Scott salutes young Alas
KIEFFER Alas draws the attention of three-time NBA champion Byron Scott during the finals of the NBTC last Sunday.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF NBTC
Daily TribuneKIEFFER Alas draws the attention of three-time NBA champion Byron Scott during the finals of the NBTC last Sunday.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF NBTC
Kieffer Alas made a lot of heads turn when he played for Phenom BlueFire-Pasay in the National Basketball Training Center (NBTC) over the weekend.
Among those who were blown away by his dazzling display of basketball skills was a three-time National Basketball Association (NBA) champion and a well-respected coach — Byron Scott.
Scott didn’t hold back in describing the 5-foot-11 Alas, even going to the extent of comparing him to Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic due to his smooth dribbling, deadeye shooting and impeccable decision-making.
‘He has very good tempo with his movement, he understands how to use his body to shoot the ball, he’s great at the free throw line, and like I said, he has a very good basketball IQ.’
“Kieffer, yeah, he’s so smooth. He’s so good with the ball, he almost has a Luka Doncic-type style where you don’t think he’s going to get by you, but he gets by you,” said Scott after witnessing Alas drop 20 points, two rebounds and two assists when Scott’s Fil-Am Nation Select beat Phenom BlueFire-Pasay, 59-64, in the finals.
“He has very good tempo with his movement, he understands how to use his body to shoot the ball, he’s great at the free throw line, and like I said, he has a very good basketball IQ.”
“He’s probably the one that impressed me the most.”
The 64-year-old Scott is no ordinary basketball observer.
Together with legendary players like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Scott was part of the Lakers squad that won three NBA titles.
He was also the NBA Coach of the Year when he handled Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets in 2008 before handling LeBron James at the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010.
Now, he is in town to lead a group of young Filipino-American stars to the NBTC title.
“I just told them to stay focused, stay poised. We knew we were in for this kind of game,” said Scott, who also lauded the physical play and high basketball IQ for Filipino ballers.
Scott’s observation about his performance definitely fired up Alas ahead of his trip to Australia for intense training and the United States to see action in the Amateur Athletic Union.