Turning up aces:
For Louie Alas, if his
sons Kevin & Jun Jun are drafted, it means fulfilling his lost PBA dream.
by rick olivares pic by mon rubio
Bam!
Jun Jun Alas backed up 6’4” Andrew Avillanoza down
the post. Alas, at six-feet flat but at a hefty 118 kg. of pure brute force
moved his taller guard like a bulldozer going through a cement door.
Bam!
Avillanoza threw his arms up and Alas threw jump hook that was all net.
A quiet cheer rose up from the far side of the
Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong City where the coaches of PBA team Alaska
gave assistant coach Louie Alas high and low fives.
The elder Alas kept quiet and refused to give in to a
smile. But deep inside, the long-time coach was brimming with pride but hoping
against hope.
His second oldest son, Kevin, seemed to be a shoo-in
Top 10 pick for the upcoming Gatorade PBA Draft. Jun Jun, the older brother,
was not. Both had played for the Letran Knights with Kevin the star point guard
after the graduation of RJ Jazul while Jun Jun was one of the team’s several
bruisers.
During Louie’s college heyday, he was the star combo
guard for the Adamson Falcons. In 1990, he was selected by the Purefoods TJ
Hotdogs in the draft. Unfortunately, he suffered a career ending knee injury
during practice. It took a while for him to get over his misfortune. It was a
time, when practically a ACL injury meant it was all over for a basketball
player.
Alas dove head long into coaching to stay in the game
that he dearly loved.
He won titles with Letran and also coached Mobiline
in the PBA. Now working as an assistant first with Luigi Trillo and now with
Alex Compton with the Alaska Aces, for the first time since 1990, he feels his
stomach rumbling with excitement and nervousness. But he doesn’t say so except
to the close friends he confides in.
Should Kevin or even Jun Jun be drafted and go on to
play in the PBA, they will fulfill a dream that the father once had. He will
live that dream through his sons.
While coaching them in college in Letran, they went
to the NCAA Finals two years ago where they fell in three games to eventual
champion, powerhouse San Beda. It was the swansong for the Alas family with the
school that had been home to them for well over a decade. Kevin was able to
experience some championships with NLEX in the D-League as well as with Sinag,
the national team that participates in the Southeast Asian Games.
“I know papa will be proud,” said Kevin during a late
night dinner at North Park in Little Baguio, San Juan City four days before the
Gatorade PBA Draft Combine. “Excited din siya.”
His two older sons aren’t the only ones Louie keeps
tabs on. There’s his third son, Kenneth, who at 6’4” is still growing. Kenneth
chose a different path opting to play for rival San Beda Red Cubs instead of
the Letran Squires.
“It’s his choice, says Liza, the mother of the
basketball-loving brood. “So we support him and his decisions.”
Completing the “starting five” of Alas basketball is
the fourth and youngest son, Kiefer who is beginning to learn the game.
“The game has been good to us,” said Coach Louie
while watching his sons engage in the competitive drills and scrimmage put
together by colleagues Bong Ramos and Bai Cristobal. “And hopefully, it will be
good as well for my other two sons.”
Then the assembled crowd of coaches, fans, agents,
and media roared. Jun Jun Alas scored another bucket.
This time Louie Alas allowed himself a smile.
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