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Diouf, Kouame lead top cagers in Collegiate Press Corps Awards

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Malik Diouf of the UP Fighting Maroons against the Ateneo Blue Eagles during Game 2 of the UAAP Season 84 Men’s Basketball Finals on May 11, 2022 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. UAAP Media/FILE" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/05/17/20230517-malik-diouf_1.jpg"/><figcaption>Malik Diouf of the UP Fighting Maroons against the Ateneo Blue Eagles during Game 2 of the UAAP Season 84 Men’s Basketball Finals on May 11, 2022 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay. UAAP Media/FILE</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA – Ange Kouame and Malik Diouf will be leading the college basketball&#x27;s top performers that are set to be recognized when the Collegiate Press Corps Awards Night returns after a four-year hiatus brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.The Collegiate Press Corps, composed of reporters from various print and online publications covering the UAAP and the NCAA, will be honoring three sets of Collegiate Basketball Mythical Five teams at The Hummingbird Rooftop Bar in Quezon City. UAAP Season 85 MVP Diouf will be leading the 2022-23 batch alongside Finals MVP Kouame of the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Diouf averaged 10.79 points, 10.86 boards, 2.86 assists, 1.57 blocks, and 1.5 steals for the Fighting Maroons who booked back-to-back finals appearances in the UAAP. Kouame, on the other hand, towed Ateneo back to the championship as he normed 17.7 points, 11 rebounds, and three blocks in the three-game finals series against the UP Fighting Maroons.Aside from Kouame and Diouf, NCAA Season 98 MVP Will Gozum of CSB Blazers is also included in the mythical team. Gozum led the Blazers to the NCAA Season 98 finals after a stellar elimination round where he averaged 17.2 points on 53.1% shooting, 9.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 blocks.Rounding up the Mythical Five for the 2022-23 collegiate season are NCAA Season 98 champion Louie Sangalang of Letran and Adamson University’s Jerom Lastimosa.For the pandemic-shortened 2021-22 season, UAAP Season 84 finals protagonists Kouame and Diouf are also part of the Mythical Team.Diouf and Kouame are also part of the Mythical Team in the pandemic-shortened 2021-22 season. Diouf, along with teammate Carl Tamayo, led the Fighting Maroons as they ended UP’s 36-year title drought in the UAAP during Season 84.The Senegalese center won Finals MVP after powering the Fighting Maroons in their three-game finals series against Kouame and Ateneo.Tamayo, meanwhile, was named UAAP Rookie of the Year and was also named to the league’s Mythical Team that season after tallying 13.14 points, 7.29 rebounds, and 1.36 assists in their 14 games of elimination.Kouame was league MVP with averages of 12.86 markers, 11 boards, and 1.71 assists.Not to be outshone is NCAA Rookie MVP Rhenz Abando of Letran Knights, who posted norms of 15.73 points, 6.36 rebounds, 1.73 assists, and 1.27 blocks in his first and only year in the league. The Knights are also well represented in the 2019-20 edition of the Mythical Five as they returned to the top of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament with the help of Season 95 Finals MVP Fran Yu.Yu helped Letran end a four-year title drought in the Knights’ three-game conquest of rivals San Beda in 2019.His teammate, Jerrick Balanza, who returned to basketball after brain surgery, will be joining Yu in the Mythical Team.Calvin Oftana also makes an appearance as he was hailed league MVP that year, pacing San Beda to an immaculate 18-0 eliminations record and an outright finals berth before Letran stopped their dominance in the championship round.Meanwhile, UAAP Season 82 finalists Ateneo and UST are represented by Thirdy Ravena and Soulemane Chabi Yo to wrap up the 2019-20 team.Ravena, in his final year for the Blue Eagles, won his third straight Finals MVP as he helped Ateneo to a three-peat at the expense of UST.Chabi Yo, for his part, helped the Growling Tigers conquer a twice-to-beat UP Fighting Maroons squad in the stepladder semifinals to lead UST to the finals. He was also named league MVP with an average of 16.9 points, and a league-best 14.7 rebounds in eliminations that year.

Ange Kouame and Malik Diouf will be leading the college basketball's top performers who are set to be recognized in Collegiate Press Corps Awards. 