When it was announced that Justin Brownlee would be sitting out the fourth window of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian qualifiers, the recurring theme was that the rest of the Gilas Piipinas pool members had to step up. 

The attention quickly shifted to Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo, the young guns who were likely to soak up the open minutes. The former teammates turned rivals and now teammates again for the Philippines were tasked to carry on the responsibilities and in Gilas’ opening assignment against Jordan, both were stepping up admirably. 

Tamayo was a force inside and clearly bothered the Jordanian defense, but a badly sprained ankle he suffered in the third quarter ended his night and his Window 4 campaign as well. It was thus all on Quiambao to step up even more, and it was his last shot that proved to be one of the pivotal moments in the 82-81 victory over Jordan. 

Quiambao was playing with relentless energy early on, making crucial cuts to the basket, being active on defense, and making plays happen rather than waiting for them to come to him. Year Two in Korea made the former DLSU Green Archer a much more proactive player (as if he wasn’t already) and with Gilas Pilipinas, he showed that he’s not one to quit even in the game’s final seconds. 

Against Iran, though, Quiambao had a quieter performance, but he was nonetheless given more minutes (28 versus the 24 minutes of playing time against Iran) and remained a vital contributor to the Philippines’ 68-56 victory over the Iranians. 

Overall, it was a successful campaign for Quiambao, not just because Gilas won, but because he played a major part in it. Sure, Brownlee was out for this window, but the Goyang Sono Skygunner continued to play well following a solid stint with Gilas Pilipinas in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup. The shooting was much welcome, but his contributions on defense were very much helpful in letting the team secure crucial victories. 

It’s clear that Quiambao (along with Tamayo) is being touted as the future for the Philippine national team and he can best prepare for that in moments like these and even when he plays in spurts. Those spurts, however, have become less as GIlas head coach Tim Cone has had a harder time keeping him off the floor. The 25-year old has had fewer errors in this window (two fouls and zero turnovers through two games) and that has been critical in close games such as those that Gilas Pilipinas had against Jordan and Iran. 

The path forward to the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup will only get harder from here, and Gilas Pilipinas was able to earn much-needed wins thanks in part to Kevin Quiambao. While Quiambao won’t be part of the 2026 Asian Games squad, the Philippines would be happy to have him for the fifth window in November, where the stakes will get higher. And as Quiambao has shown this weekend, he is more than ready to rise to the occasion once again.