How this former UST player found a new lease on life in shaping young athletes’ dreams

The tall, broad-shouldered figure on the sidelines barely drew attention inside a Cebu arena as youth basketball teams warmed up.

Dressed in jeans and a plain white shirt, he scrolled through his phone, responding to messages. He blended into the background, almost invisible — not exactly what one would expect from a 6-foot-8 bruiser.

“I’m in the shadows now. I like watching kids reach their dreams. I want them to be inspired, especially in chasing those dreams,” said Steve Akomo, the quiet figure standing behind the basketball goal, once a foreign student-athlete for the UST Growling Tigers.

Today, few recognize him. His presence is subdued. But nearly a decade ago, Akomo was anything but.

He was a prized prospect in Cebu, a dominant center for the University of the Visayas, a team he led to three CESAFI finals appearances and a championship. Moving from Cameroon to the Philippines in 2012 at 17 years old to pursue his basketball ambitions, Akomo eventually made his way to UST, where he became a must-watch talent during an era when foreign student-athletes, including La Salle standout Ben Mbala, often headlined games.

Then, everything changed on September 22, 2018.

Costly collision

In a game against the Adamson Soaring Falcons, Akomo drove to the basket and collided with fellow foreign student-athlete Papi Sarr, his head hitting the shoulder of his fellow foreign player. He stayed in the game and even took his earned free throws, unaware of what it truly cost him.

Akomo went on to finish that game and played again the following week against the Ateneo Blue Eagles. Soon after, his condition worsened.

He was diagnosed with a blood clot stroke, a condition in which a clot blocks blood flow to the brain, potentially causing severe damage.

At first, the symptoms were mistaken for food poisoning. He experienced constant vomiting and intense headaches, but the true cause was unclear for days.

“Four days after the symptoms showed up, that’s how I ended up in the hospital. I went straight to the emergency room. That’s where they found out that I had a blood clot,” Akomo said. “During those four days, we couldn’t figure out what the real problem was. I told them, ‘I don’t feel good. I keep vomiting. If you can’t find anything, I’ll just go home.'”

“I thank God that only the symptoms showed up. Most of the time, people die from it right away, based on what the doctor told me,” he added. “The doctor said it was a blessing that I was an athlete, that I was physically active, because it gave me a better chance of surviving.”

Akomo knew he was in a unique situation. It was unlike any injury an athlete typically sustains in a career, or even in a lifetime. For him, it became more of a mental battle than a physical one.

“It’s like taking control of you 100%,” Akomo said of the blood clot. “It’s not like an ACL injury. It’s not like an MCL tear or a fracture. This is totally different. It’s your brain.”

“It was a long process because I never gave up. I always told myself I would be better; I will be better. You just have to be positive. You don’t have to hear what other people will say about yourself.”

UST chose not to field him again after the incident. A year later, in 2019, the Growling Tigers reached the UAAP Finals for the first time in four years with a different foreign player.

That team featured Beninese Soulemane Chabi Yo, who went on to win the Most Valuable Player award, alongside rising stars Rhenz Abando, Mark Nonoy, CJ Cansino, and veteran Renzo Subido. Akomo played with them in scrimmages and practices before his condition.

They were coached by Aldin Ayo, who steadied the program in 2018 after Akomo’s loss and reshaped the team into a contender the following season.

Akomo watched from the sidelines as UST reached heights he never got the chance to experience. He revealed that he had an offer to play professionally in Spain after his collegiate career, an opportunity that vanished after his diagnosis.

New purpose

Just two months after being hospitalized, Akomo returned to the court. He believed that simply touching a basketball could help him regain his strength.

In a way, it did. But more than strength, it gave him something else: hope.

“I feel good now, but before, I didn’t,” he said. “I didn’t know if I wanted to cry, be sad, or shout at the people around me. I didn’t know if I should be mad at someone, even though I knew it wasn’t their fault.”

“I was in that kind of situation where I just wanted to hate everything around me.”

Eventually, Akomo realized that no emotion, not even the anger from lost opportunities, would help him heal.

