Kai Sotto will not be available for Window 2 of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers, and his status for Window 3 remains uncertain.
According to reports, the 7-foot-3 big man plans to pursue his NBA dream during the B.League off-season via the Summer League. The NBA Summer League begins on July 6, while Window 3 will see Gilas head to New Zealand on July 3 and Australia on July 6.
Justin Brownlee, who once dreamed of making it to the NBA after his stint at St. John’s, said he would understand if Sotto misses the third window to continue chasing that dream.
“I think it’s pretty dope, you know what I mean? I think it’s great for the country,” Brownlee told Tiebreaker Times.
The road to the NBA, however, is a tough one.
“It’s tough, you know, that’s the best league we have in the world right now. All the best talent in the world,” said Brownlee, who had stints with G League teams Maine and Erie before deciding to pursue a professional career overseas.
“And I think just like any other profession, whether you could be a doctor or a pilot, to reach the top… It takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and unbelievable confidence in yourself to always push yourself through the bad times and things like that,” he added.
“So it’s a very tough task, but I do see some Filipinos, some up-and-coming young guys that really have the opportunity and potential to possibly make it.”
Of course, Gilas will miss Sotto and his unique skill set if he decides to skip the window. But Brownlee feels encouraged that the current generation of Gilas has plenty of big bodies, including 6-foot-10 Quentin Millora-Brown, 6-foot-10 AJ Edu, 6-foot-9 Justine Baltazar, 6-foot-8 Carl Tamayo, and the latest addition, 6-foot-8 Mike Phillips.
“Talent has always been growing here in the Philippines, and in particular now, you know, it’s the bigs — a lot of big men in the country that are really good and have potential to be great. And follow the footsteps of guys like June Mar (Fajardo) and Japeth (Aguilar), you know, some really… You know, a lot of potential — NBA size, obviously with AJ, Carl, QMB, and just everybody, all the big guys,” the three-time PBA Best Import shared.
“So they’ve been doing very well, and I can’t wait to see how they play out when they start getting in there, prime with their careers.”
Brownlee’s focus, however, is on the present. Gilas Men face two tough games at home: New Zealand on Thursday and Australia on Sunday. He hopes the Philippines can finally score an Oceania sweep.
“Australia and New Zealand are two very tough opponents. They have been, you know, doing very well and playing in every competition in FIBA, whether it’s the World Cup, Asia Cup, the Olympics, and even New Zealand as well had an opportunity to go to the Olympics, but it’s just going to be tough,” he said.
“They beat us the last couple of games or a couple of times we played them, so we just want to come in the game and just, you know, try our best and try to get the win, however we can get it.”
With reports by Icko de Guzman
