Louie Alas

Louie Alas

Ateneo Blue Eagles
Position	Deputy coach
League	UAAP
Personal information
Born	(1963-10-10) October 10, 1963 (age 60) Unisan, Quezon, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino
Career information
College	Adamson University
PBA draft	1990: 3rd round, 21st overall pick
Selected by the Purefoods Hotdogs
Coaching career	1997–present
Career history
As coach:
1997–1998	Purefoods Corned Beef (assistant)
1998	Colegio de San Juan de Letran
1999	Manila Metrostars
2000	Mobiline Phone Pals (assistant)
2000–2001	Mobiline/Talk 'n Text Phone Pals
2002–2012	Colegio de San Juan de Letran
2009–2011	Philippine Patriots
2012–2017	Alaska Aces (assistant)
2017–2020	Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters
2023–present	Zamboanga Master Sardines
2024–present	Ateneo de Manila (deputy coach)
Career highlights and awards
As head coach: MBA champion (1999) 3× NCAA champion (1998, 2003, 2005) As assistant coach: 2× PBA champion (1997 All-Filipino, 2013 Commissioner's)
Medals Men's Basketball Head coach for   Philippines Southeast Asian Games 1999 Burnei team

Francisco Luis "Louie" Alas (born October 10, 1963) is a Filipino basketball head coach. He is the former head coach of the Letran Knights in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, and Philippine Patriots in the ASEAN Basketball League. He was also a former coach of Mobiline from 2000 to 2001 in the Philippine Basketball Association.

Playing career

Alas' basketball career began in Adamson University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines where he played for the school's team Adamson Falcons. In the PABL, he played for ESQ, Purefoods, Philips Sardines and Burger Machine.

He also used to work in the Philippine Sports Commission.

Coaching career

His first coaching job was with the Saint Francis of Assisi Baby Doves in Las Piñas. Afterwards, he moved to Las Piñas College. For a time, Alas used to be an assistant coach in Adamson University.

Professional

He had started as an assistant coach for Purefoods Corned Beef Cowboys under Eric Altamirano from 1997 to 1998. Later on, he transferred to the now-defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association.

Alas was supposed to handle another MBA team, the Batangas Blades when the PBA's Mobiline Phone Pals gave him an offer a chance to coach, and immediately took it. ^[1] Prior to this, Mobiline was struggling under Eric Altamirano who have been fired together with the whole coaching staff. ^[2] While in the PBA, he led the Phone Pals to its best record in the elimination phase of the Governor's Cup in 2000 and 2001 but all ended up losing in the semis. The Pop Cola Panthers was the first PBA team to offer him a coaching job but decided to stick with the Metrostars.

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. 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. On December 3, 2001, Mobiline announced that Alas had stepped down as the team's head coach.

Alas was replaced by American Bill Bayno who immediately received heavy criticism from the nationalist Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines due to his nationality.

NCAA and PBL

In 1998, Alas barged into NCAA territory with Letran. He immediately captured that year's championship trophy by sweeping the San Sebastian Stags in a best-of-three series.

In 2003, his Letran Knights will face the Stags again in the finals and once again he prevailed thanks to the heroics of Boyet Bautista, Aaron Aban and Jonathan Pinera. Right after the title win, the Knights joined the Philippine Basketball League 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. In the 2006 PBL Unity Cup, he led Toyota to its first finals appearance only to lose to the Harbour Centre Portmasters in the pivotal fifth game in their best-of-5 series.

In 2005, he gave Letran its 16th NCAA Championship by beating the PCU Dolphins 2–1 in their epic championship series despite being down 0–1. They also ended the eliminations with a 13–1 win–loss card which is their best record since 1950.

In 2007, he suffered his very first NCAA championship loss in the hands of the San Beda Red Lions who swept them in two games. during the championship series, basketball analysts were very aware of his coaching mystique that some believed he can pull off an upset against the mighty Red Lions.

