Looking at his past few games, Kevin Alas — even if he’s averaging in double figures — has been under-utilizing his outside shooting. So much so that NLEX Road Warriors head coach Yeng Guiao had to remind him constantly to shoot from distance.
“I’ve been getting on Kevin’s outside shooting the last few games,” admitted Guiao, as the 6-foot guard shot just 2-of-8 treys in their last three outings.
“I’ve been asking him to take outside shots — come early in the morning in practice, and practice those outside shots.”
On Sunday night, as NLEX took on the Blackwater Elite, the four-year pro heeded to the call perfectly.
Alas nailed a total of five three-pointers en route to a career-high 25 points, with 16 coming in the payoff period alone, to help the Road Warriors complete the comeback from nine points down en route to a 93-90 victory.
With that kind of performance from Alas — who also had eight rebounds and five assists and just a single turnover — the fiery bench strategist couldn’t help but be surprised with speed of the response.
“I did not expect that it would pay dividends this early.
“That’s just incredible shooting, the best I’ve seen him shoot from the outside so far in this last one and a half years that I’ve coached him,” said the champion mentor.
For Alas though, it was all about repaying the trust that Guiao had given him. The 25-year-old is coming off an erratic outing last Sunday in a win over the Alaska Aces, where he committed four of his six turnovers in the final frame.
Photo by PBA Images
“Sabi niya sa post-game namin kanina ‘kung di ko na naman papagalitan at mamumura to si Kevin ‘di na magkaka-shooting to’,” said Alas, who’s averaging 11.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists so far.
“Kailangan lang talagang suklian yung trust na binibigay sa akin ni Coach Yeng.”
Since Alas has showcased another part of his arsenal, Guiao now hopes that the Gilas cager will stay consistent. They’ll definitely need him, as the Road Warriors are now bound for the 2018 Philippine Cup playoffs.
“I hope it sticks, I hope it becomes a real part of his game because if he will be able to complete that transformation no, from not just being a slasher but also an outside threat, he is going to be really hard to guard,” said Guiao.
