WITH big wins over University of the East and University of the Philippines, Ateneo tightened its grip on the lead, and big man Ange Kouame earned a player of the week citation.
Kouame powered Ateneo to a dominant win over UE, 85-68, and then to a convincing victory in their Finals rematch against UP, 89-63.
The Ivorian center was picked Chooks-to-Go Collegiate Press Corps UAAP Player of the Week over teammate Will Navarro, La Salle workhorse Encho Serrano, FEU rookie sniper Xyrus Torres, and UE Senegalese powerhouse Alex Diakhite for the weekly recognition handed out by writers from print and online covering the league.
In those back-to-back games, the Ivorian tower averaged 17.5 points and 13.5 rebounds, including 8.5 at the offensive end, as well as 5.0 blocks - making a legitimate case for MVP in the process.
After the first round, Kouame is a close second to frontunner Soulemane Chabi Yo of the Growling Tigers in the MVP race with the former with 81.73 Statistical Points (SPs) and the latter having 82.71 SPs.
The 6-foot-10 big man, however, isn't concerning himself with the top individual award as all he’s focused on is helping the Blue Eagles get their third straight title.
“I’m just focused on the game because everybody has to do their job,” he said. “When you do your job, you make the others better.”
“It’s not just for myself. If I want to run for MVP, I’m not playing for the team and I’m playing for myself. I’m just doing my thing the way I always play.”
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