BY ABBY TORALBA
WITH Kieffer Alas showing the way anew, the Gilas Pilipinas Under-16 team destroyed Malaysia 75-52 yesterday to advance to the play-in round of the FIBA U-16 Asian Championship at the Al-Rayyan Indoor Hall in Doha, Qatar.
Alas, son of veteran coach Louie and younger brother of PBA star Kevin, shone with a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds, to go with three assists.
Kurt Nathan Velasquez added 13 markers and three dimes, while Elijah Williams had nine points and nine feeds.
With the win, the young Filipino cagers finished with a 2-1 record in Group D and forged a do-or-die clash with Korea tomorrow for a quarterfinals slot.
The winner will face Japan, which swept Group B with a 3-0 mark.
The troops of coach Josh Reyes zoomed to a 17-0 run for an early 29-8 spread they padded to 45-23 at the half.
The Philippines sustained its hot-shooting and led by as much as 72-48 on an Edryn Morales basket at the 4:04 mark of the fourth.
Gilas Youth tallied 30 fastbreak points compared to Malaysia’s 14.
Although it suffered a loss, Malaysia still has a chance to reach the Last Eight against Jordan.
