The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas have confirmed that Kieffer Alas will indeed sit out the World Cup due to a sprained ACL on his left knee.
There is no tear on the ACL of rising national team star Kieffer Alas.
This was confirmed as such by the Alas family in light of Kieffer’s injury ahead of the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 for Gilas Pilipinas Youth.
“We praise God that his ACL remained intact and strong. Kieffer will continue to recover and strengthen his knee in order to be back stronger than ever,” the Alas family statement read.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas have confirmed that Alas will indeed sit out the World Cup, with Champ Arejola ready to step in to restore a fighting 12.
Alas hurt his left knee in a tuneup against Canada. Kieffer missed an earlier tuneup against Egypt in Istanbul due to a stomach illness.
“On initial examination by our team doctor, he had a functionally stable knee and the official result of his MRI determined Kieffer has a sprained ACL,” said head coach Josh Reyes.
“His knee is swollen and he’ll be out for three weeks. We will be monitoring his situation closely.”
Gilas Pilipinas are in the U17 World Cup largely thanks to Alas’ fine work during the FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2023 where he led the team in scoring with 15.4 points per game.
A member of the tournament’s All-Star Five, Kieffer also went for 8.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. In the quarterfinals against Japan, Alas scored 29 points to lead a Gilas comeback victory, a win that secured the team’s slot in the World Cup.