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UAAP finals: After miserable Game 1, key role in victory vindicates Kouame

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2018/sports/12/05/20181205-kouame.jpg"/><figcaption>Ange Kouame tallied a 20-20 game in Wednesday&#x27;s title-clinching game for Ateneo. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines—Game 2 of the UAAP Season 81 finals was Ange Kouame&#x27;s redemption.This, according to Ateneo coach Tab Baldwin after the Ivorian center tallied a 22-point, 20-rebound performance in the Blue Eagles&#x27; 99-81 rout of University of the Philippines on Wednesday at Araneta Coliseum.Kouame, rookie of the year for Season 81, had a shaky performance in Game 1, tallying just 7 points and 12 rebounds — a far cry from his numbers in the elimination round when he normed 14.4 points and 13.6 rebounds per game. Moreover, he was further unnerved when he inadvertently caused an injury to UP center Bright Akhuetie in the third quarter.In Game 2, however, Kouame returned to form. He anchored the Blue Eagles&#x27; interior defense, and was a factor on the offensive end as well. After missing a couple of dunks in Game 1, he threw it down not once, not twice, not thrice, but four times in Game 2, with each jam firing up the blue-and-white gallery at Araneta Coliseum.&quot;After Game 1, I asked the team for a redemption game,&quot; said Baldwin. &quot;I wasn&#x27;t happy with our defense, and I think, if you put something together in the whole season, to get to the end of the season, and you don&#x27;t look like yourself . . . I asked them for a redemption game.&quot;&quot;I’m not sure if we got it but we tried really hard,&quot; he added. &quot;But certainly, Ange had a redemption game.&quot;Baldwin said Kouame was &quot;outstanding,&quot; a couple of mistakes notwithstanding. &quot;His effort was huge,&quot; the coach said. &quot;He didn&#x27;t take for granted that he was the tallest guy out there. He worked extremely hard, and when you&#x27;re going up against a guy like Bright (Akhuetie) who is a clever player and extremely strong, it’s not easy for a guy like Ange.&quot;&quot;I thought that he had a great game today. A very critical game in terms of our ability to get the lead that we got.&quot;Kouame acknowledged after the game that he was exhausted from the long season, as Ateneo had started preparations in January and barely got a break. But he was clearly elated to have won a championship, especially as he came up big for his team in the title-clinching game.&quot;I gave my best out there. That was for the team and the community. I think everyday, I want to put that work for those games,&quot; said Kouame. The young center said he paid no mind to the response of the UP crowd, which booed him vociferously in Game 1 after his incident with Akhuetie. &quot;I didn&#x27;t mind that today. I know it&#x27;s gonna happen so I was like putting in my mind that I have to step up and enjoy the game. That is what I did today,&quot; he said.Moreover, he was motivated by Akhuetie himself, who reached out to Kouame after Game 1 and told the younger player to keep his head up. &quot;Bright is kind of like an older brother to me,&quot; said Kouame. &quot;We are both from Africa and we understand each other so when he texted me so I was like hey I&#x27;m really sorry for what happened.&quot;&quot;He told me that just go to your game, play the game, don&#x27;t mind the crowd, thank you bro, because these things happen,&quot; he added. &quot;He told me if it was the same for him, he was gonna be the same so like just do your thing and I really appreciate it.&quot;With the championship now in the bag, Kouame is now looking forward to getting some rest, but his euphoria is not vanishing any time soon.&quot;I want four more!&quot; he exclaimed. &quot;That&#x27;s the goal, who&#x27;s gonna deny that? I still have four more years so hopefully those four years will be good.&quot;For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

After a subpar showing and an accidental collision that brought out the boo birds in Game 1, Ange Kouame stepped up in Game 2 when it mattered the most.

After a subpar showing and an accidental collision that brought out the boo birds in Game 1, Ange Kouame stepped up in Game 2 when it mattered the most.

UAAP finals: After miserable Game 1, key role in victory vindicates Kouame

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UAAP finals: After miserable Game 1, key role in victory vindicates Kouame

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published December 05, 2018 11:04 PM PHT

Read More:

Ateneo-UP

UAAP Season 81

UAAP finals

UAAP men's basketball

Ateneo de Manila University

Ateneo Blue Eagles

Ateneo

ADMU

Blue Eagles

UP

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