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Philippine youth team star Kifer Alas was injured in a warm-up match as the Philippines prepared to compete in the FIBA U17 World Cup.
MANILA, Philippines – The Gilas Philippines Under-17 team just lost its best player.
Kiefer AlasHe was the team’s leading scorer and rebounder when he suffered the knee injury during a warm-up game for the Gilas boys before the start of the FIBA U17 World Cup, which takes place June 29-July 7 in Istanbul, Turkey.
“The initial examination by our team doctors showed that his knee function was stable, but the official results of the MRI showed that Kiefer had sprained his cruciate ligament,” said Josh Reyes, head coach of the Alaska Gerais boys team, who was injured in a warm-up match against Canada.
“His knee is swollen and he needs to rest for three weeks. We will monitor his condition closely.”
The Gilas boys will open their campaign against Lithuania on Saturday, June 29, before facing off against fellow Group A teams Spain (June 30) and Puerto Rico (July 2).
In the warm-up game, Gilas led by as many as seven points in the second quarter against Canada, but disaster struck midway through the quarter when Alas injured his left knee while dribbling to the basket.
“We played really well at that point. We used new tactics, played good defense and got some good rebounds against a team that had four players over 6-foot-8,” Reyes said.
“I really feel like the team is starting to believe that we can compete at this level,” Reyes added.
“It was a tough break for us, but the rest of the team played positively together. We’re praying that Kifer’s MRI comes back good, but we have to move on and figure out how to play without him as soon as possible.”
Gilas finished fourth at the U17 World Cup and qualified for the FIBA U16 Asia Championship Last year in Doha, Qatar, Al-Aras averaged a team-high 15.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
The La Salle Zobel standout was also selected to the tournament’s All-Star five.
In Istanbul, Alas was unable to play in the team’s first warm-up match against Egypt due to a stomach problem.
“We had a difficult game against Egypt and Kiefer was absent, so it was important for us to find another warm-up game where he could play,” Reyes said.
“Kiefer’s playmaking, rebounding and defense are outstanding, which is more valuable to the team than his scoring ability.” – Rappler.com
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