Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Kevin Alas may have fully healed from his knee injury he suffered last season but he’s still slowly trying to get back into tiptop shape.
NLEX’s young guard suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup but has since recovered to play in the Road Warriors’ first four games of the new season.
The return, however, wasn’t as smooth as Alas had hoped for after he scored just a total of 17 points on a combined 7-of-33 shooting across his first three games.
Alas admitted that he wasn’t that satisfied with his output and even though he broke that slump in the Road Warriors’ 107-97 win over Columbian he left the game wanting more from himself.
“Personally, I’m not satisfied with my performance especially during the second half but I know that I can do better than that,” said Alas in Filipino who finished with 13 points, on 5-of-8 shooting, two rebounds, and three assists Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“The coaches have always told me to stay patient. I actually computed my field goals in the first three games, 7-of-33, and that was bad.”
And it wasn’t just Alas, who broke out of his slump as the Road Warriors snapped their three-game losing streak to get to a 1-3 record.
NLEX, however, had to endure the Dyip’s rabid rally in the third quarter when Columbian outscored the Road Warriors 36-17 in the third quarter.
The Road Warriors had a 31-point lead, 65-34, late in the second quarter but saw it dwindle down to five, 91-86, early in the fourth quarter.
“It was actually kind of a good thing because our character got tested when Columbian made that run,” said Alas.
NLEX recovered later in the fourth quarter going on a 9-2 run to take a 100-88 lead after Philip Paniamogan’s three with 4:05 left.
“When other players struggled, some of my teammates stepped up and that’s a good thing for us.”