ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST - Former La Salle standout Yves Mekongo, a graduate manager with the men's basketball program, has been named to the Cameroon National Basketball team and is currently competing in the 2013 FIBA African Championship in the Ivory Coast. The top three teams at the event qualify for next year's FIBA World Championship in Spain.

Cameroon qualified as the Zone 4 Runner-up and is competing in Group D with Congo, Nigeria and Mali. Mekongo had four points and six rebounds in 14 minutes as Cameroon defeated Congo, 74-43, earlier today. Cameroon will take on Mali on August 23 and Nigeria on August 25. The knockout stage begins on August 26 and continues through August 31. 

Other notable players for Cameroon include current Sacramento King forward Luc Mbah a Moute, fellow UCLA player Alfred Aboya, and UNLV graduate Gaston Essengue.

Mekongo is a 2010 graduate of La Salle with a bachelor's degree in integrated science, business and technology and is pursuing a master's degree at La Salle in information technology leadership.

The 2010 NACDA National Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a two-time Academic All-American, Mekongo compiled 1,014 points in his four-year career for the Explorers. As a senior, he averaged 11.0 ppg. and 5.5 rpg. 

He played professionally for two seasons in Spain, Luxembourg and Hungary. In Hungary, he averaged 19.1 ppg. to earn honorable mention all-league honors. Mekongo also played for Cameroon in the 2009 FIBA African Championship.