Second generation cager Kieffer Alas caught fire early, scoring 22 of his total 27 points, as his hot start sparked Gilas Pilipinas in coming up with a sizzling debut in the Southeast Asia Basketball Association Under-16 Championship at the GOR Kertajaya in Surabaya, Indonesia Monday evening.
The Filipinos clobbered the Malaysians, 94-52.
The star player from La Salle Zobel was all business right from the get-go as he presided on his team's offense as he and Irus Chua joined forces in forming the Philippine youth team's 1-2 punch.
Chua, the player who once scored a staggering 121-pont performance as a 10-year-old player, brought his scoring prowess in this current Gilas youth squad to team up with Alas.
The former Xavier standout ended up with 16 markers.
Also making his presence felt was CJ Amos, younger brother of Gilas Pilipinas player Mason Amos, who also scattered 16 markers as the young Pnoy cagers served notice of continuing their dominance in this tournament that serves as a qualifying event for the FIBA U16 Asian Championship.
Ivan Chia (12 points) and Jian Wei Tan (11 points) led the Malaysians' production.
The scores:
Philippines 94 – Alas 27, Chua 16, Amos 16, Williams 7, Morales 6, Velasquez 6, Daja 4, Ludovice 4, Hachuela 4, Gomez 2, Espinas 2, Diao 0.
Malaysia 52 – Chia 12, Tan JW 11, Hoo 7, Chua 7, Kho 6, Lee 5, Tan JJ 2, Chee 2, Khoo 0, Juan 0.