BOCAUE, Philippines – Kevin Alas is a man who keeps his promise.

Following a turnover-plagued performance that almost cost the NLEX Road Warriors’ 97-89 win over the Alaska Aces last February 11, Alas vowed to repay his coaches’ trust by being in his finest form the next game. 

Against the streaking Blackwater Elite, Alas did.

The 26-year-old guard fired a game-high 25 points on top of 8 rebounds and 5 assists against one turnover to anchor the Road Warriors to a 93-90 win over the Elite on Sunday, February 18. The victory secured NLEX, which improved to 6-4, a ticket to the playoffs.

“Locked in ako today. I played okay noong last game pero napagsabihan ako ni Coach Yeng (Guiao) noong game na ‘yun. I just wanted na suklian ‘yung binibigay na trust ni Coach Yeng,” said Alas. 

(I’m locked in today. I played okay the last game but Coach Yeng Guiao kind of scolded me. I just wanted to repay his trust in me.)

Alas had a relatively erratic game against the Aces last week. Despite finishing with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and two assists, he committed 6 turnovers, 4 coming in the 4th quarter, that almost propelled Alaska to come back from down 30 points.

True to his word, Alas brought his A-game versus the Elite and delivered 16 points in the 4th period alone to help the Road Warriors secure their 4th straight win. 

“Kiefer was playing well pero ‘yung focus ng defense nasa kanya so I felt someone had to step up. ‘Di lang naman puwedeng si Kiefer lang. I’m happy na sabay kami pumutok so I hope maging consistent kami,” Alas added.

(Kiefer was playing well but the defense was focusing on him so I felt someone had to step up. We cannot win if Kiefer is the only one who creates for the team. I’m happy we erupted in the same game and I hope we become consistent.)

Guiao, who shared that he has been pushing for Alas to become a consistent outside threat, was left in awe of his ward. 

“He made some fantastic shots, pati ako nagulat (even I was surprised),” said Guiao. 

“I’ve been telling him that he’s just underusing his outside game, medyo nagrerely siya masyado sa slashing ability niya (he was relying heavily on his slashing ability) and defenses were already sagging off him. Today, he showed us that he is an outside threat,” the coach added.

“That’s just incredible shooting, the best I’ve seen him shoot from the outside so far in this last one and a half years that I’ve coached him.”

Alas will be flying to Australia on Monday, February 19, to join Gilas Pilipinas in their battle against the Aussies on February 22. But he vowed to get back to work immediately to prepare for NLEX’s game against the TNT KaTropa on February 28. – Rappler.com