Tag: Maroons

UP Fighting Maroons signs Gilas prospect Millora-Brown

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UP-commit Quentin Millora-Brown with UP OASD Dir. Bo Perasol. –HANDOUT PHOTO

University of the Philippines isn’t taking its last two runner-up finishes sitting down.

The Maroons continued building up their talent cache, inking Gilas Pilipinas prospect Quentin Millora-Brown, who is not only trying to reconnect to a school he has roots in but also wants to link up with the national program.

“We have been talking with Quentin for a time now. We’ve visited him a couple of times since 2019. We are beyond happy and really excited to finally have him in the team for next season,” said UP Office for Athletics and Sports Development director Bo Perasol.

READ: Fil-Am Jacob Bayla boosts UP title bid in UAAP Season 87

The 6-foot-10 Filipino-American averaged 11.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game in the US NCAA Division I, where he last played for The Citadel—the school that produced former PBA gunner Noy Castillo.

“My grandfather studied in UP,” Millora-Brown, who is eligible for Season 87, said in a press release shared by the Maroons. “It’s his dream to see me don the Fighting Maroons jersey and play for his alma mater. Right now, I’m just really excited to meet everyone as we’ve been in touch even before the pandemic. [I am] looking forward to spending time with my new teammates ahead of the UAAP season.”

Millora-Brown, who is expected to arrive in the country this month, also wants to hook up with the national program, which has been eyeing him for quite some time.

“Of course, aside from playing for UP in the UAAP, I also want to represent the Philippines with Gilas,” he said.



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Preseason win ‘nothing’ as Maroons focus on real target: UAAP crown

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UP Fighting Maroons’ Francis Lopez in Game 1 of the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

University of the Philippines (UP) retained its status as the Filoil EcoOil Preseason Cup champion, but it didn’t matter too much for the Fighting Maroons even though they hurdled a familiar, bitter foe.

“To be honest, nothing really. This is just the preseason, like I said, and this is nothing for us,” reigning UAAP Rookie of the Year Francis Lopez said after the Maroons put together a second half comeback for a 69-66 triumph over La Salle on Wednesday night in San Juan City.

It is no secret where the Maroons have their eyes on—a drastically bigger target: Another UAAP crown.

“We just tried to win today and go home cause we have a lot of things to work on,” Lopez, the tournament’s Defensive Player of the Year, nonchalantly said. “This is not really our goal, but we just thank God, [because] we worked really hard for this. Our goal is the UAAP, not this one, so it’s just another game for us.”

UP has become a powerhouse team in the UAAP in the last decade or so, clinching its second championship in 2022 and coming close to adding to that in the next two years only to fall short to Katipunan neighbor Ateneo and then to La Salle.

And UP is not making it a secret that those consecutive heartbreaking seasons are the Maroon’s motivation to be better, the wounds still fresh even for the fans who filled the Filoil EcoOil Centre on Independence Day.

“We’re on a roller coaster. We gotta be consistent about what we do, what we plan about and coach Gold (Monteverde) keeps telling us that we just gotta be consistent,” Lopez said. “If the shots are not going in, you just continue, especially on defense.”

While consistency still has to be worked on by UP, its heart and hunger to win games were exuded by the Maroons, who aren’t wasting any time to improve. They are set to start a training camp in Serbia that will last until June 30 before flying again to South Korea.

“I’d say not even 50 percent,” Lopez said when asked about the readiness of UP. “We have a lot of things to work on like consistency, mostly, and like what coach Gold keeps saying, keeps on telling us, to not be complacent as well.

“So whatever team we face, we can’t be complacent. And that’s what we did tonight (Wednesday).”



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