Kieffer Alas is making the most out of the opportunities presented to him as he builds his case as one of the hottest young prospects in high school basketball.
Alas, the De La Salle Zobel star playmaker who is ranked as the second-best high school player in the country by the National Basketball Training Center, said he isn’t overwhelmed with the recognition as he is focused on improving his craft.
“I don’t really think it’s coming too fast. I just let it all come to me,” said Alas, who is set to lead Team Hustle against Team Heart of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu hotshot Jared Bahay in the NBTC All-Star Game on 23 March at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“I enjoy the opportunities that are coming to me because not every kid who’s 16 gets all these opportunities so I’m just gonna take advantage of the moment.”
Known for his hard work and strong leadership, Alas made a lot of heads turn with his stellar performance both inside and outside the country.
In fact, he was part of the Mythical Team of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 86 recently despite failing to lead the Junior Archers past the eliminations.
But prior to that, he led Batang Gilas to a semifinal finish in the FIBA U16 Asian Championship in Qatar to punch a ticket to the FIBA U17 World Cup in Turkey this year, setting a milestone that was last accomplished by the star-studded group of Kai Sotto and Carl Tamayo.
Still, the youngest son of multi-titled mentor Louie Alas said there’s still a long way to go if they want to be at par with Asian heavyweights like China and Australia.
“Actually, after FIBA, I realized how far the Filipinos are compared to Australia, China. I just took that as a slap in the face so I can work even harder,” said Alas, who was named as part of the Mythical Team of the FIBA U16 tournament.
“I brought that here in the UAAP and it worked, so I’m just gonna keep on doing the same thing.”
