When Ateneo Blue Eagles rookie Angelo Kouame received the 2018 Filoil Flying V Preaseason Cup, presented by Chooks-to-Go Most Valuable Player trophy Saturday evening, the Ivorian student-athlete did not forget to pay tribute to his teammates.
This was the 20-year-old’s first major award in his young collegiate career.
“They helped me. They were the ones who got me open,” shared Kouame, who started playing basketball when he was 16 years old.
“I really think that they are the MVP, everyone on the team. I want to say thank you to my teammates.”
No one was more happy for him than Ateneo assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga. But still, there is a lot of work to be done by the 6-foot-10 big man, the Ateneo lifer shared.
“Very happy for him. We’d like to see him continue to improve as well as other players,” he said.
“It’s a combination of him being a good learner and being skilled. He’s a bit raw in terms of basketball experience but he’s a sponge.”
His transition to Manila life has been made easier by his teammates. One of his teammates that took the role to mentor Kouame is Chooks-to-Go/UAAP-NCAA Press Corps Pivotal Player of the Year Isaac Go.
“Isaac Go is his personal coach. He’s been talking to him a lot,” Arespacochaga disclosed.
For Go, he took this responsibility as he wanted to continue the tradition started by the likes of Enrico Villanueva and Nonoy Baclao.
“It’s been a tradition in Ateneo for the veteran players to look after the young ones, especially the bigs.
“There is a bigger learning curve from the high school division to the college ranks. I guess it’s just my turn to do that,” Go told Tiebreaker Times. “There were Fonzo [Gotladera], GBoy [Babilonia], [Chibueze] Ikeh, Vince [Tolentino] — all of the big men that I’ve been under have done the same for me.
“Even big men that I didn’t have the chance to play with have done the same. Kuya Enrico, Kuya Noy, Ahia Justin [Chua], Kuya Frank [Golla], Kuya Greg [Slaughter], Coach Ford [Arao]. They’ve also helped me anytime I came up and asked for advice. It’s a cycle and it’s my turn to do it so that the cycle continuous and the tradition lives on.”
And it does help that Kouame has also endeared himself to the team.
“He’s been great. He’s a good kid with a great character and a good heart,” Go remarked about Kouame, who attended high school in Reedley International School. “Great locker room guy. You can’t say nothing bad about him.
“Everyone loves him.”
