Kieffer Alas took it personally.
After hearing that Ateneo head coach Ford Arao had a “game plan” to stop him, the De La Salle Zobel ace responded in the best way possible—by torching the Blue Eagles with a career-high 37 points to lead the Junior Archers to an 80-73 victory on Sunday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
For Alas, the statement performance was about more than just proving a point.
With DLSZ already out of Final Four contention for the sixth straight season, the 17-year-old guard was determined to finish his Grade 11 campaign on a high note, turning frustration into fuel in the final stretch of the season.
The Junior Archers started strong at 3-1 but stumbled to 4-8, extending their playoff drought, which dates back to Season 80 in 2017.
Amid the struggles, Alas remained a bright spot, ranking fourth in the MVP race after the first round with 87.143 SPs and emerging as DLSZ’s centerpiece for the future.
With two games left that no longer held postseason implications, Alas found extra motivation from something his father, Louie Alas, told him.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Louie, an assistant coach under Tab Baldwin for Ateneo’s men’s basketball team, relayed Arao’s claim after the Junior Archers’ loss to the UE Junior Warriors last Thursday.
During that game, Arao was in attendance, scouting Alas, who finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists.
Impressed but unfazed, the Ateneo coach later told Louie that he knew exactly how to stop the younger Alas.
“Since my dad is coaching in Ateneo now, he’s friends with Coach Ford. Kwinento sa akin ni papa na Coach Ford told my dad na he knows how to stop me raw. I took it personally lang and pinakita ko sa kanya what I’m made of,” Kieffer told Tiebreaker Times.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
With expectations mounting and criticism growing, Alas turned those words into motivation—on the biggest stage and against the team he wanted to beat the most.
Determined to prove Arao wrong, he put on a show, scoring 37 points while adding seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals in DLSZ’s rivalry win over Ateneo.
“It felt so good. After he said that, I was upset, especially coming off a loss. They were there during that game, scouting us. It just felt so good to prove them wrong, especially Coach Ford—and in a rivalry game at that,” Alas said.
Though he will once again miss the Final Four in his third season with the Green and White, Alas remains locked in, focused on finishing strong before heading into his final year with DLSZ.
More importantly, he isn’t just playing for himself. He’s fighting for the future of the Junior Archers—those who will fuel the team’s redemption campaign in Season 88—and for the seniors preparing to carve their own paths in collegiate basketball.
Alas and DLSZ will look to cap their season with another statement win when they take on Far Eastern University-Diliman on Thursday, March 6, at the same venue.
“Proving Coach Ford wrong felt good, but like what Coach Boris [Aldeguer] said, we’re out of contention, kaya we’re also doing this for the people who will fuel our comeback next season,” he said.
“We’re super motivated—not just me, but the whole team. There are a couple of guys on our team hoping to make it to college, kaya we hope to get the upset against FEU-Diliman to give them a fitting farewell.”
