De La Salle Santiago Zobel (DLSZ) star playmaker Kieffer Alas made history when he was named as Most Valuable Player (MVP) in Season 87 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) juniors basketball tournament yesterday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

The 17-year-old Alas emerged with the league’s highest individual honor despite failing to lead the Junior Archers to the Final Four of the country’s most prestigious collegiate league.

He capped his season with glowing averages of 20.07 points, 11.14 rebounds, 4.93 assists, and 1.07 steals per game in 14 outings for DLSZ, which wrapped up its campaign with a 6-8 record for sixth place.

All in all, the 6-foot-2 Alas led all local players in the statistical points (SPs) derby with 91.429, just behind Nigerian slotman Collins Akowe of National University, who emerged as the Best Foreign Student-Athlete with 105.786 SPs built around averages of 20.79 points, 19.21 rebounds, 2.71 assists and 1.79 blocks per game.

But Alas shone brighter as he became the first DLSZ player to emerge MVP since future pro Aljun Melecio in 2016. He also became the first player to win the prestigious title outside the Final Four since Juan Gomez de Liaño of University of the Philippines Integrated School did the trick in 2017.

Aside from that, he was named as part of the Mythical Team together with Akowe, Cabs Cabonilas of Far Eastern University-Diliman, Mark Esperanza of Adamson University, and Ethan Egea of UPIS.

“It’s truly an honor because those two players (Melecio and Gomez de Liaño) are really good,” Alas told DAILY TRIBUNE in an interview.

“They’re now in the pros so I’m really thankful to be included in the same conversation as them and to be part of the elite circle where they belong.”

But Alas’ future with the Junior Archers hangs in limbo.

Based on his original plan, he will fly to Australia to undergo rigid training that aims to sharpen his playmaking skills, decision-making and outside shooting. After that, he will go to the United States to see action in Amateur Athletic Union tournaments, where he is set to face bigger, stronger oppositions.

Alas, the youngest son of seasoned tactician Louie Alas, admitted that everything remains up in the air.

“We are still working on it but the initial plan is to go Australia for a training camp. We’ll see what happens after that,” he said, adding that he’s looking forward to test his mettle in the US.

“I want to go out there and get all the exposure I can get. I want to get more point guard skills there than here in the Philippines. I’m more of a rebounding and scoring guard so I want to instill that.”

But before that, he will see action in National Basketball Training Center, where he is tipped to be on top of the ranking after emerging second behind Ateneo de Manila University hotshot Jared Bahay last year.

“Yes, I’ll be playing in the NBTC league,” he said, dedicating his MVP plum to his parents who were at the venue to witness his coronation.

“I’m super thankful because not all players have parents who are supporting them. So I’m going to take advantage and enjoy this opportunity.”