LOUIE Alas has been around championship basketball long enough to know that the UAAP can be just as unforgiving as the PBA.
The Ateneo head coach has won three NCAA titles with Letran and collected two more PBA championships as an assistant, with Purefoods in the 1997 All-Filipino Cup and Alaska in the 2013 Commissioner's Cup.
READ: Payosing, Remogat propel UP to second half breakaway from Ateneo
Two games into his UAAP head coaching stint, Alas has already experienced both ends of that spectrum, with Ateneo opening Season 89 with a statement win over UE before absorbing a humbling defeat against UP.
For Alas, that sharp contrast was a quick reminder that there are no easy games in a league he now likens to the PBA.
“PBA magagaling, pero parang PBA rin dito. Sobra ang scouting. Ang daming coaches na magagaling. ‘Pag hindi ka pumasok sa game, nag-kulang yung preparation mo, ganyan ang mangyayari," Alas said, referring to the UAAP.
The 19-point UP loss, in particular, exposed an approach Alas wants his players to correct. With Ateneo trailing by just 10 at one point during Saturday's Battle of Katipunan, he was surprised by the team's apparent urgency to shift the momentum with one big shot instead of patiently chipping away at UP's lead.
Alas did not want his players searching for a quick fix, especially against a UP side that could punish rushed possessions. He wants Ateneo to build its way back into games through the identity that has defined his championship teams.
“That's the thing na I was surprised. Sabi ko sa kanila, ‘We're down by ten lang, then gusto niyo sa isang shoot, a-all agad? Sabi ko, ‘Walang ganyang ano, ‘yung home run. Hindi baseball 'to.’ Sabi ko, let's change the mentality na we will ano, we will come back through offense," Alas said.
That approach goes against the formula Alas believes brought him success at Letran, where he won NCAA titles in 1998, 2003 and 2005, and in his PBA stops with Purefoods and Alaska.
“It's not in my system. The reason why kami nagcha-champion before because of the defense and resiliency. Siguro, hindi pa lang kami used to it," he said.
His first two games have already provided a clear demonstration of that, with Ateneo showing its potential against UE before finding out how much ground it still needs to cover against UP.
“Sabi ko sa kanila, ‘Pag hindi kayo nag-buy in diyan, wala kayong chance. Kasi lahat dito, ang gagaling na coaches. Nandito ‘yung cream of the crop," he said.
After the Blue Eagles' first two games, Alas was left with a straightforward assessment of how his tenure in Katipunan began.
“That's why I told you, kulang ‘yung preparation [namin].”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
