MANILA, Philippines - Far Eastern University is bringing in a pair of talented rookies, including a Cameroon ace, as it sets out as one of the title favorites in the 72nd UAAP basketball tournament firing off July 11 at the Araneta Coliseum.
FEU coach Glen Capacio said the 6-foot-4 Hypolite Noundou from Cameroon, will be eligible to play after taking a two-year residency required for a foreign player to get to see action.
Ryan Garcia, a former standout of the Nokia-RP Youth team, also hopes to blend well with the veteran Tams, led by starters Mark Barroca, JR Cawaling and Jens Knuttel.
“They’ll be in the line-up this season,” said Capacio referring to Noundou and Garcia.
Garcia and Noundou saw action in the Tams’ 81-70 triumph over the San Sebastian Stags to cap their domination of the fourth Fr. Martin Collegiate Open Cup over the weekend.
Garcia came through with clutch triples in the fourth quarter to finish with 18 points while the high-leaping Noundou chipped in 10 points.
The duo hopes to fill the slack left by Benedict Fernandez, Marlon Adolfo, Mac Baracael and Papua New Guinean Robert Kave. - Joey Villar