Gilas Pilipinas Boys’ Kieffer Alas is named in the All-Star Five at the Fiba U16 Asian Championship in Doha, Qatar.–FIBA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Gilas Pilipinas boys will compete in the 2024 Fiba Under-17 World Cup in Istanbul without its star guard Kieffer Alas.
In Fiba’s final roster released ahead of Saturday’s opening game day, Alas was not part of the lineup due to a knee injury he suffered in the Gilas boys’ last tune-up game against Canada.
“On initial examination by our team doctor, he had a functionally stable knee and the official result of his MRI determined Kieffer has a sprained ACL,” said head coach Josh Reyes. “His knee is swollen and he’ll be out for three weeks. We will be monitoring his situation closely.”
SCHEDULE: Gilas Pilipinas at Fiba U17 World Cup
Alas, a member of the UAAP Season 86 boys’ basketball Mythical Five, will sit out the competition but fellow La Salle Zobel standout Irus Chua will still add a hue of Green and White to the roster.
“It’s a tough break for us but the rest of the team is motivated to play together. We’re praying for good results on Kieffer’s MRI but we have to move forward and quickly figure out how to play without him,” Reyes said.
READ: Kieffer Alas makes Fiba Asia U16 All-Star Five
“Kieffer was doing a great job in playmaking, rebounding, and playing defense and this is his value to the squad, more than his scoring.”
Dominic Arejola took Alas’ spot for the Gilas boys, who will play Lithuania on Saturday in their first assignment in the World Cup.
University of Santo Tomas talents Joaquin Ludovice and Kurt Velasquez were also included in the lineup.
Ludovice made noise not too long ago by cracking the NBTC 24 list, an annual ladder of the best high-school players in the country. He was listed as the 20th-best high school player.
They will be joined by 5-foot-11 athletic guard Elijah Williams, Blue Eagle star Mason Amos’ younger brother CJ and lanky 6-foot-4 wing Edryn Morales.
Also joining the pack are Davao Bulldog Bonn Daja, the tallest man in the lineup at 6-foot-6 in Paul Diao, UP Integrated School Talent Jaime Gomez de Liaño and California-bred Samuel Alegre.
Rounding out the lineup is Noah Banal, who, alongside Williams, Amos, Morales, Daja, Diao, de Liaño, and Alegre finished fourth in the U16 Asian Championship.
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Gilas is grouped in Pool A with Spain, Puerto Rico and Lithuania.