HE threw up before and after the game, but good thing is he threw down a lot of dunks in between.
Hamady N’Diaye bared he vomited prior and shortly after the Carnival's PBA Governors' Cup opening match against San Miguel Beer from sheer exhaustion as he was still adjusting to the summer weather after arriving in the country just last Saturday night.
Fortunately, the Carnival import summoned enough energy to man the middle and spark Kia’s 83-78 win over the Beermen on Wednesday night.
"The flight, the heat, I'm not used to it,” the Senegalese slotman, who has spent most of his time in the US where he had stints in the NBA, admitted after the game. “But I'm okay. It was nice to be back on the court.”
Although he looked gassed as he played in his first game of the year, the 28-year-old N’Diaye still managed to make a major impact anchoring the Carnival’s defense, ending up with 21 points — making all but one of his nine shots, six boards, four blocks, and two steals in 27 minutes.
“I’m glad to help the team win, especially being here for only three days, getting used to the team and knowing everybody and for them to trust me to let me be on the team, I appreciate it with all my heart.”
[See Senegalese slotman turns the tables on Gilas hero Fajardo]
"It wasn't just me. Everyone really stepped up. The team really helped me out,” added the seven-foot reinforcement, who had been on a long layoff due to an elbow injury he suffered after playing for Senegal in the World Cup last year.
Speaking of the World Cup, N’Diaye still remembers their overtime loss to Gilas Pilipinas that put a fitting end to the Filipino cagers’ return to world stage in decades.
“They won the game. That’s all I can say,” the Senegalese big man said with a smile. “It was a good game. They played great. And it was good for them. They made history.”
“But we made history in our own way by advancing to the next stage,” he was quick to add. “It was a good thing for both countries.”
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