Highly touted Kieffer Alas made his UAAP Season 89 Men’s Basketball Tournament debut on Wednesday and led the Ateneo Blue Eagles to a resounding 101‑74 win over the UE Red Warriors.
The former US high school player from Layton Christian Academy and Utah Prep made a star‑studded entry into the league, finishing with 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist in 20 minutes of action.
In his post‑game interview, Alas said that the key for Ateneo this season is consistency in order to achieve their goals.
Staying the Course Is Crucial, Says Kieffer Alas
Amid all the criticisms that Alas and the rest of his teammates have received on social media over the past few months following the controversial deaths of Rene Baterbonia and Divine Adili, the highly talented rookie remains locked in on achieving overall success for the squad.
“Honestly, just probably staying in the course lang kase it’s just game one out of the 14 regular season [games]. We just have to stay consistent lang talaga,” he said. “Not thinking of what we can do individually or even more, it’s more on what can we do to reach our goals first in the final four, then in the next step, next step, next step.”
“’Cause we haven’t really reached the goal na as a team that we want to achieve. So I feel like [this win] helps our confidence, but I feel like we’re still getting there pa rin,” Alas added.
Aside from Alas, Jared Bahay and Grayson Rogers also contributed to Ateneo’s scoring effort, finishing with 17 and 12 points, respectively.
Defense Is Key
Aside from Kieffer Alas’s superb debut, Ateneo also showed teeth on defense, just as newly appointed head coach Louie Alas emphasized at the UAAP Season 89 press conference prior to the season.
Ateneo’s defense forced the Red Warriors into 18 turnovers and 34.9% shooting overall, underscoring the Blue Eagles’ defensive mindset for this season.
But, as Kieffer Alas pointed out, consistency will be crucial—which means the Blue Eagles have to show the same prolific offense and stout defense game in and game out if they want to go far in Season 89.
