Gilas Pilipinas suffered a major blow after their star playmaker, Kieffer Alas, crashed with a knee injury ahead of their FIBA U17 World Cup campaign in Istanbul.

Gilas coach Josh Reyes broke the news, saying that the De La Salle Zobel standout crashed with a knee injury in their tune-up game against Canada. He already underwent a magnetic resonance imaging test to determine the extent of his injury.

Without Alas, who was named part of the Mythical Team of the FIBA U16 Asian Cup, Champ Arejola will be taking his place, as the gear up against world No. 7 Lithuania on Saturday and No. 2 Spain on Sunday.

Gilas will take a rest before wrapping up its group phase campaign against No. 15 Puerto Rico on Tuesday.