Will it be an overseas stint? Or one last dance with the De La Salle-Zobel Junior Archers for newly-crowned UAAP Boys’ Basketball MVP Kieffer Alas?
The comeback is stronger than the setback indeed for De La Salle-Zobel star Kieffer Alas.
Coming off an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury he suffered in June last year, Alas was officially named the UAAP Season 87 Boys’ Basketball Most Valuable Player with well-rounded numbers of 20.07 points, 11.14 rebounds, 4.93 assists, and 1.07 steals in 14 games played with the Junior Archers.
While DLSZ missed the Final Four with a 6-8 record, Alas is now the Junior Archers’ first UAAP Boys’ Basketball MVP since Aljun Melecio in Season 78 (2016).
“We didn’t make the Final Four, but at least may mga positives from the season, which is the awards, so I’ll just use this as fuel for my future,” the newly-crowned MVP said in a short press conference at the FilOil EcoOil Arena in San Juan.
“Actually, it’s a big help [to be playing at a high level again], especially sa mental aspect eh, kasi when I went down with my sprain, with my injury, I was super down,” added Alas. “So ‘yun, I just kept on trusting God, and he’s blessed me with this award.”
Alas, however, remained mum on his immediate future amid reports of his plan to test his mettle with an AAU team in the United States.
“The initial plan is to have a training camp in Australia for a month, so let’s just see after that,” he said.
On the other hand, Alas will have one more year of eligibility with the Junior Archers. But if his overseas plans do pan out, he hopes for his team to keep trusting the process, knowing that they will reap the rewards of their hard work one day.
“Even if we didn’t win this season, I just want them to know na no matter what happens, win or lose, just keep on playing hard. Kasi anything that happens, all the progress that we make, that’s all in God’s plan naman eh,” Alas reflected, with DLSZ currently on an eight-year Final Four drought.
Wherever his talents take him next, Alas will forever be grateful to Junior Archers’ coach Boris Aldeguer, who has seen his potential since entering the UAAP as a high school freshman.
In his three years under Aldeguer’s tutelage, Alas has blossomed into a two-time Mythical Five member, a recognition now coupled with his UAAP Season 87 Boys’ Basketball MVP award. On top of this, Alas is also a member of the Gilas Pilipinas Youth pool and was the number 2 Filipino high school player in the NBTC’s 2024 rankings.
“‘Yung pagiging leader [dadalhin ko into my next chapter], kasi Coach Boris from the start pa lang, rookie year ko, he trusted me to be a leader right away. So I’m just going to try and bring my leadership from here to wherever I go next,” Alas said.
Images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.