2 hours Ago By John Z. Pages
HOMER Sayson, my good friend and former SunStar colleague, wrote a recent column for Spin.ph titled, “What are KQ’s chances of landing NBA Summer League spot?” KQ is Kevin Quiambao, the two-time UAAP MVP from La Salle. After leading the Green Archers to the Season 86 crown, he’s now playing in South Korea’s KBL.
His next goal? A shot at the NBA Summer League this July in Las Vegas. This got me thinking about a question we’ve asked for years: Will a full-blooded Filipino ever make it to the NBA? Basketball is our national obsession. Since the NBA started in 1949, we’ve dreamed of a homegrown Pinoy wearing a Warriors or Knicks jersey on the world’s biggest basketball stage.
There have been attempts. Japeth Aguilar tried in 2012 when he was drafted into the NBA D-League by the Santa Cruz Warriors. Bobby Ray Parks gave it a go in 2015, suiting up for the Dallas Mavericks in the Summer League — the first Filipino-born player to do so.
Jordan Clarkson is proudly Filipino, yes, but born and raised in the US. What we’re still waiting for is a Pinoy born and bred who breaks through. Then came Kai Sotto.
I remember visiting my daughter Jana at Ateneo several years back. There was a super-tall high schooler walking around campus. That was Kai.
Now 7-foot-3, Kai was “The One” we all believed in. He trained in the US, played for G League Ignite and declared for the 2022 NBA Draft. He went undrafted.
He played in Australia’s NBL, then Japan’s B.League. Kai is talented and is still young (he’ll turn 23 this May 11) but the NBA dream? It’s still alive but surely less certain now.
Height, it turns out, isn’t everything. Enter Kevin Quiambao. KQ doesn’t tower like Kai, but he has plenty of tools.
Versatile. Strong. High IQ.
He can pass like a guard and, as we saw in the UAAP, can shoot from beyond the arc. He’s only 21. But the odds are very, very, very steep.
As Homer Sayson wrote: “At 6-foot-4, Quiambao is three inches shorter than the NBA’s average height. And at 205 lbs, his meat is a little closer to the bone.” Translation: he’ll have to work four times as hard.
KQ will need relentless training, elite competition, and several breaks. He’ll need NBA camp invites. A team willing to take a chance.
Added Homer: “To get a roster invite, he will need to impress team executives and scouts with his 3-point shooting, ball-handling and conditioning. His ability to play lockdown defense, with emphasis on how well he attaches himself to the hips of the man he’s guarding, will be huge because teams always make room for defensive stoppers.” The NBA is the toughest club to join.
With 30 teams, there are only 450 players. And while thousands apply, only 60 are drafted each year, and not all make it. The good news is, the NBA has gone global.
This season, 125 players from 43 countries make up a record 23 percent of the league, and that number keeps growing. The league is no longer just for Americans. One day, whether it’s Kai or KQ, let’s hope a Pinoy finally makes it to the NBA.
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