Kieffer Alas stars as Gilas Boys wallop Malaysia in SEABA opener

MANILA, Philippines, July 18 ------ Gilas Pilipinas Boys wasted no time in flexing their dominance in the SEABA U16 Championships in Indonesia as they handed Malaysia a 42-point beating, 94-52, in their opening assignment.

Kieffer Alas was a man among boys as he led the Philippines with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting, to go along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists in only a little less than 18 minutes of play. Alas, son of former PBA head coach Louie and brother of NLEX Road Warriors star Kevin, dropped most of his points in just the first two quarters, single-handedly outscoring Malaysia at the half by double figures, 22-12.

Irus Chua and CJ Amos, the younger brother of incoming Ateneo Blue Eagles rookie Mason, also breached double-digit scoring with 16 apiece for the Philippines in the lopsided affair.

After leading by only 13 points at the end of the opening frame, 23-10, the Filipinos put the clamps on the Malaysians in the second period, limiting their foes to just 2 points the whole quarter, while doubling their lead to 46. The Philippines then continued to show Malaysia no mercy in the second half, pushing its lead to as many as 46 points, 94-48, with two minutes to play in the game.

Jia Chia scored a team-high 12 points for Malaysia in the loss, while Jian Tan added 11.

Gilas Youth shoot for a 2-0 start when they face Thailand at 6 pm on Tuesday, July 18 (Manila time), before wrapping up their SEABA stint vs. Indonesia on Wednesday, July 19. Only the top two teams at the end of the single-round tournament will qualify for the FIBA U16 Asian Championships in September.

The Scores:

Philippines 94 – Alas 27, Chua 16, Amos 16, Williams 7, Morales 6, Velasquez 6, Daja 4, Ludovice 4, Hachuela 4, Espinas 2, Gomez 2, Diao 0.

Malaysia 52 – Chia 12, Tan 11, Chua 7, Hoo 7, Kho 6, Lee 5, Tan 2, Chee 2, Khoo 0, Juan 0.

Quarters: 23-10, 46-12, 71-37, 94-52.

Source: rappler.com

Editor's note:

As scheduled, Kai Sotto is set to arrive in the country today, July 18 as confirmed by Wasserman Sports’ Tony Ronzone. Back issues Sotto dealt with in his final Summer League game cast doubt on his participation for Gilas Pilipinas’ buildup for the FIBA World Cup. But Reyes said he received word that the Filipino star is not dealing with anything serious. “Ronzone said that all the x-rays came back negative, so that is good news.” said Reyes. However, there is no word yet when Sotto can attend practice.

Jordan Heading has been ruled out of the team due to a back injury. Heading became the second player from the 21-man World Cup pool to be ruled out after Carl Tamayo begged off in June due to a knee injury.

Scottie Thompson who suffered a metacarpal fracture on his right hand while in the Gilas European training camp was healing faster than expected, according to his doctors.