MANILA, Philippines – When the UP Fighting Maroons needed someone to step up, Quentin Millora-Brown was there to answer the call.
Playing in his first finals game in the UAAP, Millora-Brown turned in his finest performance for the Fighting Maroons as they moved within a win of the Season 87 men’s basketball title.
The 6-foot-10, one-and-done UP big man Millora-Brown delivered a career-high 17 points on an efficient 7-of-11 shooting to lead the Fighting Maroons to a 73-65 win over the La Salle Green Archers in Game 1 of their best-of-three finals on Sunday, December 8.
“It’s just a matter of stepping up,” Millora-Brown told Rappler.
“Anyone on our team can be a high scorer, anyone on our team can get all the points, get the assists, it’s just a matter of whose night is it going to be tonight.”
“So for me, it was my night, and I was ready when the team asked me to step up,” he added.
After UP trailed most of the first half, it was Millora-Brown who put the Fighting Maroons back on top in the third quarter with a reverse layup at the 6:21 mark for a 42-41 lead.
Millora-Brown then did most of his damage for UP early in the final period where he fired 8 of his 17 points, including a two-handed jam, plus the foul, that gave the Fighting Maroons a double-digit cushion, 62-52, with 6:42 left in the game.
Aside from his scoring, Millora-Brown — who missed UP’s second-round encounter versus La Salle — held his own against the Green Archers’ solid frontline of Kevin Quiambao and Mike Phillips as he also grabbed a team-best 9 rebounds, along with 3 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block.
“We knew it was going to be physical, we knew they (Green Archers) were going to crash [the boards] really hard,” said Millora-Brown.
“A lot of it falls to me to rebound, to box out those really heavy crashers like MP (Mike Phillips).”
“For me, I knew that was my role. Like box out, get rebounds, and then when it was time to score, the team asked that of me, and it was time to step up.”
As UP looks to finish off La Salle in Game 2, Millora-Brown hopes the Fighting Maroons find a way to get over the hump and avoid a repeat of the past two finals series.
Back in Season 85, UP drew first blood against the Ateneo Blue Eagles, but dropped Games 2 and 3 to settle for a runner-up finish.
That was the same story for the Fighting Maroons in their finals showdown with the Green Archers last season as they ended up at second place after failing to capitalize on their massive Game 1 victory.
Game 2 between UP and La Salle is set at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, December 11, at the Mall of Asia Arena. – Rappler.com