Awards are a recognition of a body of work, even if delayed. Such was the case for Kevin Quiambao, who became the third consecutive Filipino to win the Korean Basketball League (KBL) Rookie of the Year award, succeeding RJ Abarrientos and JD Cagulangan. Quiambao was already in contention last season, but Cagulangan had more games under his belt. This season, though, quality won out. 

With averages of 15.5 points (on 42.5 percent field goal shooting), 6.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.1 steals in the preliminary round, it wasn’t just an improvement in overall production for Quiambao; his efforts translated to more wins for the Goyang Sono Skygunners, who have now made the postseason for the first time in their current iteration. 

In the Skygunners’ opening assignment in the playoffs, Quiambao set the tone early by scoring and assisting on Goyang Sono’s first 11 points. While the Seoul SK Knights were able to rally and make the game more interesting, the flow of the game was more to the liking of Quiambao and the Skygunners, who lived up to their name and had fun on the way to taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. 

Watch highlights of Quiambao’s games these past two seasons and you’ll notice that the fans, players, and even the coaching staff are either jumping for joy or are pleased with Goyang Sono’s performances and can’t really break out of character given their professional relationship with the team. It’s tough to conclude that one man can truly change the fortunes for a franchise, but you have to make the case for the former DLSU Green Archer, who put in the work and took the Skygunners with him. Quiambao’s workouts have been well-documented, but the unseen hours are equally important and the results speak for themselves. 

All of these will bode well for Quiambao’s future plans, whether that be with Goyang Sono, Gilas Pilipinas, and, of course, his dream to make it to the NBA. He tried to enter through summer league, but circumstances proved complicated. All the while the Skygunners were very supportive of the two-time UAAP MVP’s journey and his play this year is proof he has repaid their trust in him. Quiambao will likely try his luck again in the offseason and both his performance and support system could help him inch closer to that dream. 

All things considered, the hard work has paid off for Kevin Quiambao, who has taken the Goyang Sono Skygunners to greater heights and earned accolades along the way. Knowing Quiambao, though, the work is far from over. With a strong start to the KBL postseason, best believe he’ll pull out all the stops to ensure he and the Skygunners emerge on top when the dust settles.