Not even a torn ACL can stop Kai Sotto’s commitment to deal with some unfinished business with the Koshigaya Alphas in the Japan B.League.
Kai Sotto is staying put in the Land of the Rising Sun.
The 7-foot-3 Filipino big man is running it back with the Koshigaya Alphas, signing with the team for the 2025–26 Japan B.League season despite suffering a gruesome ACL injury that ended his campaign prematurely.
“I'm coming back,” Sotto wrote in a social media post on Friday, May 16.
Sotto’s promising first season with the Alphas was cut short after going down with a season-ending injury during Koshigaya’s narrow 79-77 loss to the SeaHorses Mikawa last January 5.
[ALSO READ: Gilas Pilipinas’ Kai Sotto shares update on recovery from ACL injury]
Up to that point, he had been a consistent force for the team, averaging 13.8 points and 9.5 rebounds over 26 games — including 12 double-doubles — in what was shaping up to be a breakout year.
The injury not only derailed his B.League stint, but also forced Sotto to sit out for Gilas Pilipinas during the final window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.
The Philippines went on to drop their last two games on the road against Chinese Taipei and New Zealand after winning the first four. Sotto is likewise expected to miss the FIBA Asia Cup itself this August in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
[ALSO READ: Kai Sotto expected to be out for nine months to a year, says Tim Cone]
Gilas Pilipinas will play in Group D of the tournament alongside New Zealand, Chinese Taipei, and Iraq.
[ALSO READ: Gilas Pilipinas drawn with New Zealand, Chinese Taipei in FIBA Asia Cup 2025]
Despite Sotto’s strong early-season showing, the Alphas failed to make the playoffs, ending with a 19-41 record — good for no. 20 in the standings.
But the Gilas big man remained grateful on how first season in Koshigaya, vowing that the injury-hit campaign “won't stop me from working.”
[ALSO READ: Injury-hit Kai Sotto stays thankful after B. League season ends — ‘It won’t stop me from working’]