No shortage of motivation for high school baller Kieffer Alas

De La Salle-Zobel’s Kieffer Alas shoots a jumper against UE in the UAAP Season 86 high school boys basketball tournament.–UAAP PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A fire was lit under De La Salle Zobel standout Kieffer Alas after the UAAP Season 86 boys’ basketball tournament.

After falling short of a Final Four appearance with the Junior Archers, pressure fell on the shoulders of Alas to bring the boys back to the playoffs come next season.

Fortunately for the Grade 10 baller, he actually wants the pressure to lay on him.

READ: Kieffer Alas leads Team Hustle to victory in NBTC All-Star Game

During the NBTC 2024 National Finals’ All-Star Saturday, Alas revealed to Inquirer Sports that he was even “praying” for a scenario where he’d be caught in a pressure-packed situation like the one he’s in right now with De La Salle Zobel.

“Actually, this is good. Last year, I was asking about this scenario. Last year, we had a heartbreaking season so I prayed for moments like these and I’ll just take on the challenge,” said Alas at Mall of Asia Arena.

“We’re going to try and bring back the crown to Ayala Alabang.”

READ: Another Alas makes his mark

But Season 87 is still miles away for him, so Alas first turned his focus on putting on a show for the hundreds of fans in attendance in Pasay.

After winning the festivities’ Skills Challenge, Alas powered Team Hustle to the 114-106 victory over Team Heart while also winning the All-Star MVP plum.

With 24 points in his name, Alas flashed a little bit of his scoring prowess that he boasted with DLSZ last season.

READ: Kieffer Alas makes Fiba Asia U16 All-Star Five 

If he had anything to say about it, though, he wanted to score more—or contribute more, even—to notch the UAAP MVP award.

That honor, of course, went to Collins Akowe of National University. Seeing the foreign student athlete raise the hardware last month made Alas ever more eager to improve the Junior Archers from a 4-10 season.

“I actually use the pressure as a motivation for next season. Akowe beat me so I’ll take that as a challenge. We’ll do our best as a team in Zobel to bring our team back to the Final Four.”