A stage closes and another exciting one opens in the professional career of the last child prodigy forged in the inexhaustible factory of Spar Gran Canaria. Three seasons in the Endesa Women’s League have been enough for Sika Koné to pulverize all records in the Gran Canaria team, Following in the footsteps of his great reference in the island team, Astou Ndour. In the interior of Mali heads to the WNBA tomorrow at the hands of the New York Liberty, ready to eat the Big Apple and contribute their grain of sand to one of the main candidates for the ring.
Con six MVPs achieved this season and 14 inclusions in the ideal quintets of the day, It is striking that the Endesa Women’s League has not presented the player from the Gran Canaria team with the MVP award for the current campaign, an award that has finally fallen into the hands of the Casademont Zaragoza player Leo Fiebich. Howeverthe 23 yellow was included in the ideal five of the competition along with Maite Cazorla from Gran Canaria (Perfumerías Avenida) -national MVP-, Leo Fiebich herself, Rebeka Gardner (Spar Girona) and Raquel Carrera (Valencia).
In this last course at the Spar Gran Canaria, the one from Mali He played 20 league games, with an average of 36 minutes on court, in which he got 17.6 points, 13.9 rebounds and a rating of 27.6.
“Only with hard work and listening to my coaches have I managed to improve every day”
For our protagonist, “there is no secret” in the numbers that have led her to have the opportunity to play in the best league in the world, beyond “the work and confidence in myself and my coacheswhich have allowed me to fulfill this dream of reaching the WNBA ».
In a gesture of humility, the Malian interior turns a deaf ear to the many compliments that come to her from her beginnings at the Canterbury base, passing through the Adareva before landing at the Spar Gran Canaria to finish making the leap to professionalism. «I am very proud of the work of all my colleagues and I am very grateful for the trust they have all had in me.» added the new New York Liberty player excitedly.
The main learning that he has learned in his four seasons in the Canary Islands -one course in the Women’s League 2 and three in the highest category- is that it is “necessary to work very hard, each day more than the previous one, in order to improve and achieve my dreams.” The young international from Mali She was grateful for the support of her coaches in the yellow first team -José Carlos Ramos, Toni Viera and Cristóbal Navarro-: «They have made my work much easier during these four seasons and they have taught me that if I want something in this life I have to get it through work; It is advice that I take with me forever.
Sika was very proud of the children’s team that won the Mini Cup title, and especially Trinity Ezeanatogu -MVP of the tournament-. He wishes them the best of success in the future, not without repeating the formula for his own success, “only with hard work will you be able to fulfill all your dreams.” “They must listen and do everything their coaches ask of them and if they have doubts, they should not dwell on them and ask, because only then will they be able to improve every day,” added the new WNBA player.
“Astou Ndour and his advice have helped me to have more confidence in myself”
«I’ve been preparing to take this leap for a long time, although I’m learning this first season, to learn from the best, help the team in everything the coach may need, to be an increasingly better player, “she says. She acknowledges that the advice of Astou Ndour, another African who made it big at Spar and who also tasted the honeys of the WNBA, has helped her a lot “to continue working and increase my confidence in myself, so that one day I can get closer to what It has been her as a player ». Tomorrow is the day indicated in Sika’s road map to travel towards her new life in New York, leaving behind a pleasant memory in the Gran Canaria team.
Decaffeinated derby to finish
Spar Gran Canaria says goodbye to the season by visiting Tenerife tomorrow at the Santiago Martín de La Laguna Pavilion (5:00 p.m.), in a decaffeinated Canarian derby and with nothing more at stake on the floor than the honor of the two contenders. The disciples of José Carlos Ramos, with salvation achieved several days ago and without any option of qualifying for the playoff dispute for the title, face a rival sunk in the last position of the table; and what is worse, economically and socially. The Tenerife team has to receive the yellow cards with a team full of youth players, after the massive rout of the professionals due to non-payment of their chips -Kai James, Stephanie Madden and Izaskun García, the last to leave the purple entity after resolve their contracts by mutual agreement. | S. I. M.
