Louie Alas
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Francisco Luis "Louie" Alas (born October 10, 1963) is a multi-titled Filipino basketball head coach. He now handles Colegio de San Juan de Letrán's Letran Knights in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). He was also a former coach of Mobiline (now known as Talk N' Text Phone Pals, from 2000 to 2001) in the Philippine Basketball Association.
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[edit] Career
[edit] Beginnings
Alas' basketball career began in Adamson University (under the University Athletics Association of the Philippines) where he played forward for the school's Adamson Falcons (now Adamson Soaring Falcons).
In 1988, he was drafted by Purefoods (now Purefoods Chunkee Giants) but never really had the chance to play for the PBA team due to a career-ending injury he sustained during pre-season. Unable to play basketball anymore, he shifted his gears towards coaching.
[edit] Coaching
His first coaching job was with the Saint Francis of Assissi Baby Doves in Las Piñas City. He steered the team to a championship gold in the 1995-1996 season of the National Capital Region Athletic Association. Afterwards, he moved to Las Piñas College. For a time, Alas was also assistant coach in Adamson University.
It was in 1999 when Alas' coaching skills were truly noticed when he led the RP Men’s Team (18 and under) in the Brunei Southeast Asian Games to a basketball championship.
[edit] PBA & MBA
He had a brief stint as an assistant coach to Purefoods Corned Beef Cowboys/Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies under Eric Altamirano from 1996 to 1998. Later on, he transferred to the now-defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association where he steered the Manila Metrostars to a championship title in during the 1999 season following an incredible 22-winning streak. He was awarded that year's Coach of the Year.
Alas was supposed to handle another MBA team when the chance to coach PBA's Mobiline was offered to him. Prior to this, Mobiline was struggling under Eric Altamirano. While in the PBA, he led the Phone Pals to its best record in the elimination phase of the Governor's Cup.
[edit] Controversy
However, before the 2002 season, Alas was fired from the team. According to reports, Alas angered top Mobiline officials when he chose Gilbert Demape over John Arigo as the team's top rookie draft pick.[1] But he denied this allegation, saying that he had a series of meetings with the owners, and was given the freedom to decide on what he felt was best for the team.[2] On December 3, 2001, Mobiline announced that Alas had stepped down as the team's head coach.[3]
Alas was replaced by American Bill Bayno who immediately received heavy criticism from the nationalist Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines to due to his citizenship.
[edit] NCAA & PBL
In 1998, Alas barged into NCAA territory. He immediately captured that year's championship trophy by sweeping the San Sebastián Stags in a best-of-three series.
In 2003, the Knights and the Stags faced each other once again in the finals. But the Letrán once again prevailed against San Sebastián. Right after the title win, the Knights joined the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) under the name of Toyota Otis-Letran. The Knights captured the third place trophy in the league's Unity Cup after beating defending champions Hapee Toothpaste Sparklers.
[edit] Personal life
Alas hails from the sleepy fishing town of Unisan, Quezon, and is the seventh of eight children. His younger brother, Carmelo "Mel" Alas, is also a basketball coach and is currently under his helm as an assistant coach for the Letran Knights.
He is married to Lisa Alas (née Platón) and has three sons: Kristoffer Louie, Kevin, and Kenneth, all whom are inclined towards basketball; all three are currently enrolled in Letrán.
[edit] Quotes
- Offense wins games, but defense wins championships.
- We have to play smart basketball from start to finish to have a better chance against Granny. We have to start well and not just play catch-up.
| Preceded by N/A |
Letran Knights head coach 1990's-1998 |
Succeeded by Binky Favis |
| Preceded by Ricky Dandan |
Manila Metrostars head coach 1999 |
Succeeded by Boysie Zamar |
| Preceded by Eric Altamirano |
Talk N' Text Phone Pals head coach 2000-2001 |
Succeeded by Bill Bayno |
| Preceded by Binky Favis |
Letran Knights head coach 2002-current |
Succeeded by current |
