Romwel Anzures

Gilas Pilipinas big men Quentin Millora-Brown, Kai Sotto, and AJ Edu. Photos from FIBA Basketball.

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ABS-CBN News

<div style="line-height:1.5"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1764658025129IMG_9310.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960" alt="Gilas Pilipinas big men Quentin Millora-Brown, Kai Sotto, and AJ Edu. Photos from FIBA Basketball."/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Gilas Pilipinas big men Quentin Millora-Brown, Kai Sotto, and AJ Edu. <em>Photos from FIBA Basketball.</em></span></span></span>MANILA — Always the go-to big man of Gilas Pilipinas for more than a decade, Japeth Aguilar is at peace with his decision to end his national team career, especially since a promising troika of young bigs is poised to man the paint for the country.</div><div style="line-height:1.5"><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/12/1/fiba-japeth-aguilar-honored-ahead-of-final-game-with-gilas-pilipinas-1948"><strong>READ: Japeth Aguilar honored ahead of final game with Gilas Pilipinas</strong></a></div><div style="line-height:1.5"><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/12/1/fiba-cone-on-aguilar-s-gilas-retirement-he-could-still-come-back-who-knows-2309"><strong>READ: Cone on Aguilar’s Gilas retirement -- ‘He could still come back, who knows?’</strong></a></div><p style="line-height:1.5">The triple towers of Kai Sotto, AJ Edu, and Quentin Millora-Brown are now tasked to continue what Aguilar did for the past 16 years — being an interior beast on both ends — and the 38-year-old Aguilar is confident that the trio will surpass what he achieved.</p><p style="line-height:1.5">“Very fitting kasi parang nabubuo na yung core nila,” said Aguilar after Gilas’ 95–71 victory over Guam in the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Monday at the Blue Eagle Gym on the Ateneo de Manila University campus.</p><p style="line-height:1.5">“Nakikita ko na ganyan yung mga players, sobrang promising,” added the 6-foot-9 Barangay Ginebra star.</p><p style="line-height:1.5">Sotto, Edu, and Millora-Brown have yet to actually share the court.</p><p style="line-height:1.5">The 7-foot-2, 23-year-old Sotto and the 6-foot-10, 25-year-old Edu have not played side by side since the 2023 World Cup, as both have taken turns dealing with and recovering from injuries.</p><p style="line-height:1.5">Meanwhile, the 6-foot-10, 25-year-old Millora-Brown has only played his first two games for the Philippines over the past four days, with the December 1 matchup marking his Gilas debut on home soil.</p><p style="line-height:1.5">And, for Aguilar, the more time the trio spends together, the better it will be for the program.</p><p style="line-height:1.5">“Naniniwala ako sa sinabi ni Coach Tim [Cone] na if magsasama-sama itong group na ito, malayo ang mararating,” he said.</p><p style="line-height:1.5">The Ateneo product also has no worries about leadership and mentorship, with his old pal June Mar Fajardo still with the team.</p><div style="line-height:1.5">“Si June Mar, may konti pa. Pwede pa siya mag-stay para ma-lead niya yung young guys,” said Aguilar.<br/><br/><strong>RELATED VIDEO: <span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/veVFLqqdQlA?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></strong></div>

<p>Always the go-to big man of #GilasPilipinas for more than a decade, Japeth Aguilar is at peace with his decision to end his national team career, especially since a promising troika of young bigs is poised to man the paint for the country.</p>

Always the go-to big man of #GilasPilipinas for more than a decade, Japeth Aguilar is at peace with his decision to end his national team career, especially since a promising troika of young bigs is poised to man the paint for the country.

FIBA: Aguilar leaving Gilas in good hands with triple towers Kai, Edu, QMB

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FIBA: Aguilar leaving Gilas in good hands with triple towers Kai, Edu, QMB

Rom Anzures,

ABS-CBN News

Published December 02, 2025 03:10 PM PHT

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Tim Cone

2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup Asian Qualifiers

Japeth Aguilar

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