STAYING GREEN: Alas remains focused on powering Zobel

Kieffer Alas was spotted sitting behind the bench of De La Salle University when it battled University of the Philippines in Game 3 of their Season 87 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) men’s basketball tournament best-of-three finals series recently.

But his father, Louie Alas, clarified that it doesn’t mean that he will be joining the Green Archers anytime soon.

The elder Alas said his son — one of the top high school prospects in the country — remains focused on leading De La Salle Zobel to its first Final Four appearance in the junior ranks in eight years that makes it hard for him to commit to any collegiate team.

“Kieffer still has this year and next year in the juniors. So everything really depends on him,” said Louie, who serves as deputy of Kiwi-American mentor Tab Baldwin at Ateneo de Manila University.

“They can talk to me but at the end of the day, it’s Kieffer’s decision to make. He will join a (collegiate) team where he is comfortable.”

Speculations are pregnant about Alas’ possible destination, especially since after he was ranked as second-best high school player in the country by the National Basketball Training Center behind playmaker Jared Bahay, who eventually joined the Blue Eagles.

Sideliners claim that he will stay at La Salle to serve as understudy of transferees Kean Baclaan and Jacob Cortez while others claim that he will join the Fighting Maroons after they failed to recruit Bahay.

Of course, speculations are pregnant that the Blue Eagles will be his future team after they hired his father as assistant coach in charge of tightening their defensive screws last year.

But Louie said his son has yet to make a decision and his appearance in the La Salle-UP decider doesn’t mean anything.

“Actually, they have been inviting him to attend Game 2. But he had a tuneup match at Zobel at that time so he failed to make it. So when he was invited again for Game 3, he didn’t hesitate to go because he wants to feel the atmosphere,” Louie said, adding that moving to the United States remains an option for his hardworking son.

In fact, he was supposed to play and study in the US last year but it didn’t push through as Alas was busy powering Gilas Youth in the  FIBA U17 World Cup in Turkey. The tourney didn’t end well as he suffered a knee injury that pushed back his plans.

Still, Louie remains optimistic.

“After the season, we’re still trying the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union). It’s like your pre-requisite to go to high school in the United States,” Louie said.

“We can do it right after the 87th season. That’s why we’re looking for a team because he had one last year but didn’t materialize.”

The younger Alas said he is using the setback brought by his knee injury as a fuel to work harder and eventually lead Zobel to the UAAP crown.

“It sucks to watch other people play in the Final Four and we’re just watching from the sidelines. I couldn’t play in the World Cup because of my injury, so I will use that as inspiration,” Alas said.

“I’m super eager to give Zobel some wins because we haven’t been to the Final Four in so long. So I promised my coach (Boris Aldeguer) that I will help them win the title this year.”