Veteran coach Louie Alas is back in his natural habitat guiding college players as deputy of Ateneo de Manila University mentor Tab Baldwin.

“Super excited,” Alas in his recognizable husky voice told DAILY TRIBUNE on Sunday morning when asked about his return to the collegiate scene after 12 years.

The comeback of the multi-titled tactician with hopes of contributing to the rebuilding Blue Eagles’ journey back to glory is a good story.

But what made the lengthy conversation more interesting were Alas’ trials leading up to his arrival in Katipunan.

Alas just like everybody else, struggled during the pandemic. It was particularly brutal to him career-wise because it was during that time when Phoenix terminated his coaching job.

A father of four sons, Junjun, Kevin, Kenneth and Kieffer, the Alas patriarch suddenly found himself out of the basketball scene for the first time.

“The whole pandemic (for about two years) I had no coaching stint but I didn’t stop with basketball,” Alas said.

Without a team to handle, Alas devoted his time helping his youngest child, Kieffer, develop his basketball skills and get him ready for his stint with De La Salle-Zobel in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).

“Kieffer is also a basketball addict so I put a halfcourt in our place and invited players older than Kieffer and at the same time I was also teaching them,” he said.

The 60-year-old Alas just couldn’t shake basketball off his system. After all, he was the architect of Letran’s three National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) titles, the Manila Metrostars’ lone crown in the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), the Philippine Patriots’ conquest of the 2010 ASEAN Basketball League and two PBA titles as assistant for Purefoods and Alaska.

“Honestly, I don’t know but it’s addictive. You thought you’re already retired but before you know it you’ll find yourself yearning to watch games,” he said.

“When I left Letran and my contract with Phoenix got terminated, I was out of the basketball scene for more than two years. Although I did some coaching clinics, I was mostly focused on Kiefer because I had nothing much to do at that time.”

Destined for coaching

Alas played for the Falcons back in his college days.

Even as a young player, Alas has always been interested in the aspect of the game outside of the playing court.

“I think I got really interested in coaching when I sustained an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury twice,” he recalled.

“Back when I was playing for Adamson I liked listening to our coaches. I even asked them if I could sit in and listen to their meetings when I have time,” added Alas, who only made it into the Falcons’ main squad after then-coach Chito Afable gave him a chance in his third try.

Alas pursued an amateur basketball career playing for ESQ, Purefoods, Philips Sardines and Burger Machine in the Philippine Amateur Basketball League.

“When I got injured during my semi-pro stint, I sat out for quite a while. I felt like I needed to do something for my team since they were paying me even while I’m sidelined. So, I was pitching in for our coaching staff,” Alas said.

“I got back to playing eventually but got another ACL injury so I thought maybe it’s time for me to take a different path.”

The best advice he got from his former mentors when he decided to take on coaching: Watch games.

“They advised me to just keep watching games to learn the trade. It came to a point that I even observed inter-barangay games because you can learn a lot even in those kinds of leagues and at the same time you get to scout potential players,” he said.

“Actually, I have a lot of players coming from the grassroots level, some are even out-of-school youths that I discover in those barangay leagues. You not only get to teach them the game, but also help them get an education through basketball.”

Alas considers Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and legendary University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) coach James Wooden as his biggest coaching influence.

“Before, when I go to the States, I make sure to make a stop at the UCLA Pauley Pavilion and observe his system. Although by that time he’s already retired. For me, he’s the ‘Pope of Basketball.’ He’s not just a good basketball player but a great teacher of the sport,” he said.

Back in the grind

Alas returned to coaching in 2023 when the Zamboanga Master Sardines tapped his services in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).

But Alas always wanted to get back to handling a collegiate squad.

There were actually rumors about him getting a crack at coaching De La Salle University last year but instead, he got the opportunity with the Green Archers’ archrival Ateneo.

“I got to talk to coach Tab a couple of times and he asked me if I wanted to go back to coaching. I told him if there’s an opportunity in the collegiate rank, I’m okay with it,” Alas said as he met the Kiwi-American coach during the times he was accompanying his son Kieffer training in Ateneo.

“I think after a year or two, he texted me. He said, ‘We need to talk.’ He told me the reason and said that he was interested in working with me. I’m really interested when it comes to college basketball and the national team so I said yes. It’s that simple,” he added.

“Actually, there’s really no formal designation. He just took me in to help not just with coaching but also with recruitment. We’re really busy with work in Ateneo because coach Tab is really a workaholic. I don’t know if he even sleeps at all.”

Strength from family

Looking back, Alas said that he found strength in dealing with the challenging chapter in his coaching career from his family — Kevin, in particular.

Kevin in the past years have also dealt with trials both in his basketball career playing in the PBA and personal life.

The NLEX guard suffered a third ACL injury last year and is still recovering. But the biggest blow was when her wife PBA courtside reporter Selina had a miscarriage in 2022 and was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Gestational Trophoblastic Neoplasia (GTN), a type of Gestational Trophoblastic Disease (GTD).

“I always pray for my children to be tough mentally and emotionally. What happened to Selina, if you’re not tough mentally, emotionally and spiritually you, it will really crush you,” Alas said.

“The only thing that you can do in that situation is to show your support and be there for them. But honestly, I admire the toughness of that couple. Their strong faith in the Lord is unquestionable.”

Selina fought and won the battle against the “Big C” and the couple was eventually blessed with a daughter, Catalina Noelle.

“They overcame all of that and they’re even blessed with a very healthy baby girl. Kevin right now is on his way to recovery and hopefully he’ll be back next conference,” the doting grandfather said.

“As they say, everything is possible if you have a strong faith in God.”

For Alas, he learned a lot from the strength and faith shown by Kevin.

“With what happened to Kevin, I can’t say that I’m tougher than him because I never experienced that situation. I told him, ‘I admire your toughness. I wish I’m as strong as you,’” he said.

“I think, in that situation, it’s me who learned a lot from my son. About being patient. About sacrificing. It’s a role reversal, actually. Although my wife (Liza) and I talk to him and check on him all the time, you can’t help but just be in awe of Kevin’s toughness.”

Work in progress

“I’d say I’m a bit rusty,” Alas said in his first UAAP season with the Blue Eagles.

Alas admitted that he’s still adjusting, especially since his last collegiate was way back in 2012.

“But the good thing is the team I’m with right now is a well-managed program. When I arrived here, I barely even needed to teach the kids because of how good the program of coach Tab and his coaching staff is. They really have a great (basketball) program. They got all bases covered,” he said.

“They really study what needs to be done. They identify and solve the weaknesses. They teach everything. So, for me, it’s like re-learning and learning new things.”

And being in the thick of collegiate basketball action gives him the adrenaline rush that he dearly missed for more than a decade.

“It’s really challenging handling kids. But what’s great about coach Tab’s program, his teachings are more updated compared to what I used to teach in Letran. They teach the modern science of basketball from game preparations to in-game and post-game. They are really very thorough,” Alas said.

“I have a basketball school for grade school and primary school students and I’m going to adopt the teachings from the Ateneo program.”

The past few years have been quite a challenge for Alas.

But he refused to quit as he always preaches to his teams and the countless players whose lives he touched the golden lesson of life: Keep on fighting. It’s not over until the final buzzer.