It’s not a secret that Kevin Quiambao has been one of the breakout stars of Gilas Pilipinas during their FIBA Asia Cup 2022 campaign. 

The big man has yet to play a single minute of college basketball but he’s already showcasing skills beyond his years in a major international tournament.

Kevin has been the team’s best passer in the tournament. In three group stage games, he’s averaging 5.3 assists, tied for fifth among all players. In Gilas’ win against India, Quiambao dished out nine assists, tied for the highest single-game tally in the tournament so far.

While most people are seeing Quiambao’s passing chops for the first time, the coaching staff has known this strength since they brought him on as one of the team’s big men.

“That’s really a strength of Kevin’s game, and he’s shown it since the first time he’s joined this team,” said head coach Chot Reyes after Gilas’ win against India.

It’s also something the young man worked hard to develop.

“Lagi ko pinapanood si Nikola Jokic. Dati ginagaya ko lang, ngayon nagiging instinct ko na. Kapag may nakita akong open pass, binibigay ko lang kaagad,” shared Kevin.

Kevin’s passing skill is something that Gilas has weaponized in the tournament.

“It’s not everyday that you come across such an intelligent and aggressive passer. And Kevin being inside just makes me focus more on getting to my spots, because you know that when the defense reacts to whatever our offense does and he has the ball, he’d most likely be able to spot that in an instant and just give you the assist,” said Thirdy Ravena.

“Being with a guy like him inside the court just makes life so much easier. Distributing the ball from a big man’s position is a little bit rare in our game nowadays.”

While his highlights have been amazing, Kevin knows there’s still a lot of room for improvement.

“Alam ko mas madaming better sa akin. Ang [maipapangako] ko lang sa sarili ko is mag wo-work hard pa ako,” Kevin said. 

The team knows that there will be bumps along the way in Kevin’s development. He’s still a young player who’s also learning to play within a new system.

“He just now has to pick his spots. There were times we felt in the last game (against Lebanon) that the openings weren’t there and he was still trying to force those passes,” shared Coach Chot. “But we don’t want to take that away from him, it’s really a strength and it’s a luxury for us to have such a good passer in that position.”

Kevin is constantly improving during this tournament. He backed up his nine-assist game against India with a 14-point, three-assist performance against New Zealand. He’s just enjoying the experience and trying to get better with every opportunity given to him.

“Sobrang laki nung opportunity lalo na ang daming naghahangad na makakuha ng pwesto,” said Kevin. “Nag-work hard lang ako at in-enjoy ko lang yung practice.”

While Kevin is just enjoying the process, his teammates have an up-close look at how he’s developing into a special player – one that can play a big role for the team in future international tournaments.

“Just proud of how he’s brought his strength from when he was in high school to the international level. I’m very fortunate to have him as a teammate and it will only get better from here,” said Thirdy about Kevin’s future with Gilas.