KEVIN QUIAMBAO’S basketball journey has been nothing short of impressive, with the former De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archer gaining recognition not just in the Philippines, but internationally as well.
From his stellar run in the UAAP—securing one championship and two MVP honors—to becoming a regular fixture in the Gilas Pilipinas pool, many believed an NBA shot was no longer a distant hope, but a tangible goal.
Yet, as another NBA summer comes to a close—marking yet another Filipino player falling short despite a nation rallying behind him—people are left wondering: What went wrong?
Few are more equipped to answer than PBA legend and Sacramento Kings assistant coach Jimmy Alapag, who shared a candid take on what may have hindered Quiambao from breaking into the NBA.
NBA Dream Not Easy
Speaking on Power and Play, Alapag stated that Quiambao might have stood a stronger chance at cracking an NBA Summer League roster if his team had gotten him ready much earlier.
“This isn’t blaming Kevin at all,” Alapag highlighted on Saturday. “But, whoever is helping him should have probably planned better as far as reaching out to NBA teams and front offices.”
It’s worth noting that Quiambao only traveled to Sacramento in early July to undergo a personal training camp in the U.S. and attempt to secure a spot in the Summer League. However, the tournament was already set to begin on July 10.
For Alapag, this was a crucial part of the process that should have been arranged much earlier by KQ’s camp to give him a stronger chance at earning a roster spot in Las Vegas.
“He reached out to me back in January. I told him congrats on all his success, his MVP in La Salle, displaying his talent in Korea, it’s great,” Alapag shared.
“He told me: ‘I have NBA workouts in the summertime.’ That’s all he said, so I was under the impression that whoever was a part of his team, they had spoken to other NBA teams and had arranged for him to be seen,” he added.
Missed Opportunity?
However, that wasn’t how things played out, as Alapag mentioned during the show that it was only in late June when Quiambao officially expressed his intent to compete for a spot on the Kings’ Summer League roster.
“He reached out in May, saying that he’s gonna be in Sacramento. I said: ‘When you come to Sacramento, please reach out,’” Alapag said.
“When he finally reached out, this was the end of June or early July, and by this time, our front office and Coach Doug Christie already had an idea of who our summer league team was gonna be.”
“When Kevin came, he said: ‘Hey coach, I’m ready for our workouts. I hope I can make the team.’ At that point, being an assistant in the summer league staff, I don’t have any say as far as who and who isn’t on our roster,” he added.
Furthermore, the chances of seeing Quiambao suit up in the Summer League might have been much higher—and perhaps his journey could have taken a different path—if his camp had laid out preparations well in advance.
“That kind of starts the momentum for Kevin to work out with an NBA team. If he impresses, now the next one is the summer league. There is a very direct process of how that all works,” Alapag said.
“I felt very bad that I was not in a position to help him because when he reached out that he was in Sacramento, the team had already been put together. That was the unfortunate part,” he went on to say.
All things considered, Alapag still believes Quiambao has the tools to endure the long journey toward making the NBA. For now, he simply needs to remain patient, keep proving himself in the Korean Basketball League, and possibly take another shot down the line.
