules to play for windows,” Cone said.
“So I fully expect Kevin to be a part of it.”