By JONAS TERRADO
Gilas Pilipinas ruled out Kai Sotto’s inclusion in next month’s Southeast Asian Games, but is hopeful that he can don the national colors in at least one of the tournaments lined up in the coming months.
Team manager Butch Antonio said there are no plans to make last-minute changes to include the 7-foot-3 cager who was coming off a stint with the Adelaide 36ers of Australia’s National Basketball League.
But Antonio added that Gilas has plans to have Sotto rejoin the team in the lead-up to the country’s hosting of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
“There have not been any talks,” Antonio said during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum. “As far as the SEA Games is concerned, no. If he’s part of the big picture? Yes, he is.”
After the biennial meet in Hanoi, Vietnam, Gilas is slated to play in New Zealand in late-June for the resumption of the World Cup Qualifiers followed by the FIBA Asia Cup in Indonesia in July and the Asian Games in Hangzhou, China in September.
Antonio said that Gilas management will talk to Sotto’s representatives to check if he is available.
“We have to talk to his handlers. Depende pa kung ano ang commitments ni Kai, but they know naman,” he said. “They know that we are interested and we will be working with their schedules.
“Scheduling-permitting, (we hope) one of these or a couple of tournaments na nakalayout, hopefully makasama namin siya.”
Sotto last played for the Philippines in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, Serbia in July 2021, which saw Gilas losing all two games despite a valiant effort against the host country and the Dominican Republic.
