THERE may have been some pushbacks before, but Ange Kouame's mom has certainly come around.
So much so that she and the rest of the Kouame household back in the Ivory Coast celebrated Ange gaining his Filipino citizenship last Tuesday.
"She was happy," Ange shared to 2OT x Crossover. "We were on the phone and they had their own celebration."
Kouame's mother was one of those who initially expressed doubts when the idea was first broached back in January 2020, but after a heart-to-heart talk with his son, she soon agreed to let him choose his destiny.
"I was really happy to see all the family together happy hearing about the news," said Kouame.
But truth be told, the news didn't seem real to Ange when it all broke out.
"I was at home when I learned the news from Tita Debbie [Tan] and she was the one who greeted me first and said, 'Ange, congrats! The president has signed your papers.' And I was like, sabi ko, 'Are you serious?' I thought she was joking me and we started laughing," he recounted.
It couldn't be any truer as President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11543 into law, giving Filipino citizenship to Kouame. It was then when he took it to social media to celebrate. "A couple of minutes after, I saw the news on Instagram and I was super happy, super hyped," he said.
With that part over, now Kouame can focus on what's next, and that's the third window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers this June in Clark.
It's a tall order for him and the rest of Gilas Pilipinas, but he believes that the youthful core has what it takes to make some noise and proudly represent the country in the coming tilt.
"I like it because you can tell the difference between the first day of the bubble and the last day of the bubble. It really shows how being connected with one another can bring us to another step and I believe that with this group of young players, we can accomplish a lot because they really want to be a part of it," he said.
"This new generation of players, this new group wants to build something different for this country. So for me, to be able to be part of it is something I really appreciate every single day. At the end of the day, we motivate each other and we gotta bring some more to progress."
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