San Beda's Tankoua comes full circle with NCAA Finals MVP trophy
MANILA, Philippines - In the span of one year, Donald Tankoua went from watching the NCAA finals from the bench, to serving as the anchor of San Beda College as they won back-to-back championships.
Tankoua was expected to fill in the shoes of Ola Adeogun for the Red Lions in Season 92, and indeed for 11 games he was a force to reckon with inside the paint. But an ACL injury early in the second round ended his campaign, and he was sidelined while the Red Lions went on to win the crown.
At the start of Season 93, it was clear that Tankoua was still far from peak shape. Yet San Beda remained patient with him, and at the end of the elimination round, the Cameroonian big man repaid their trust with a 34-point, 13-rebound performance against Lyceum of the Philippines University.
As it turned out, that performance was a sign of things to come for Tankoua. They lost to the Pirates in their final game of the eliminations, but still marched on to the finals. There, the 23-year-old Tankoua was at his best. He tallied 27 points and 20 rebounds in a 94-87 Game 1 win, and followed it up with a 17-point, 17-rebound effort in their title-clinching Game 2 victory.
For his hard work, Tankoua was named the MVP of the Finals - a reward that he did not anticipate.
Author: Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News
Full Article: http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/11/16/17/san-bedas-tankoua-comes-full-circle-with-ncaa-finals-mvp-trophy
Tankoua was expected to fill in the shoes of Ola Adeogun for the Red Lions in Season 92, and indeed for 11 games he was a force to reckon with inside the paint. But an ACL injury early in the second round ended his campaign, and he was sidelined while the Red Lions went on to win the crown.
| San Beda's Donald Tankoua (10) battles for the rebound in Game 2. Josh Albelda, ABS-CBN Sports |
As it turned out, that performance was a sign of things to come for Tankoua. They lost to the Pirates in their final game of the eliminations, but still marched on to the finals. There, the 23-year-old Tankoua was at his best. He tallied 27 points and 20 rebounds in a 94-87 Game 1 win, and followed it up with a 17-point, 17-rebound effort in their title-clinching Game 2 victory.
For his hard work, Tankoua was named the MVP of the Finals - a reward that he did not anticipate.
Author: Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News
Full Article: http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/11/16/17/san-bedas-tankoua-comes-full-circle-with-ncaa-finals-mvp-trophy
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