Kieffer Alas is building on his lead in the UAAP Rookie of the Year race
The Rookie of the Year award is beginning to look like it is Kieffer Alas’ to lose.
The ADMU Blue Eagles rookie is averaging 15.3 points, fourth in the entire UAAP, along with 4.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.6 steals in 28 minutes per game. He has been nothing but brilliant in his debut season, living up to the lofty expectations that have been put on him since he first turned heads in the UAAP Juniors division.
His main rival in this race has been Cabs Cabonilas of the FEU Tamaraws. These two are quite familiar with one another, having been the top two in the UAAP Season 87 Juniors Basketball MVP race, which Alas won with the DLSZ Junior Archers while Cabonilas played for the FEU-Diliman Baby Tamaraws. Alas finished the first round of this season ahead in the statistical points race, ranking 10th while Cabonilas was 24th.
The latest chapter of their personal rivalry came last October 24 at the Blue Eagle Gym, where ADMU beat FEU 75-72 in their second round meeting. The win handed the Tamaraws their third consecutive loss and lifted the Blue Eagles to 4-4, avenging a 93-70 first-round defeat and snapping a three-game skid of their own. It also created a four-way tie for fourth place with FEU, the DLSU Green Archers and UST Growling Tigers.
Alas led the way with a game-high 21 points, 14 of them in the second half, and he answered every push the Tamaraws made. When a 10-2 run cut an 18-point deficit to 10 in the third quarter, he hit a three to restore a 13-point lead, and he hit another after a 5-0 burst made it 53-45. In the fourth, with Cabonilas trimming the lead to 62-54, he scored the next four points for Ateneo. With the lead down to 73-72, he was fouled with three seconds left and made both free throws to seal the final margin.
The 19-year-old guard has played with a poise that is beyond his years and this win against FEU was just the latest example of this.
He shot 46.7 percent overall and 42.9 percent from three, and he had crucial steals on Janrey Pasaol’s bad passes in the third and fourth quarters. His performance was not flawless though, as he had three turnovers and no assists.
Beyond this latest meeting, the larger picture of this Rookie of the Year race now favors Alas more than ever. His season-long production and early lead in the statistical points race is growing too large for any of his rivals to overcome. ADMU is also very much in the hunt for a Final Four spot, which only adds weight to his case.
The UAAP race this season is as exciting as it has ever been with seven teams firmly in contention and will only get more so as the elimination round winds down. Whatever happens, Alas’ rookie season has already been memorable, with the future looking bright and a new award set to join his trophy case at season’s end.
