Kai Sotto part of Gilas 12 in 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers

Kai Sotto part of Gilas 12 in 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers
(CNNPhilippines) Metro Manila – Kai Sotto, the 7-foot-4 basketball wunderkind, will don the national colors in the third window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers slated for June 16-20 at Clark, Pampanga.

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas released on Tuesday the 12-man Gilas Pilipinas lineup for the tournament, where the Filipinos will face rival South Korea twice on June 16 and 20, and Indonesia on June 18.

Fielded along with Sotto for the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers are newly naturalized player Angelo Kouame, Gilas Cadet veteran Justine Baltazar, and team captain Isaac Go.

Go said the upcoming qualifying tournament is a good time to test the young Gilas frontcourt, the perennial problem of the Philippines in international competitions.

“The younger generations will only gonna get taller,” Go told CNN Philippines’ Sports Desk on Monday. “So it’s a bright future for Philippine basketball.”

Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin expressed his confidence that the 19-year-old Sotto will perform well despite attending few practices with the team to complete his 14-day quarantine when he arrived from the United States.

“He did his best to stay in shape during that period but it’s a very quick turnaround. We don’t want to rush him back because, as we’ve said in the past, we cannot risk our long-term goals for short-term gains,” Baldwin said.

Manning the Gilas backcourt are youngsters RJ Abarrientos and SJ Belangel, Mike Nieto, Jaydee Tungcab, and Dwight Ramos, who had an impressive showing in the Gilas cadets’ campaign in the competition’s second window last November.

Young hooper Carl Tamayo was also added in the lineup along with veteran Gilas Cadet forwards Javi Gomez de Liano and William Navarro.

Meanwhile, SBP also released the 12-man Gilas roster for their June 18 game against Indonesia. Teenage prospects Geo Chiu and Lebron Lopez, and Filipino Australian guard Jordan Heading were inserted into the lineup in lieu of Tungcab, Nieto, and de Liano.

Gilas only needs a win to advance in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup in Indonesia this August. They currently lead Group A with an immaculate 3-0 record… Read More