In 2012, at his last year at Letran, he led the team with a finals appearance, but lost again to Red Lions, this time coached by Ronnie Magsanoc. ^[3]

His stint with Letran has a total of three championships. ^[4]

Philippine youth and senior national team

He made his coaching debut in the national team by assisting San Beda College High School coach Ato Badolato in the SEABA Jrs in 1996. The team was led by Ren-Ren Ritualo and Aries Dimaunahan. A year later, he was named coach of the youth team and formed a formidable lineup composed of future basketball stars like Kerby Raymundo, Enrico Villanueva, Cyrus Baguio, Yancy de Ocampo and others. The team won the SEABA Championship and placed third in the ABC Juniors Championship.

After his stint with the youth, he was tasked to coach the Philippines in the 1999 Southeast Asian Games in Brunei. Majority of his players were from his MBA team, the Manila Metrostars because prior to the competition, the Metrostars were the top-seeded team in that season. He led the Philippines to a gold medal by sweeping the whole tournament and beating Thailand in the Gold Medal Match.

In December 2007, he helped the Philippines win another gold medal in the 2007 Southeast Asian Games in Ratchaburi, Thailand. This time though, he was an assistant coach to Junel Baculi.

Return to Pros

Asssitant for Alaska Aces

Alas became an assistant for Alaska Aces under Luigi Trillo. The team won the 2013 Commssioner's Cup title. After winning the title, he was rumored to coach Ginebra, the team they defeated to clinch the title. ^[5] He stayed with the Aces until 2017. ^[6]

Phoenix Fuel

He was hired as head coach of Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters in 2017. ^[6] He led the team into a semi-finals appearance. He was fired by the team in 2020. ^{[7] [8]}

Zamboanga Valientes

Alas was hired as head coach of Zamboanga Valientes in the MPBL. ^[9]

Return to Collegiate ranks

La Salle shortlist

After Phoenix stint, Alas was rumored to be the head coach of De La Salle Green Archers in 2023. But did not come to fruition. ^[10]

Assistant at Ateneo

In 2024, Alas was hired as a deputy coach (Associate HC) for the Ateneo Blue Eagles under Tab Baldwin. ^[4]

Personal life

Alas hails from the fishing town of Unisan, Quezon, and is the seventh of eight children. His younger brother Carmelo is one of his assistant coaches in Letran and Phoenix Fuel Masters.

He is married to Liza Alas (née Platón), a hotel manager and has four sons: Kristoffer Louie, Kevin, Kenneth, and Kieffer, all of whom are inclined towards basketball. Kenneth is currently enrolled in Far Eastern University while Kristoffer and Kevin formerly played for the Letran Knights. Kevin is currently signed to the Philippine Basketball Association's NLEX Road Warriors.

Historian Pepe Alas is a nephew of his, a son of his elder brother Josefino.

Coaching profile

He is known to nicknames such as "Coach A" or "The Ace Coach". He has a reputation of being a very good motivator and a certified winner. So far he has tallied a total of 220 wins and 120 losses with a .647 winning percentage.

Some of his coaching idols are Larry Brown, Phil Jackson, Dean Smith, John Wooden, and Mike Krzyzewski.

He also has the ability to transform a weak team to a championship contender and turning unknown or under the radar players into stars. His players from Letran that went up to the pros are the best example of that. In 2007, his Letran team, despite undergoing a three-year rebuilding stage, surprisingly made it to the finals only to lose to the San Beda Red Lions, but the team were adored by showing their winning attitude despite being a rebuilding team. He only missed the NCAA Final Four twice (2002 and 2010).

As a coach, he specializes on defense which is the important key in winning a championship. He became the first non-Letran graduate coach in school history to give Letran at least 3 championships (1998, 2003, and 2005) and 10 Final Four appearances.

Coaching record

Collegiate record

Season	Team	Eliminations					Playoffs
		G	W	L	PCT	Finish	PG	W	L	PCT	Results
Letran Knights (NCAA)
1998	CSJL	14	12	2	.857	1st	3	3	0	1.000	Won NCAA championship
2002	CSJL	14	7	7	.500	6th	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
2003	CSJL	14	9	5	.643	1st	4	3	1	.750	Won NCAA championship
2004	CSJL	14	9	5	.643	3rd	2	1	1	.500	Lost in the semifinals
2005	CSJL	14	13	1	.929	1st	4	3	1	.750	Won NCAA championship
2006	CSJL	14	10	4	.714	3rd	2	0	2	.000	Lost in the semifinals
2007	CSJL	12	9	3	.750	2nd	3	1	2	.333	Lost in the finals
2008	CSJL	14	9	5	.643	3rd	3	1	2	.333	Lost in the semifinals
2009	CSJL	18	12	6	.667	4th	1	0	1	.000	Lost in the semifinals
2010	CSJL	16	7	9	.438	5th	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
2011	CSJL	18	14	4	.778	3rd	2	1	1	.500	Lost in the semifinals
2012	CSJL	18	12	6	.667	3rd	5	3	2	.600	Lost in the finals
Totals		180	123	57	.683	Playoff Totals	29	16	13	.558	3 championships

