Rising star Kouame wants to motivate players interested in playing in UAAP

Angelo Kouame is undoubtedly the biggest impact player of Ateneo for the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament.

The 6-foot-10 center out of Ivory Coast was, literally, the Blue Eagles’ largest producer in their 82-62 victory over Far Eastern Univesity when Kouame put up a preposterous double-double of 33 points and 27 rebounds.

Kouame’s Herculean performance fueled the Blue Eagles’ rise to the top of the standings with a 7-2 record and tied Adamson University for the no.1 seed.

Even though he has been unstoppable in the basketball court, Kouame said he wants to be seen more than as an athlete.

“I want to motivate the new foreign players who are about to come to the UAAP in the future,” said Kouame Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum. “There are really good players and what I do is for the next generation.”

Kouame, who is just in his first UAAP season, wants become an example for those who are setting their eyes in the collegiate league.

And it’s not just in the basketball court that Kouame wants to become an example.

“It’s really tough being a student and an athlete but if I can do these things so can the future players who’ll come in,” said Kouame who studies Bachelor of Arts I Interdisciplinary Studies in Ateneo.

“I just started playing 5-on-5 basketball here in the Philippines so I want to motivate the players who watch us because there’s a future here.”