Kevin Alas feels immensely thankful to have ably sailed through rough seas as he finally returned to NLEX on Friday after being away for a while.
The veteran guard was absent for a total of three games, first because of a hamstring injury before being unfortunately placed under the PBA’s health and safety protocols that caused him to miss a week of practice.
“I missed practice isang buong linggo last week,” said the 30-year-old. “‘Yung COVID andyan pa rin ‘yan e, we have to practice health and safety protocols.
“First practice ko early this week, akala ko sasabog na yung lungs ko sa pagod.”
Game Two of the 2022 Philippine Cup was his first game back, yet he hardly showed any rust whatsoever with how he balled out.
Alas erupted for 30 big points, including 22 in the first half as the Road Warriors zoomed to a big lead early and went on to take the 90-77 win.
“Talagang it’s all God kanina,” said the heady playmaker, who also collected nine rebounds in over 35 minutes.
“Pagod na pagod ako.”
The Letran great is glad to have pushed the best-of-three series to a decider, but was quick to remind NLEX to stay the course as the job isn’t done yet.
Furthermore, they expect nothing short of a fightback from the Hotshots, who saw the end of their eight-game winning streak with the loss.
“Nag-usap kami ng mga teammates ko. Sabi ko, ‘Yes, good job tayong lahat, but we haven’t proven anything,‘” said the eight-year pro.
“We just tied the series, we just extended the series. Sige, magiging masaya tayo tonight, but we have to prepare for Sunday. Alam naman natin Magnolia, malakas na team ‘yan. And we expect them to come back stronger.”
Alas also intends to utilize the next day or so to recover as he’s trying to get back his old form especially after missing a significant amount of time.
“May pahinga pa naman tonight, tomorrow and morning nung Sunday,” he said. “Makakapahinga pa kami. Pare-pareho naman kami ng kinakain, natutulog, at game of adjustments. But ako personally, I think I’m okay.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.</e
