Kieffer Alas in action in the Smart-NBTC National Finals. –NBTC PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Kieffer Alas turned heads despite failing to steer the Phenom Blue Fire-Pasay to the Division 1 title of the Smart-NBTC National Finals.

FilAm Nation Select-USA coach and NBA legend Byron Scott was among those who took note of Alas’ performance–even going as far as to compare some aspects of the young player’s game to Los Angeles Laker star Luka Doncic’s.

“Number 18 tonight, he is so smooth. He’s so good with the ball,” said Scott.

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“He almost has a Luka Doncic-type style where you don’t think he’s going to get by you,  but he gets by you. You know, he has a very good tempo with his movement and he understands how to use his body.”

Alas impressed despite Pasay’s shortcomings in the Division 1 Finals of the annual 19-and-under basketball tournament in the country.

The De La Salle-Zobel standout tallied 20 points, two assists, two rebounds and a block for the Pasay squad but it just wasn’t enough to deny FilAm Nation of its bid for back-to-back titles.

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Scott also lauded the NBTC top-ranked high school player’s ability to create shots by himself which created all sorts of problems for the Select-USA squad.

“He can shoot the ball. He’s great at the free throw line and like I said, he has a very good basketball IQ,” he said. “He’s probably the one that impressed me the most.”

In the UAAP, Alas averaged 20.07 points, 11.14 rebounds, 4.93 assists and 1.07 steals per game, but La Salle-Zobel missed a Final Four spot this season.