Kieffer Alas credits his parents for his continuous development as a basketball player for De La Salle Zobel in the UAAP Season 86 Boys’ High School Tournament as well as internationally as a Gilas Youth member.
Alas led the Junior Archers with 19 points, 17 rebounds, and 13 assists in their 100-72 win over the UPIS Fighting Maroons Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
He is thankful for the guidance he gets from his father coach Louie and mother Liza.
“Honestly, I think my growth came from my dad. Every day, he pushes me. After practice, we do extra work. It’s showing naman sa games. I’m really thankful to my dad for helping me there and my mom also for helping me with my academics,” said the second-generation cager.
Before the UAAP Season 86 tournament began, Alas represented the country in the FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship 2023.
The 6-foot-2 winger averaged 15.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.5 steals through seven games, which elevated him to the tournament’s tournament’s All-Star Five.
(c) FIBA.basketball
Back then he guaranteed that Gilas Youth would bring the country to the 2024 FIBA Under-17 World Cup, which they did.
This time, he assures the Lasallian community that he and the Junior Archers, who are now backstopped by Davaoeno Bonn Daja and seeing the emergence of Waki Espina, will bring De La Salle Zobel back to the Final Four, which it last entered back in Season 79.
“Yeah, pang Final Four yung team namin.
“We’re gonna work our hardest to reach that goal of ours one step at a time,” the Grade 10, 16-year-old cager said.
For the Junior Archers to return to the semifinals, they will need to improve different aspects of their game. The challenge to do so is daunting but they are ready for it.
For Alas, despite the lopsided win against UPIS, he and his teammates can do better in one aspect of their game.
“I think discipline in our one-on-one defense. On offense naman, I think we’re okay because we know how to share the ball and how to shoot. We just have to help with our one-on-one defense because that’s how UP scored every possession,” he said.
“That’s definitely the thing we need to work on.”
