The French forward takes the top individual honor in fourth NextGen EuroLeague qualifier
Noa Kouakou collects MVP as INSEP reigns supreme in Belgrade
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Noa Kouakou will have special memories of the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade as the forward guided U18 Pole France INSEP Paris to the title and he grabbed the Most Valuable Player award.
Kouakou scored 15 points, including making 9 of 10 free throws, to go with 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal for a performance index rating of 21 in INSEP’s 74-60 victory over U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan in the first-place game. The forward’s performance helped the two-time U18 continental champion book its ticket to the NextGen Finals in Abu Dhabi.
Kouakou was joined on the All-Tournament Team by his INSEP teammate Hugo Moukouri, Milan’s Diego Garavaglia, U18 Next Gen Team Belgrade guard Aaron Towo-Nansi and Ian Platteeuw from U18 Joventut Badalona.
Kouakou averaged 15.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 2.8 offensive boards and 2.5 assists for a 21.0 PIR at the tournament. He ranked third in PIR, sixth in points, fifth in total rebounds and sixth in offensive rebounds.
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Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade All-Tournament Team![image]()
Noa Kouakou - U18 Pole France INSEP Paris![image]()
Noa Kouakou - U18 Pole France INSEP Paris![image]()
Hugo Moukouri - U18 Pole France INSEP Paris![image]()
Hugo Moukouri - U18 Pole France INSEP Paris![image]()
Diego Garavaglia - U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan![image]()
Diego Garavaglia - U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan![image]()
Aaron Towo-Nansi - U18 Next Gen Team Belgrade![image]()
Aaron Towo-Nansi - U18 Next Gen Team Belgrade![image]()
Ian Platteeuw - U18 Joventut Badalona![image]()
Ian Platteeuw - U18 Joventut Badalona
Moukori posted 19 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists for a PIR in the first-place game. Over four games, the forward averaged 17.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists for a 16.2 PIR. Moukouri was eighth in PIR, third in scoring and seventh in rebounds.
Garavaglia tried all he could in the first-place game for Milan but his 12 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and 13 PIR were not enough. Overall, the forward averaged 12.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 3.0 steals to register a 17.5 PIR. He was seventh in PIR, sixth in assists and second in steals.
Towo-Nansi led the tournament in scoring (20.5 points), PIR (23.8) and steals (3.0) while also contributing 2.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists. He was fifth in assists. Towo-Nansi registered the fourth-highest PIR average in all the qualifying tournaments.
Plaateeuw averaged 16.2 points, 15.0 rebounds, 7.2 offensive rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.5 steals for a 21.5 PIR. He led the competition in rebounds and offensive rebounds, was second in PIR, fourth in scoring and third in assists. Plaateeuw had the most rebounds and offensive rebounds in the entire NextGen season.