IN a team loaded with talent, University of the Philippines coach Goldwin Monteverde is thankful to have a player like Malick Diouf who puts the team above himself.
"Ever since, yung attitude niya would always be team first. Bukod doon, during practices, he would really stress how we should really play the game," the coach said after the Fighting Maroons' 91-70 win against Adamson on Wednesday.
"Andyan siya lagi to remind everybody to execute well on both ends," Monteverde added. "Tapos, I feel very blessed, 'yung team namin is very blessed to have him as part of our team."
[READ: High five for UP Maroons after romp over Adamson]
Wednesday's game was one of the rare times the Senegalese big man became the center of attention for the Fighting Maroons, stamping his mark with a career-high 20 points to go with eight rebounds plus five steals.
It was a huge uptick from his current league averages of 8.6 points and 9.6 rebounds during the first eight games of the season.
As UP maintained its place atop the leaderboard at 8-1 and extended its win streak to five, Diouf, who is in his second year with the team after transfering from CEU, is happy to help both on the court and in the locker room.
"I'm here to help the team, to handle the guys. Because I think right now, I'm part of the kuyas," shared last season's UAAP Finals MVP.
"I think we worked for it. All my teammates, we did it together. We started strong and we finished strong. We did a good job. I'm happy for it also."
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
