Mel Alas
Carmelo Alas was born (July 3, 1969) and raised in Unisan, Quezon, Philippines. Coach Mel as he is commonly known, is a Filipino basketball coach who is a Computer Engineer by profession. As a kid, he dreamt of being a pilot or lawyer. But even then, his passion for sports was already evident. He was into ball games such as softball, baseball, tennis, bowling, and of course basketball.
After obtaining a degree from Adamson University, he practiced his profession as an employee of the Department of Finance, one of the Philippine government agencies. But after a couple of years, his unambiguous love for basketball was unveiled. He first worked with the elementary and high school basketball teams of the San Beda College of Alabang, wherein he got a taste of his first championship.
Since then, his achievements in the field of basketball became unstoppable. In 2000, he worked with coach Ronel Leuterio, as the later's assistant coach in the basketball team of the Las Pinas College (LPC). After coach Ronel left the team, coach Mel spearheaded the LPC Huskies. As the new head coach, he led his team into numerous championships and brought home a couple of trophies as well.
In 2003, while still handling the LPC Huskies, coach Mel started working with his elder brother, coach Louie Alas, who was then the head coach of the Letran Knights, college basketball team of the Colegio de San Juan de Letran-Manila. The team led by the duo became noted for being a strong and solid team. A lot of trophies and recognition serve as proof. Not to mention the key players they have produced who are now already a part of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), the country's premier basketball league. He also served as the assistant coach for the Philippine Basketball League's Toyota Otis team alongside his brother, coach Louie.
In 2005, coach Mel was once again welcomed by his alma mater, the Adamson University, as the college team's head coach. After being the Falcons' head coach, he became one of the sought after coaches in the country. He was also able to handle the basketball teams of the First Asia Institute of Humanities and Technology (FAITH), PATTS College of Aeronautics, and St. Jude's College. Aside from his innate skills, he also obtained additional knowledge and skills by attending basketball seminars and camps. To mention some, he attended the ones held in Mandaluyong City Philippines in 2002, which was conducted by the legendary Tex Winter, innovator of the triangle offense, the ones in St. Peter's College in New Jersey and St. John's University in New York City, both in the United States in 2005. He also attended coach Eric Spoelstra's (NBA - Miami Heat's head coach) basketball clinics back in 2009 and 2011.
At present, he is the head coach of two Batangas based teams, the high school team of St.Theresa's College and the college team of the University of Batangas - the UB Brahmans. Since he started coaching the UB Brahmans in 2011, the team has already bagged a total of seventeen (17) championships,including the national Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) in 2013, two (2) runner up spots, and they were thrice included in the "sweet 16" (top 16) list of teams out of the more than three hundred (300) schools who battled for the trophy of the Philippine Collegiate Champion's League (PCCL). The UB Brahmans became a perennial team in South Luzon since Mel Alas coached them. They became the team the others feared, they became impregnable.
Now in his mid-40's, there's no slowing down for coach Mel Alas. He is still out there, bringing out the best in the teams and individuals he is working with and will be working with in the near future. Basketball and mentoring is his true passion.