Season 82 most valuable player (MVP) Soulemane Chabi-Yo will forego his final year with the UST Growling Tigers to join a semi-professional league in Europe.
“We are grateful for his playing years with us and we wish him the best in his international basketball career,” coach Jinino Manansala told the Varsitarian.
The 25-year-old Chabi-Yo played a one-and-done season in the UAAP where he won MVP honors. He was fundamental in UST’s finals run, tallying 16.9 points per game and 14.7 rebounds per game.
Chabi-Yo said his decision to play in Europe was mainly influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic, sidelining the country’s collegiate league for two years.
“For the past three years, I have been turning off so many offers in Europe. My plan was to finish my playing years in UST, but since Covid came, it destroyed everyone’s plan,” he wrote Manansala.
The 6’6” Beninese standout still had one playing year left prior to his decision to compete overseas. With his departure, 6-foot-8 center Adama Faye, a foreign student from Senegal, is expected to step up for the Tigers. Jose Ama Alberto B. Rosario
