Gilas gold climaxes Alas’ inspirational year

Asian Games gold medal winner Kevin Alas never gave up—in his career and life—despite so many trials. —PHOTO FROM KEVIN ALAS’ INSTAGRAM ACCOUNT

From playing—and dazzling—in his first PBA All-Star game, to helping Gilas Pilipinas deliver the country’s first Asian Games basketball gold in 61 years, there’s no doubt that Kevin Alas is having quite a year.

Those are events that, at some point, seemed so distant for the NLEX star just several years back when he thought that he could never again play at an elite level following a pair of career-threatening knee injuries.

Embracing his faith further and working as hard as he could to prepare his body for the grind, Alas is having a career a multitude of athletes could only dream of.

“You know, I probably had to go through those injuries,” he told the Inquirer in a heartfelt chat recently. “Those injuries made me depend more on the Lord, from whom everything comes.”

His resolve is something he shares with wife, Selina, a former television courtside reporter who also conquered a rare type of cancer last year.

“The trials we’ve been through, you know, it’s hard to understand the reasons behind them,” he said. “But with everything that has happened, we believe that this is the impact of our faithfulness to the Lord in our lives.”

Alas, who turns 32 in two weeks, hopes that his story serves as an inspiration to many athletes—and even the regular people—out there.

“I hope that I could be an example to many youngsters out there: ‘Do not let injuries, adversities stop you.’ You just have to trust the Lord and His will,” he said.

Alas was one of four late replacements reeled in for the bid in the Asiad. His finest moment came against the hosts in the semifinals, hitting some timely baskets to help grease a Justin Brownlee-led comeback that eventually gave Gilas Pilipinas a berth in the gold medal match against Jordan.

“On my Gilas stint, [I hope it sends the message] that many players do no always get opportunities. But once you get it, you’ll just have to give it your best, regardless of the role that you’re being asked to play.

“That team we had, it was filled with (PBA) superstars. So it just came down to us loving our roles,” he said. INQ