La Salle's Kevin Quiambao in the UAAP Season 87 men's basketball tournament. UAAP MediaMANILA -- Already the front-runner for Most Valuable Player honors in the UAAP Season 87 men's basketball tournament, Kevin Quiambao should be even better upon his return from the national team.

This is the expectation of De La Salle University big man Mike Phillips, who is cheering for "KQ" as he represents the country with Gilas Pilipinas in the November window of FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers. 

"Every time he comes back from those Gilas breaks, he's on a different level. Being around those veterans in Gilas, me personally when I was with Gilas, I just learned so much," Phillips told ABS-CBN News in a recent interview.

Quiambao was called up to the national team's 12-man roster for the qualifiers, though he did not play in Gilas Pilipinas' historic 93-89 win against New Zealand on Thursday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

READ: Sotto, Brownlee power Gilas to statement win over New Zealand

Nonetheless, Phillips is confident that being around the likes of Justin Brownlee, Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Chris Newsome, Kai Sotto and June Mar Fajardo can only be beneficial for his teammate.

"We love Kevin because he's able to balance everything, and I'm sure he'll bring so much back, so many learnings, so much experience from those veterans, and hopefully he'll bring it back to us in La Salle," said Phillips.

Quiambao had another MVP-caliber season, powering the Green Archers to a 12-2 win-loss record and the No. 1 seed. In 14 games, he averaged 16.64 points, 8.64 rebounds, 4.07 assists, 1.0 steal per game.

Phillips, who played for Gilas in the 2023 Southeast Asian Games, hopes that he too will be called up to the national team again in the future but for now, he's more than happy to cheer for Quiambao and the rest of the squad.

READ: Kevin Quiambao sets the record straight on playing in 'ligang labas'

READ: UAAP exec on 'ligang labas' issue: Responsibility is on player, school

"I just really wanna do as much as I can to support KQ, because he has so many blessings, and he's doing the best that he can with them," said the high-leaping big man.

"You know, he has a really, really hectic life, really hard life, but for us in the team, he's always a source of positivity, and energy. A lot of people wouldn't want to be in his shoes and have those responsibilities, but he's just doing the best that he can do with everything, and he's really an inspiration to myself, really, and to the whole team," he added.

Even with Quiambao fulfilling his Gilas duties, there is no respite for Phillips and the Green Archers who are now preparing for the UAAP Season 87 men's basketball Final 4. 

They wrapped up their elimination round campaign with a loss to National University, and are still waiting for their semifinals opponent.

READ: NU halts La Salle's 9-game winning streak to end Season 87 on high note

Meanwhile, UAAP Executive Director Atty. Rebo Saguisag also hailed Quiambao after his latest national team call-up.

"If he's one of the ambassadors right now of the UAAP, we're just very, very proud and we're here to support him, and of course, Gilas Pilipinas, in the next couple of weeks," Saguisag said.

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