MIKE Phillips is never one to shy away from giving compliments, but for 'Motor Mike' to say that your 'motor is very high' - that's just rich to get for one Collins Akowe.
But the La Salle banger said it with authority, praising his University of Santo Tomas counterpart after the Growling Tigers took the 93-84 win over the Green Archers on Saturday.
READ: UST keeps living up to the hype after takedown of La Salle
"One of the things I really like about Akowe is hindi porke't malaki siya, it doesn't give an excuse for him to not be mobile. His motor is very high," he said.
"When you have a person of that size, but also that effort and that energy and that motor," he said before getting off his train of thought in sheer amazement.
Phillips also praised Akowe's 'patience and footwork,' as well as the many other things the Nigerian dynamo does, as evidenced by the latter's 20-point, 19-rebound night for the Espana crew.
"He's not bwakaw. He knows how to find his teammates too and he has the passing ability. That's something that like I said, that dangerous combo," he added.
For his part, Phillips was held to just eight points, but still got 15 rebounds in the contest.
Phillips found it hard to compare Akowe to some of the past bigs he faced in the past, but from the top of his mind, he said, "Probably [Emman] Ojuola from FEU."
"Both of them are really good. gumagamit ng katawan at mataas din ang IQ," he quipped. while also rattling the names of Cedrick Manzano of Adamson and Kenshin Padrones of National U.
"Maraming magaling na big men. But definitely, I would say he's definitely one of the hardest."
'Modest Motor Mike'
Though foes, Phillips is pumped to see Akowe grow for UST, noting, "I'm just really excited because rookie pa lang siya this year, but how he's going to adapt especially him coming from the juniors, it's a testament to how good of a player he is."
"I think that's something that's really a big thing for UST, to have a guy like that, that's really hardworking. And he blends well with the system. It's just super, super exciting.
Props to him for really taking this season, especially for the whole UST 'cause they're a really strong team this year."
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