MANILA, Philippines—Angelo Kouame set out on a personal mission after Cignal-Ateneo lost Game 2 of the 2019 PBA D-League finals against Centro Escolar University 77-74.
The loss not only tied the series at 1-1, but it reminded the Blue Eagles that the way they had been playing wasn’t up to par with their standards, and this prompted Kouame to turn his intensity up a notch.
Kouame said head coach Tab Baldwin had pointed out that how the Blue Eagles’ defense had broken down and the mentor’s words stuck with the big man all the way to the end of Game 3.
Ateneo responded with a big 67-52 Game 3 win to take a pivotal 2-1 lead in the five-game series and much of that victory could be attributed to Kouame.
“He told me the defense wasn’t that great last game he was hoping all of us, not just me but everybody, so we went back in practice and just made some adjustments,” said Kouame.
The Blue Eagles’ high energy big was all over the floor, putting up 10 points, nine rebounds, two steals, and nine blocks.
Most of Kouame’s blocks were tallied in the third quarter whern CEU’s players got denied twice in one possession.
He also relished his matchup against the Scorpions’ own center of Maodo Malick Diouf who posted 19 points and 20 rebounds whose 40 minutes of playing time was 14 minutes longer than Kouame’s stay on the floor.
“It’s more challenging, I really like it, the intensity,” said Kouame. “It’s also pushing me to learn from other players.”