MANILA, Philippines — Converge import Quincy Miller on Wednesday confirmed his desire to play for Gilas Pilipinas, as he considers the Philippines his “favorite place” to play when he’s overseas.
The 29-year-old Miller declared last month that he wants to suit up for the Philippine men’s national basketball team, throwing his name into the list of imports who have expressed their willingness to be naturalized.
Speaking after scoring a PBA career-best 46 points against Phoenix Super LPG on Wednesday night, Miller confirmed his interest in suiting up for Gilas.
“I think just the Philippines is my favorite place that I’ve been overseas. Just the people, the culture. There’s nothing that I don’t like about the Philippines, you know, and I would love to represent you guys in a national game and actually become a Filipino one day, perhaps,” said Miller.
“But I’m not pressed, I’m just a fan of you guys. That’s all,” he added.
A second round pick in the 2012 NBA Rookie Draft, Miller revealed that his interest was piqued when he watched the national team play against Saudi Arabia last August 29 at the Mall of Asia Arena — the first game he watched in the Philippines.
The contest saw the Utah Jazz’s Filipino-American guard, Jordan Clarkson, lead the way in an 84-46 rout in front of a capacity crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“I just loved the energy, like I said I love the people, and once I saw what’s going on in the country, I loved it even more,” said Miller.
The naturalization process in the Philippines is famously lengthy; the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) recently sought assistance from lawmakers to fast-track the naturalization of players like Ginebra import Justin Brownlee.
But Miller says he is willing to go through the long wait.
“I’m willing to do anything to play for the national team,” he guaranteed.
Miller is playing as an import in the PBA for the first time. He has led Converge to a 7-2 win-loss record in the 2022 PBA Commissioners’ Cup, where he is averaging 32.0 points, 16.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 3.1 blocks, and 1.8 steals per game.
