DON’T tell guard Kieffer Alas that the Philippines will be a pushover in the FIBA Under-17 World Cup opening on June 29 in Istanbul, Turkey.
“We want to prove everyone wrong, na hindi lang kami pang-Asia,” Alas stressed yesterday during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Philippine Sports Commission conference room of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
Alas, whose father is illustrious coach Louie Alas and younger sibling of Gilas Pilipinas playmaker Kevin, made the bold declaration in the presence of coach Josh Reyes and teammates Irus Chua and Paul Diao.
The trio were among the key players of the national squad, the Gilas Pilipinas boys, that finished fourth in the FIBA Asia Cup Under-16 meet in Doha, Qatar last September, booking a coveted ticket to the prestigious 16-team tournament to be held in the Turkish capital.
“We are in a tough group, to say the least, but we also see this as an opportunity to play (against) the best in the world,” Reyes said in the public sports program backed by the PSC, Philippine Olympic Committee, San Miguel Corp., Smart, Milo and Arena Plus.
The Filipinos, who are scheduled to leave for Istanbul on Saturday, are bracketed in Group A with Lithuania, Spain and Puerto Rico. They kick off their campaign against the Lithuanians on June 29 at the 16,000-seat Sinan Erdem Dome.
“Our first game will be against Lithuania, which is a podium finisher in the European Championships, and one of the best in the world,” Reyes, the son of veteran tactician Chot Reyes, said.
“Then we go up against probably the second-best team in the world in Spain. The Spanish are recognized as the second-best youth squad behind the US,” he said, “and Puerto Rico has a physical squad and they also have history as well in the U-17 World Cup.
