Young gun Kieffer Alas will headline Gilas Pilipinas Boys who will face elite teams in the 2024 FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup in Istanbul, Turkey starting June 29.

Alas, brother of Kevin and son of coach Louie, spearheads the Nationals in the seventh edition of the global meet which has seen the early careers of some NBA stars, including Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics, Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets, Rui Hachimura of Japan, and Australians Dante Exum and Ben Simmons.

For Gilas Boys head coach Josh Reyes, the challenge is tougher than ever but he vowed to do their best and show the Filipinos’ indomitable spirit.

“We want to prepare to the best of our ability. The ultimate goal, no matter what the situation, is to play basketball the right way,” Reyes said in Tuesday’s PSA Forum presented by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, MILO, Smart/PLDT and the 24/7 sports app in the country ArenaPlus.

“That’s the reason why we do this and why they play to go against the best. We don’t have delusions that it’s going to be easy,” he added. “Because we want to put our best foot forward as much as possible.”

Other members of the team are Paul Diao, Irus Chua, Noah Banal, Elijah Williams, Joaquin Ludovice, Kurt Velasquez, Sam Alegre, Cletz David Amos, Edryn Morales, Bonn Daja and Jaime Gomez de Liano.

Ranked No. 25, the Philippines is in Group A and will face Spain (2nd) on June 29; Lithuania (7th) on June 30; and Puerto Rico (15th) on July 2.

“We plan to upset them, gusto naming patunayan na hindi lang kami pang-Asia. We can put on a better showing if we play together and play the right way,” Alas stressed.

Meanwhile, world No. 1 USA, the six-time champion since 2010, is in Group B along with France (3rd), China (24th) and Guinea (26th). Group C is made up of host Turkey (6th), Italy (8th), Argentina (16th) and New Zealand (27th).

Group D on the other hand, includes Australia (4th), Canada (9th), Germany (10th) and Egypt (23rd).