Kieffer Alas is highly touted for a reason. And on Saturday, he proved why.
With the Ateneo Blue Eagles engaged in a dogfight against the NU Bulldogs down the stretch, the rookie simply took over, firing 10 of his 18 points in the last three minutes to will the Blue Eagles to an 87‑76 victory and first place in the standings of the UAAP Season 89 Men’s Basketball Tournament. After the game, the 19‑year‑old guard stressed something fans and pundits alike ought to remember: he’s a cut above the rest.
“It’s not really in my head. Like what my dad‑slash‑coach [Louie Alas] said, there are so many good players in this world, but you can see who’s set above the rest,” Alas told the media after the game. “No matter how bad the first to the third quarter, as long as you just keep on going, and I guess, the results showed in the fourth quarter.”
The results showed, indeed. With the game hanging in the balance, Alas fired the go‑ahead basket, then drained two triples to put the game away and give Ateneo its third win in four games to zoom on top of the standings. He added 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals in a game where he struggled in the first three quarters, only to take over in the endgame.
That’s What Kieffer Alas Is Here For
Notably, Kieffer Alas shot just 7‑for‑20 overall but went 4‑for‑4 when the game was on the line. For the elder Alas, who took over head coaching duties for Ateneo only this year, that’s why his son is in Katipunan—to put points on the board.
“Talaga lang makapal ang mukha,” he said of his son. “As long as it’s not a bad shot, as long as you’re free, go. Because that’s your role, to score.”
From the looks of it, Kieffer Alas is up for it—pressure be damned. For the brash, ultra‑confident rookie, everything else is just outside noise, and whatever happens between the lines is entirely up to the Blue Eagles.
“I can say that there’s pressure in the last minutes, but I feel like what we’ve been through helped in how we handle pressure,” he said. “When everyone is looking down on us, we just realized that we don’t care what the outside noise has to say. ‘Yung basketball court, 94 feet lang, so that’s just what we locked in on.”
Kieffer Alas locked in for sure down the stretch against NU. And now Ateneo is in solo first place.
