Kieffer Alas landed in Perth, where he will be training in preparation for his transfer to Layton Christian Academy in Utah.
Together with his father, Louie, and mother, Liza, the 17-year-old Alas arrived on Sunday and spent some quality time with friends while enjoying the sunny Australian weather.
Then, he visited the Warwick Arena — the facility where he will work out with the Warwick Senators for a month before testing his mettle against bigger, stronger foes in the high school circuit in the United States.
He started his training with the Senators on Tuesday.
“I’ve bee training since I’ve got here but our first official training with the team is on Tuesday,” Alas said in a message to DAILY TRIBUNE.
In a previous interview, Alas said he wants to absorb all the lessons he will gain with the Senators in which he will showcase his skills under the watchful eyes of former Australian national team mentor Rob Beveridge.
“I want to go out there and get all the exposure I can get,” said Alas, who closed his career at De La Salle Zobel on a high note after winning the Most Valuable Player award in Season 87 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) high school boys’ basketball tournament.
For one, he wants to further develop his defensive and playmaking skills, something that is new to him since he is playing more as a rebounder and a scorer in the UAAP.
“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,” Alas said.
Going to Australia before playing and studying in the United States will definitely do wonders for Alas, who is the country’s No. 1 high school player based on the National Basketball Training Center ranking.
Aside from getting a feel of international training, he will also get a chance to bang bodies with bigger and scrappier guards that would definitely toughen him up.
Although going back to the country to play seniors ball in the UAAP remains a possibility, hopes are high that he will land an athletic scholarship with an elite Division I team in the US National Collegiate Athletic Association.
From there, anything can happen, including a possible stint in the National Basketball Association.
After all, the Australian route is nothing new as it was the same path taken by Kai Sotto and Jack Animam. LaMelo Ball also sharpened his skills Down Under when he played for the Illawarra Hawks in the National Basketball League in 2019.