FORGET about the honor of being considered as the best foreign student-athlete (FSA) in the league. Mo Konateh wants something bigger.
The Gambian behemoth is seeking no less than the championship for Far Eastern University this UAAP Season 88.
“I don’t mind about what others think. I just like to play basketball and I’m confident with our team and I think we can do it,” he told SPIN.ph.
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It’s been a decade since the Tamaraws have lifted the trophy and regardless of what the critics forecast, that statement speaks volumes of how Konateh views this team – one that has incurred the biggest loss of the preseason following the departure of Veejay Pre.
But the 6-foot-10 center is a firm believer that hard work, works. and he has seen firsthand how this FEU team has put in the effort in the offseason.
“We’re trying to be better than we were last year and we’ll achieve it by practicing hard and training hard,” he stated, putting last season’s 5-9 record in the rearview.
“It’s gonna be different this year because we learned a lot from last year when we were rookies. But this year, we know what to do and we know how to do it. So we really just have to stick together and do better this year.”
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Mo reasons to hope for FEU
Of course, that desire for improvement also falls on Konateh’s shoulders, with the 20-year-old aiming to add to his already impressive numbers of 10.21 points, as well as league-best marks of 16.71 rebounds and 2.36 blocks.
“I can do it, too. I can do more than I did in the preseason or last year,” he said.
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And in the eyes of his coach Sean Chambers, there’s no question that Konateh could back his words up.
“I hate to put that out there, but if Mo was in the United States right now, he’d be a major recruit at a major Division I level,” he beamed with pride on his FSA.
“Mo is very talented and he just soaks it in like a sponge. He just gets better and better so I’m very, very impressed with Mo Konateh every day. He wants to be great for his own purpose.”
For the Tamaraws to be successful, count on Konateh to be that guy at the center of it all.
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