June 14 ------ The possibility of Kai Sotto suiting up for Gilas Pilipinas in the third and final window in Clark, Pampanga will be decided soon. Sotto arrived with the national team in Clark as they checked in at the Quest Hotel on Sunday, June 13. "He will still be evaluated in terms of his match fitness," said Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) special assistant to the president Ryan Gregorio of the 7-foot-3 Sotto. Sotto arrived in the Philippines last May 31 and just recently completed his mandatory quarantine. He tested negative for the coronavirus.
In terms of Sotto seeing action for the national team, Gilas Pilipinas program director Tab Baldwin previously said the 19-year-old has to train with the squad first for a significant amount of time. "[Kai] has not done a lot of basketball in the past few days and we want to immerse him slowly," said Gregorio.
At the top of Group A with a perfect 3-0 record, the Philippines will be eyeing for a tournament sweep when it tangles with South Korea twice and Indonesia once. If Sotto plays, he will go up against battled-tested big men like Ricardo Ratliffe of Korea and Lester Prosper of Indonesia.
Joining Sotto are Angelo Kouame, Dwight Ramos, Isaac Go, Javi Gomez de Liaño, Justine Baltazar, Mike Nieto, William Navarro, Jaydee Tungcab, Carl Tamayo, Jordan Heading, Lebron Lopez, RJ Abarrientos, Geo Chiu and SJ Belangel.
Source: rappler.com
From your news staff:
FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers updates:
* Veteran coach Tab Baldwin calls the shots for Gilas Pilipinas as he mentors the youthful Nationals in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers beginning Wednesday in Clark.
* Gilas Pilipinas arrived in Quest Hotel inside Clark at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 13, 2021.
* National teams of South Korea, Indonesia, China and Japan also arrived yesterday.
* Teams from Chinese Taipei, Malaysia and Thailand are expected to arrive today.
* NLEX Road Warriors guard, Jericho Cruz scored 24 points on 5-of-8 shooting from deep, along with 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals in nearly 30 minutes as Guam got their first-ever ACQ win vs Hong Kong, 103-83 at the Prince Hamza Sport Hall in Amman, Jordan Sunday night.
* Fil-Guamanians Chris Conner and Ben Borja both had nine points each as well.
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