La Salle’s Kevin Quiambao secures the ball during a game against Ateneo in UAAP Season 87.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — It took La Salle ace Kevin Quiambao just 10 days to reset his career-high in scoring twice after dropping 33 points against Ateneo in the UAAP Season 87 men’s basketball tournament on Saturday.
After putting up another dominant showing in an 80-65 win, the reigning MVP thought about the honor of representing his dream school.
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“For me as a leader, I need to set a culture dito na ‘yung standards mataas. Dahil nga La Salle ‘to, dream school ko ‘to. Nabiyayaan ako magkaroon ng opportunity na maging leader nito. Tine-take advantage ko lang kung ano yung kaya ko take advantage yun sa team na ito,” said Quiambao, whose previous career high was 29 points in a victory over University of Santo Tomas.
READ: UAAP: Kevin Quiambao resets career-high in La Salle rout of Ateneo
Quiambao on his new career-high and offering every game to his family. #UAAPSeason87 @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/65kN4AOf3l
— Lance Agcaoili (@LanceAgcaoilINQ) October 26, 2024
“It’s a privilege na maglaro sa La Salle, sa big school. Yung opportunity na ganito sa mga katulad ko, kumbaga, limited people lang ang makaka-access sa jersey na ito [kaya] binibigay ko lang lagi yung best ko,” he added.
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Despite another masterful performance that included grabbing 13 rebounds, Quiambao wasn’t satisfied after committing five of the Green Archers’ 20 turnovers.
“Tulad nga sinasabi ni coach, madami pa kaming kailangan baguhin, trabahuhin. We need to be better pa, lalo na ako as a leader,” said last year’s Season and Finals MVP. “Five turnovers na medyo crucial sa team. So as a leader, take ko lang yan as challenge, opportunity na mag-grow pa.”
The Gilas Pilipinas young gun credited another season-high in points to coach Topex Robinson’s system and his teammates’ support, allowing him to score almost half of the Green Archers’ points.
“I think yung personal achievement kusa na lang darating yun kapag nag-stick ka sa game plan,” Quiambao said.
“May mga times na medyo lumilihis ako kasi may sariling agenda minsan. Tulad ng sinasabi ni coach sa amin na keep playing lang, keep valuing possessions.“
Robinson continued to marvel at Quiambao’s greatness, expressing that his top player is a blessing to him and the La Salle community.
“Yesterday when we had a mass, I get to see a glance of him on my right sabi ko parang sobrang bait naman ni Lord binigay itong mamang ito sa amin,” the La Salle coach expressed. “I think what I really admire about KQ is really the work that he puts in. Nobody on our team will question the work that he does and setting the tone, the standard for our team. We just have to trust him. He also knows that sometimes he’s forcing it and what I really like is he always tells me babawi siya palagi so that’s I guess having a man enough to admit. His teammates love him and he loves his teammates. .”
Even Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin, once again, heaped praise on the versatile forward’s talent after getting swept by La Salle for the first time in his career.
READ: UAAP: Kevin Quiambao owes new career-best to teammates
“KQ played a hell of a game. There’s no other way to sum that up. He was good in many respects of the game. He was a prolific scorer, he passed the ball, he made good decisions, played good defense at times, and he led his team. You could see that he was inspired for the game and he played an outstanding performance,” Baldwin said. “You can see that it mattered a lot for him and he led a really championship basketball team. And I know they think that way, they believe that that’s where they belong, and I don’t see anything to doubt that.”
“They’re just a very well put together basketball team who are playing really good basketball, inspirational basketball. They’re playing very attractive basketball from a coaching standpoint and they were just clearly better than us tonight,” he added.
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After tallying two career-highs in three games, Quiambao is relieved to have a long break to allow himself to recover and spend time with his family before returning to action on November 6 against Far Eastern University.
“After this game, kailangan namin maging humble. Lalo ako dahil umayon sa akin lahat ngayong game,” he said.
