What the fans have dubbed as the ‘future of Philippine basketball’ will finally come to light as 7-foot-1 Kai Sotto and 6-foot-10 AJ Edu will headline the Batang Gilas squad that will compete in the 2018 FIBA Under-18 Asian Championship.
The best Under-16 center in Asia, together with some of the players in the U18 lineup, are coming off the 2018 FIBA Under-17 World Cup last July. Though they finished just 13th in the 16-nation meet, the reigning UAAP Juniors Basketball Most Valuable Player believes that the experiences they gained here will help them in this new battle.
“Yung experience namin lalo na sa FIBA U-17 World Cup, ang taas ng confidence namin. Maiisip mo na kung kaya naming gawin sa world-class teams, world-class players, mas kaya ko itong gawin sa Pilipinas, kaya ko ring gawin ito sa FIBA Asia,” shared Sotto, who averaged 16.8 points, 13.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game during the tournament. “Yung experience na madadala namin dahil sa Worlds, yung mga natutunan namin doon, dapat naming dalhin sa FIBA Asia para mas gumanda pa ang laro namin.
“Buti na lang kasama ko sila Geo [Chiu], Raven [Cortez], at Gerry [Abadiano], sana si Carl [Tamayo] din kaso na-injure siya, sayang. Kahit sino mang teammate ko sa FIBA World na makasali dito, malaking bagay yun para sa akin kasi yung bonding namin as a team, malaking bagay.”
Sotto knows how important building a relationship is with his teammates, as it results in better chemistry on the court.
That is why the 16-year-old Blue Eaglet is starting to form a relationship with Edu.
“Kilala ko na si AJ two years ago sa Ateneo dahil naki-practice siya. Maayos naman si AJ kasama, magaan siya kasama off the court at sa loob din,” expressed the second-generation cager.
“Yung samahan namin, hopefully, mas umayos pa dahil tutal kami rin ang magsasabay sa court. Malaking tulong yung kung mas gumanda pa ang relationship namin. ‘Pag nabuo namin yun, ikakalat namin sa iba hanggang sa lahat magsama-sama.”
For his part, Sotto is willing to adjust to his teammates’ needs as they try to end the Philippines’ 40-year drought of not entering the U-19 World Cup.
“Sabi ni daddy [Ervin Sotto], yung magagaling na players yung magagaling mag-adjust. Yung mga makakalaban namin is older and sa tingin ko dahil sa pinakita ko sa U-16 at sa Worlds, sa tingin ko mas madikit at mas madiin sila sa akin kaya hahanap ako ng paraan para matulungan ko na kahit ‘di man ako maka-score, makatulong ako,” stressed Sotto.
“Maraming parte sa basketball na kaya kong gawin kahit hindi ako maka-score.”
