Hello Ballers, it’s good to have you back! Ain’t it too quiet for Kai Sotto these past few months? Well, our boy just won against the South Korea’s Basketball Team in the FIBA Asia Cup. Stay tuned for some new and improved skills of Kai Sotto.
Kai Sotto, a Filipino teen basketball star has returned home in a bid to help Gilas Pilipinas who’s preparing for a series of major competitions beginning this month. Given the necessary quarantine procedures he must pass when he arrives, his immediate availability for the Nationals in time for their first order of business in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in Clark is still up in the air. Sotto has finished quarantine as early as the second week of June, only days before the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers’ third window, which runs from June 16 to 20. Gilas played against South Korea on June 16 and Indonesia on June 19 in a bid to qualify for the FIBA Asia Cup. On June 20, the Filipinos will face the Koreans once again. Sotto is anticipated to be ready for the FIBA OQT on June 29-July 4 in Belgrade, Serbia, and the FIBA Asia Cup tournament in August in Jakarta, as per his promise.
Where to watch
Ballers, catch the Gilas Pilipinas’ games in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers on free-to-air television or online!
The Philippines’ games will be aired live on TV5, with a repeat airing the next day on One Sports.
Cignal Play’s website (cignalplay.com) and app (which can be downloaded from the Apple Store or Google Play Store) are where fans may watch the games online. Meanwhile, Smart users on the move may watch Gilas matches on gigafest.smart using their phones. Users must access the website with their mobile data turned on. For highlights, you can easily access youtube.com.
Kai’s Performance
According to the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), Kai Sotto has been added to Gilas Pilipinas’ 12-man roster that happened on Wednesday’s match against South Korea. Sotto joined a frontcourt that included Ange Kouame, a naturalized center, and Isaac Go, the team’s new captain.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas revealed on Tuesday that Sotto was one of the 12 players who made the final cut for Gilas Pilipinas, a day before the national team takes part in the third window of the Fiba Asia Cup qualifications (ACQ) in Clark Freeport in Pampanga.
“Naturally, we were worried about how much of that will stay with him but the coaching staff was pleased to find out that he has great retention of information. There is a solid foundation of knowledge from his past experience with us that helped him process the new information we introduced since then.” said coach Tab Baldwin.
“I don’t find anything hard to get or learn,” the 19-year-old star said in a video interview distributed to media outlets by the Samahang Baksetbol ng Pilipinas on Monday night, just hours after his first practice session with the club.
“I think that’s one of my strengths is that I’m a fast learner and I’m very fast to adjust. It took me just a couple of days to learn all coach Tab (Baldwin’s) systems, plays, and defensive schemes, and everything,” he went on.
In Gilas Pilipinas’ thrilling 81-78 victory against South Korea to earn a place in the FIBA Asia Cup, coach Tab Baldwin complimented Kai Sotto’s effort and tenacity. Despite having to catch up after coming from the United States on May 31, the 7-foot-3 ended with 11 points, seven rebounds, and two assists in 18 minutes in his senior national team debut.
“I think what we saw from Kai is a very young player who wasn’t really well-prepared,” Baldwin admitted during the virtual postgame press conference with the Manila Bulletin.
“But what a heart he has. First couple of times he tried to score but he was very disrupted with the physicality of Ratcliffe and what you saw was him making an adjustment. He started to deliver back, dish back physicality.
“But most importantly, you just saw the determination from Kai to impact the game,” Baldwin added
Despite his performance, Baldwin recognized that Sotto still has a lot of catching up to do, but expressed optimism that the 19-year-old would be able to produce more excellent games in the future.
“You can see that he’s good for 3-4 minutes then he gets tired so I think it’s a pretty courageous effort by Kai,” he said. “But we’re gonna see a lot better basketball from him as we move forward and he’s just a very good talent.
“He’s a great, great guy to have on a team environment. He’s made himself very beloved not just to his old friends here but to everybody. And now, I think we see the kind of competitor he is because he wasn’t really ready for significant minutes in this game, but he gave us great minutes.” Baldwin said.
Gilas Pilipinas vs. South Korea
The last time the Philippines defeated Korea was in the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, when a team headed by Jimmy Alapag, Jayson Castro, and Marc Pingris led the nation to its first FIBA World Cup appearance in 36 years.
SJ Belangel was the hero as the Philippines defeated South Korea 81-78 in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers at Angeles University Gym in Clark, Pampanga, on Wednesday. With 2.5 seconds left in the final quarter, Belangel found a way to beat the buzzer with a three from the right wing, giving the Filipinos their first victory against the South Koreans since 2013.
Belangel pushed the Philippines back in front, 77-75, with a stunning basket with 48.5 seconds remaining in a close game where Gilas even trailed early. With 2.9 seconds left, Lee Junghyun knotted the game at 78 with a three-pointer, forcing Gilas head coach Tab Baldwin to utilize his last two timeouts.
“It was a great game of basketball,” said Baldwin. “I would probably characterize that game as we were shocked with the physicality that Korea gave us.”
Philippines 81 – Ramos 16, Belangel 13, Kouame 12, Sotto 11, Tamayo 10, Abarrientos 6, Baltazar 6, Go 4, Nieto 3, Navarro 0, Tungcab 0.
Korea 78 – Ra 24, Lee HJ 15, Lee SH 9, Jeon 9, Kang 7, Moon 6, Yang 4, Kim 2, Lee DS 2, Byeon 0.
Quarters: 12-21, 36-44, 56-57, 81-78.
Wow, what an improvement Kai has shown the world. Nothing can really put down the unstoppable Kai Sotto. That is all for our today’s update on Kai Sotto, Ballers! Catch you up in their next game!
