Kevin Quiambao was among Gilas Pilipinas’ key cogs in its epic victory to advance into the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup quarterfinals.

The Muntinlupa native got things going early for the Nationals and also made shots in overtime to seal the victory over Saudi Arabia, and he finished with 17 points, three rebounds and three steals in 32 minutes of action.

He is now averaging 10.8 markers, two dimes, 1.8 boards, and 0.8 steals in the Philippines’ campaign in Jeddah so far, and none other than head coach Tim Cone is glad to see that Quiambao is figuring things out.

“Kevin is not afraid of the moment,” said the Barangay Ginebra mentor. “He just keeps on wowing us.”

“He’s battling for his position, he’s battling for his minutes, and he’s winning those battles. He’s becoming a vital cog, another guy we can throw in there with Justin [Brownlee] and Dwight [Ramos],” added Cone.

The De La Salle University product is coming off a personal trip to the US before he re-joined Gilas for their Asia Cup preps.

But while Quiambao fell short of reaching a spot in the NBA Summer League, Cone was not surprised to see the 6-foot-5 forward remain unfazed and perform hard on both ends of the floor.

And even with Quiambao already displaying his prowess on the international stage, Cone knows that his best is yet to be unleashed.

“We’re still learning a lot about Kevin because he is the young gun on the team,” he said. (ABS-CBN News)