Kai Sotto is back in action for the Koshigaya Alphas in the Japan B.LEAGUE following ACL injury, but his return for Gilas Pilipinas will be pushed back for now.
As much as he would love to have Kai Sotto with Gilas Pilipinas this week, coach Tim Cone said they are putting premium on the star center’s long-term health.
Cone reiterated this point in Saturday’s episode of Power & Play with Noli Eala, just five days before Gilas squares off against New Zealand and Australia in the second window of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
“To be honest, as important this is — this is a home game and we would love to have Kai here to protect here — the long term viability of Kai is more important than the windows right in front of us,” said Cone.
In the same interview, the seasoned mentor said it is more crucial to have Sotto at his disposal in the next round of the qualifiers, which he said is what’s going to get them into the World Cup.
“I have complete understanding for him not joining us this time. I’m really okay with it. I just hope we can work things out and he can continue to be healthy into our next window in July.”
From a coaching standpoint, Cone said he also understood the Koshigaya Alphas’ sentiment about not releasing Sotto — if it was, indeed, the reason for him sitting out this window.
“If I was the coach of Kai in my pro team, and I had to release him to another coach which is the national team, it’s one thing if he’s playing with me all the time and I can eyeball him and I can see what he’s doing, I can make adjustments to his playing time, his practice time, I can adjust the drills to make sure he’s recovering and staying healthy from his recent comeback from the injury,” he said.
“If I can’t do that, from a coaching standpoint, I wouldn’t want to release him to another coach who I can’t guarantee will have that same attitude or same concern over him. So I completely understand if the team doesn’t want him to play.”
With Sotto out and Japeth Aguilar already retired, Cone brought in Converge star Justin Baltazar to join the 15-man pool that will protect home soil against the Tall Blacks and Australia.
Gilas takes on New Zealand first at the Mall of Asia Arena (Feb. 26), before hosting the Boomers for the first time since the infamous brawl involving the two countries in 2018.
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Like most sportswriters, Jan Ballesteros once dreamed of becoming a professional hooper. But he learned the hard way that it’s not for everyone.
He continues to be involved in the sport he loves, but this time as a member of the PBA Press Corps. Aside from primarily covering the PBA, he is also assigned to cover Gilas Pilipinas.