Over the past few seasons, the UAAP landscape has seen some truly tremendous foreign talent come in and dominate the league.
De La Salle University’s Ben Mbala struck fear in the hearts of opposing fans with his all-around offensive talent. He led the Green and White to a UAAP title in 2016 and bagged two UAAP Most Valuable Player awards in the process.
Upon Mbala’s departure, Ateneo de Manila University’s Ange Kouame took the league by storm with his unparalleled defensive instincts and paint presence.
With Kouame, Ateneo won three championships in four seasons.
In Season 84, he was bested by Malick Diouf of the University of the Philippines, whose rim-running and transition talent helped give UP its first crown in 36 years.
With Diouf stepping away from the collegiate basketball scene, the door is wide open for another great Foreign Student-Athlete to take over the league.
La Salle’s head coach Topex Robinson believes his ward Henry Agunanne has the potential to be that kind of player.
“I think Henry came here knowing that he has a role to play. The reason that we brought him here is because of what he can do for us,” said Robinson after a 68-61 victory against the revamped University of Santo Tomas in the Filoil Ecooil 17th ECJ Preseason Cup.
“He’s gonna make us better defensively, and at the same time, we’re also going to help him really develop into the player that he wants to be.”
The Centro Escolar University product gave the Growling Tigers problems in the paint all afternoon, shelling out 12 points, 16 rebounds, and five blocks in 27 minutes of action.
Agunanne will make his UAAP debut this coming Season 87, filling in for Bright Nwanko as La Salle’s Foreign Student-Athlete.
For Robinson, comparing Agunanne to other FSAs, past or present, will do little to help him grow his game. In order for Agunanne to reach his potential, Robinson says he has to look inward.
“Well, I think the potential is really something that we set. We set the bar so high that it’s always gonna have him really challenge himself. It’s not about the other FSAs; it’s about himself. How far does he want to go? Just like what we were telling him, the sky’s the limit for him. It’s just up to him how far he wants to go,” Robinson explained.
“It’s going to be hard. It’s going to be a lot of things he has to give up in order to get something he wants to have.”
Agunanne himself is willing to take on the challenge set forth by Robinson. After all, he chose to come to La Salle so he could learn to become the best player he could be, trusting Robinson and the rest of his staff with his development.
“Well, like you said, playing for La Salle is a different beast. It’s a huge step up from playing at CEU. I’ve learned a lot while playing there… learning from the coaches, the system, it’s all different,” said the 6-foot-11 Nigerian big man.
Robinson, Agunanne, and the rest of La Salle will continue using their preseason to fine-tune their squad.
Up next is a challenge from Adamson University on Wednesday, 5:00 PM at the Filoil Ecooil Centre.
