In just four days, the bill naturalizing Angelo Kouame will have already lapsed into law.
This would mean that the 6-foot-10 big man can be used by Gilas Pilipinas as soon as the Clark window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers next month.
And the Atenean can’t wait to don the colors of the country.
“Mostly, I’m excited because it’s been a thought for a year now,” Kouame told The Game.
“I’ve prepared myself for this.”
Kouame though will be facing two of the best bigs in the region.
Serving as his baptism of fire is facing Ricardo Ratliffe (Ra GunA) on June 16 and 20 and Lester Prosper and Indonesia on the 19th.
Kouame already knows how powerful Ra is as he had already faced him during the 2018 William Jones Cup.
In Ateneo-Pilipinas’ 73-90 loss to Korea, Kouame tallied a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds. Ratliffe, on the other hand, had 15 points and seven rebounds — all in the first 20 minutes of the game as he sat out the second half.
“I’ve been scouting them. I played against Ratliffe in the Jones Cup,” recalled Kouame about the former Star Hotshots import.
Kouame has also watched the 6-foot-10 Prosper during his time with Columbian Dyip back in 2019.
“For Prosper, I’ve seen some of his games in the PBA,” he continued.
“I’ve scouted them to see what their weaknesses, their strengths are and I’m really excited to go against these guys.”
Helping Kouame beef up is one of Gilas’ assistant coaches and one of Tab Baldwin’s most trusted personnel Alton Lister.
Despite being 62 years old, Lister, who played in the NBA from 1981-1998, is still pushing Kouame both in practices and in the viewing room.
“It’s impressive for me because he’s the kind of coach who always pushes me to keep working out.
“Having him around, I try to learn as much as I can from him and he teaches me a lot of things like moving and how to play inside and outside. He’s really helpful and I keep learning from him every single day,” said Kouame.
