At the start of the season, many thought that the race for the Rookie of the Year would be between UST’s CJ Cansino and NU’s Dave Ildefonso.
But as the season progressed, it became clear there would be a runaway winner.
Ateneo Blue Eagles rookie Angelo Kouame was way above his batch, ending the elimination round with 76.21 statistical points – far higher than Cansino (57.30) and Ildefonso (50.50).
The 20-year-old is the first-ever foreign student-athlete in league history to win the crown.
But why is it so?
For starters, the Rookie of the Year award is given to ‘true’ freshmen who graduated during the calendar year. This was the case in UAAP Season 79, when Jerrick Ahanmisi of Adamson was declared ineligible to win the award, as he had graduated his secondary studies back in 2015 — a full year before the season started.
In Kouame’s case, he graduated from Multiple Intelligence International School in Quezon City last summer.
Compared to other FSAs, the 6-foot-10 Ivorian did not need to undergo residency, as he was fresh off high school.
However, Kouame could not be part of the All-UAAP team even if he ended the regular season second in the Most Valuable Player race. The league has a rule that only one FSA is allowed to be part of the Mythical Team.