“At the end of the day, it is what it is. It happened,” he said. “I just had to gather myself and start thinking about what comes next.”

Everything came back slowly during his recovery, but Akomo remained focused on one goal: returning to his physical prime.

He immersed himself in basketball once more, watching games, returning to the court, and completing training drills. At the same time, he continued his studies at UST as a physical education student. In that period, Akomo became more of a student than an athlete.

“I was determined to do everything,” he said, recalling the time he was still undergoing treatment and regular checkups at the UST Hospital.

One night, Akomo fully confronted his reality and realized he needed a shift. While he still carried the identity of a student-athlete, he began to focus on giving back, using the knowledge and opportunities he gained at the university. His priority was clear: finish his degree.

“I decided to slow down in trying to play again because I told God: ‘You gave me a talent. You gave me something I can use as a Plan B,'” he said. “That was my chance to share what I know through my physical education degree.”

“To be honest, the reason I shifted is because I cared too much about the new generation.”

Akomo completed his degree in 2022 and briefly returned to competitive basketball, representing Talisay City, Cebu, in a national 3×3 basketball tournament. He later went back to Cameroon to reflect and reassess his path.

When he returned to Cebu, he chose coaching.

He built a training business focused on developing young basketball players and guiding them through proper recovery, drawing from both his academic background and personal experience. Akomo went on to earn multiple certifications as a functional strength and conditioning coach, which he now uses to train athletes across Cebu and nearby provinces in the Visayas.

Today, several school programs have brought him in as part of their coaching staff. On the side, he works as a personal strength trainer.

Akomo has made Cebu his home and married a Filipina.

“I love my life now. With everything I do, I love it,” he said. “I really love basketball, but I also love what I do now. It’s a different feeling from playing. Now, I can teach and coach deeply.”

“I can see them play, and I understand what they’re going through. I’ve felt the struggles. I’ve had the tough conversations. I can empathize with them.”

That empathy extends beyond the court. Akomo makes it a point to guide young athletes through personal challenges, something he understands all too well.

“That’s how life goes, so I tell them a lot of things,” he said. “I remind them not to treat negativity as the end of everything. If something happens, stay calm because there is always a solution.”

Some players he helped, Akomo said, are now in the UAAP and NCAA. 

“I share my story with them. I never thought I would find a solution to my blood clot until the doctor told me the good news that the clot was drying on the side of my brain.”

‘Not Plan B’

At 30, he has made peace with his past, treating it not as a loss, but as a lesson that shaped the man he has become.

He is particularly passionate about helping young athletes recognize the value of education, something he believes many take for granted. For Akomo, a scholarship is more than an opportunity to play; it is a foundation for long-term success, regardless of where basketball leads.

“I tell them, ‘This is what you have to do, and you have to take care of yourself,'” Akomo said when asked how he handles players who fail to see the opportunities in front of them. “Once you get there, it means you’re capable. So, be responsible for yourself, your education, and your health.”

His approach is shaped by experience. Those who have trained under him describe a gentle giant who knows when to be firm.

Akomo sees himself as a “deep” trainer, someone who takes a holistic and empathetic approach to coaching. Still, like any mentor, he has little patience for excuses. He pushes his players to show up, even when no one is watching, and especially when it matters most, much like he once did when every dribble could have been his last.

For Akomo, this is not a fallback.

“This is not Plan B,” he said. “This is just another chapter.”

“I have plenty of plans. They will reveal themselves in time. My greatest plan is to learn every day, to keep growing as a man. Because a man who does not learn every day is a useless man.”

“We don’t fully understand life. It can surprise you, and you may end up doing something you never imagined for yourself.”

Though he no longer lives in the spotlight, Akomo remains deeply respected, especially by those who witnessed his journey.

More than his accolades, it is his resilience that defines him now. He wants to be remembered not just as a player but also as someone who endured, adapted, and carved out a new path.

“Be grateful every day,” he said. “I’ve been through a lot, even worse things, and I’m still here. Many people never expected to see me like this again.”

“When people see me walking, running, even jumping, it says something about my mindset. If you believe you can, then do it.” – Rappler.com