Without Justin Brownlee, the Meralco Bolts turned to another naturalized player to answer the call for their East Asia Super League stint.
Enter Ange Kouame.
While the Ateneo product didn’t necessarily have the most productive outing in the Bolts’ breakthrough win in the EASL over the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots, where he only scored three points and snagged four rebounds, he has a bigger challenge in tow.
With Brownlee still out for the Bolts, Kouame feels no pressure to fill the void.
‘There’s no pressure [in that spot]. Honestly, I’m not in competition with anybody, not even Justin,’ he said at Cebu Coliseum here on Friday.
‘Justin’s like a big bro to me and we all know that whether it’s him or me, it’s for the same goal. It’s for the country so no, I had no second thoughts.
Brownlee won’t play for the Bolts’ upcoming game against the Macau Black Bears on Saturday, and the longtime Ginebra import is also questionable for the squad’s EASL game in December.
Kouame said he didn’t hesitate to accept the chance to play for the Bolts again, not even when he was back in his hometown Ivory Coast when the call came.
‘I was in Ivory Coast before they called me and Meralco has always been a family to me,’ he said.
‘When coach Luigi (Trillo) called me, he was like, ‘Ange, do you want to play for us this year? I think we need you. I said, ‘why not?’ It’s kind of like representing the country at the same time too, playing for a local team. I didn’t hesitate nor think twice.’
The Bolts look to gain more dominant numbers from Kouame when they take on Macau on Saturday at the Queen City of the South.