Angelo Kouame looks set to run away with the UAAP Season 84 Men’s Basketball Tournament Most Valuable Player plum.
Because of his all-around line for Ateneo de Manila University, the 6-foot-11 naturalized Filipino will be crowned as the tournament MVP prior to Game Two of the Finals on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Kouame, 24, ended the elimination round with 69.214 statistical points in Tiebreaker Times’ unofficial tally.
Kouame averaged 12.86 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.07 blocks, 1.71 assists, and 1.0 steals. He led the Blue Eagles to 13 wins in the elims.
Kouame is the first Atenean to win the MVP plum since Kiefer Ravena did so back in UAAP Season 79.
He is way ahead of De La Salle University’s Justine Baltazar (63.0 SPs) and University of the Philippines’ Zavier Lucero (62.0) in the race.
Still, both Baltazar and Lucero will compose the other two frontcourt spots in the All-UAAP team.
The two bumped off Carl Tamayo (57.643 SPs), Malick Diouf (56.0), Michael Phillips (54.643), and Emman Ojuola (54.643) for those two coveted positions.
Completing the All-UAAP team are Ateneo’s Dave Ildefonso (53.286 SPs) and Adamson Jerom Lastimosa (53.071).
The two guards beat out L-Jay Gonzales (51.308 SPs), Ricci Rivero (50.143), and RJ Abarrientos (49.286) for the backcourt positions of the mythical five.
The UAAP’s Mythical Five includes a center, two forwards, and two guards. Only the stats from the end of the elimination round are taken into account for the post-season awards.
Meanwhile, Tamayo – who averaged 13.14 points, 7.29 rebounds, and 1.36 assists during the 14-game elimination round – is the league’s top rookie. He beat out Phillips and Abarrientos for the award.
Tamayo is the first Fighting Maroon to win the top “freshman” award since Juan Gomez de Liaño (Season 80).
For this season, sophomores and freshmen for the 2021-22 academic year were considered for the top rookie award.
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