ABL

Season	Team	GP	W	L	PCT	Finish	PG	W	L	P-PCT	Results
2009–10	Air Asia PHI	13	10	3	.733	1st	5	5	0	1.000	Won ABL championship
2010–11	Air Asia PHI	15	9	6	.600	2nd	4	2	2	.500	Lost in the finals
	Totals	28	19	9	.679	Playoff totals	9	7	2	.778	1 championship

PBA

Season	Conference	Team	GP	W	L	PCT	Finish	PG	W	L	P-PCT	Results
2000	Commissioner's Cup	Mobiline	9	4	5	.444	6th	1	0	1	.000	Lost in the quarterfinals
	Governors' Cup		9	7	2	.778	1st	6	2	4	.333	Lost in the semifinals
2001	All-Filipino Cup	Talk 'N Text	14	6	8	.429	8th	2	1	1	.500	Lost in the quarterfinals
	Commissioner's Cup		9	3	6	.333	8th	1	0	1	.000	Lost in the quarterfinals
	Governors' Cup		13	7	6	.538	5th	1	0	1	.000	Lost in the quarterfinals
2017–18	Philippine Cup	Phoenix	11	5	6	.455	9th	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
	Commissioner's Cup		11	4	7	.364	10th	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
	Governors' Cup		11	8	3	.727	1st	0	0	2	.000	Lost in the quarterfinals
2019	Philippine Cup	Phoenix Pulse	11	9	2	.818	1st	6	2	4	.333	Lost in the semifinals
	Commissioner's Cup		11	4	7	.364	10th	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
	Governors' Cup		11	3	8	.273	11th	—	—	—	—	Missed playoffs
Career total			120	60	60	.500	Playoff total	17	5	14	.263	0 PBA championships

References

1. "Mobiline offers Alas P10-M pact". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
2. Beltran, Joey Villar, Nelson. "Alas: I have to give up RP team stint to coach Mobiline". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
3. Sacamos, Karlo (October 26, 2012). "Ruthless defense helps Red Lions wrap up record 17th title". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
4. Garcia, John Mark (February 27, 2024). "Louie Alas joins Tab Baldwin's staff at Ateneo as deputy coach". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
5. Badua, Snow (June 24, 2013). "Ace up Ginebra's sleeve? Alaska's Alas offered coaching job by rival SMC group". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
6. Beltran, Nelson (October 26, 2017). "Alas replaces Vanguardia as Phoenix coach". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
7. Leyba, Olmin (September 12, 2020). "Phoenix fires Alas, appoints Topex interim coach". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
8. Villanueva, Eros (2020-09-12). "Phoenix lets go of Louie Alas, Topex Robinson named interim coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
9. Times, Tiebreaker (2023-08-06). "MPBL: Zamboanga weathers San Juan storm, gifts Louie Alas winning debut". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
10. Ramos, Gerry (January 13, 2023). "Louie Alas latest name on list of La Salle coaching candidates". Spin.ph. Retrieved 2024-08-24.

Preceded by Mollet Pineda	Letran Knights head coach 1998	Succeeded by Binky Favis
Preceded by Ricky Dandan	Manila Metrostars head coach 1999	Succeeded by Boysie Zamar
Preceded by Eric Altamirano	Mobiline Phone Pals head coach 2000–2001	Succeeded by Bill Bayno
Preceded by Binky Favis	Letran Knights head coach 2002–2012	Succeeded by Caloy Garcia
Preceded by Bogs Adornado (interim)	AirAsia Philippine Patriots head coach 2009–2011	Succeeded by Glenn Capacio
Preceded by Ariel Vanguardia	Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters head coach 2017–2019	Succeeded by Topex Robinson