Quentin Millora-Brown jostles for the ball during Game 2 of the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball Finals between UP Fighting Maroons and La Salle Green Archers. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—University of the Philippines’ key big man Quentin Millora-Brown remained in high spirits even after the Fighting Maroons’ loss in Game 2 of the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball Finals at Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday.
Instead of winning the Season 87 crown outright, UP will have to win one more game against La Salle in order to win the men’s basketball title–but that doesn’t faze the trusty big man.
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“It’s a series, right? The best part of all this is we have another game to play. We have to lock in and come back with even more energy,” said Millora-Brown.
“We’ll focus on the details. For us, we’re happy to play in Game 3. We’re excited about it. It’s not the end of the world. It’s an amazing thing for us to be able to compete again. We’re not out.”
The one-and-done center did what he could for the Fighting Maroons, finishing just two rebounds shy of a double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds but to no avail.
The Fighting Maroons were quite literally a quarter away from sealing the deal as they led at the end of the third quarter, 62-54, only to succumb to a huge Green Archers fight back in the payoff period.
Despite fumbling a huge lead down the line, Millora-Brown stated that UP “was never out” against the defending champions.
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“We were in it the whole time. I don’t think we were ever out of it. [I’ll give] credit where credit is due, La Salle hit tough shots, they hit everything they needed to in order to come back,” said QMB.
“We were in it ’til the very end. We had a shot at the very last second that could’ve gone in from Gerry, unfortunately, it didn’t but we’ll just prepare for game 3. It’s a series and we knew it was going to be a long battle and a slugfest,” he added.
After a plethora of missed free throws from both sides in the dying seconds of the game, UP had a solid shot at winning the game.
Francis Lopez, who finished with 16 points, dribbled the length of the court as time was expiring before passing it to the right wing for a Gerry Abadiano triple at the buzzer that didn’t convert.
Abadiano finished with 16 to his name, as well.
Now, it’s a “first-to-blink” battle between UP and La Salle for the Season 87 chip in Game 3 at Araneta Coliseum on Sunday for all the marbles.