It's always a tall task to live up to the hype.
Even more so if your last name is Alas -- meaning your father is a multi-titled mentor and your brother is a Gilas Pilipinas stalwart.
But let it be said that, thus far, Kieffer Alas has been making his family proud. In the past year alone, he led Gilas Youth to a historic run in the 2023 FIBA Under-16 Asian Championship, played his way to the UAAP Season 86 Boys Mythical Team, and was ranked as the no. 2 under-19 player in the Philippines, according to the National Basketball Training Center.
Of course, with great focus come greater scrutiny. He's overhyped. He's a nepo baby. He doesn't have it. Yes, at just 17 years old, he already has haters saying that about him.
That's how you know you've made it, though, right?
"For me, it's better nga kasi since I made top two sa NBTC, I still have something to go for to prove people wrong," he exclaimed. "I was prepared for all of this by my parents. Since I was a kid, I saw how my family had to overcome so much hate."
Alas grew up with basketball in his blood, literally, and the court as his playground. At age four, he was already in-venue as dad Louie coached and brothers Junjun and Kevin played for Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the NCAA -- a league well-known for its rougher play and rowdier fans.
"I heard it all. Iyakin. Iskwater. Uwian na. Beda tulo-laway. And I actually liked it. It made the game more exciting," he shared. "I got a lot of lessons from kuya Kevin. He just played through it all. Kahit may hecklers, he just kept on playing with a smile."
With that, the now-6-foot-2 guard already learned the life lesson of tuning out the noise and using hate as fuel to the fire.
That's exactly why as the no. 2 ranking sent him to the 2024 NBTC All-Star Game -- not only as a player, but as captain of Team Hustle -- the noise around him got turned up. And on the biggest stage and under the brightest lights he has experienced thus far, he delivered the goods.
Alas won the Skills Challenge and then spearheaded his squad's takedown of Team Heart, who was fronted by Jared Bahay -- the top under-19 player in the Philippines for two years in a row, with a 24-point showing en route to MVP honors.
That should've shut down the noise. But he knows full well it's not stopping just yet -- and it's about to grow further as he moves forward in his young career.
There's bad news for the noise, however. The De La Salle Zobel standout isn't stopping just yet either -- and he's about to grow his game as well.
What's left to grow, though, for a wunderkind who has already proven he can do it all?
"Probably my shooting and my defense. If I want to make it to where I want to be, that's the most important thing -- yung 3-and-D," he said. "I can slash and 'playmake' for my teammates, but my shooting and my defense, it's still a lot iffy."
Indeed, his star-making run with the Jr. Archers in the last season tells the story of a youngster who posted per game counts of 20.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists, but shot 38.7% from the field, converted just 18 of 74 three-point attempts, and was inconsistent with his energy and effort at both ends.
The good news is that Alas has the bloodline that can actually help him finish the story. Dad Louie was thrice a champion coach for the Knights, then a generation later, kuya Kevin was the King Knight before moving on to the PBA where he has become a key cog for NLEX.
Only time will tell if Kieffer can match -- or even surpass -- either of them. But thus far in the present, he's already well on his way.
"I'm confident that I'm prepared because I've been working hard. I was thankfully ranked second while being the youngest among the 24," he said. "I'm actually just thankful to those who keep hating kasi sila mas magiging motivation ko."
Safe to say, Kieffer Alas, the no. 2 under-19 player in the Philippines, has lived up to the hype. And because of that, just about everybody will keep hyping him up even more.
Also safe to say, however, he's actually born and built for this.