Kai Sotto will be part of Gilas Pilipinas Men when it takes on South Korea on Wednesday at the AUF Sports & Cultural Center in Angeles, Pampanga.
The 7-foot-4 Sotto, who arrived in the country on the eve of May 31 and only got to join the team 10 days later, will be making his seniors’ team debut.
He last represented the country back in the 2019 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Greece.
Also making their Gilas debuts are Angelo Kouame, Carl Tamayo, SJ Belangel, and RJ Abarrientos.
Kouame, who stands at 6-foot-11, was granted his naturalization last month. He has been training with the national team since the build-up to the Manama window.
Tamayo and Belangel were also previously part of Gilas Youth’s last cycle while Abarrientos will make his 5-on-5 team debut after representing the country in the 2019 FIBA 3×3 Asia Cup.
Returning to the Gilas fold are Isaac Go, Dwight Ramos, Javi Gomez de Liaño, Justine Baltazar, Mike Nieto, William Navarro, and Jaydee Tungcab.
Cuts for the first game in Clark are Geo Chiu, Jordan Heading, and Lebron Lopez.
The 12 players will face South Korea that is headlined by Ra Gun-Ah.
Joining him are his Jeonju KCC Egis teammates Lee Jeonghyeon and Song Gyochang.
Completing the Koreans are Lee Hyunjung, Jeon Seonghun, Byun Junhyung, Lee Seunghyun, Lee Daesung, Kang Sangjae, Kim Nakhyun, and Yang Hongseok.
Gilas are currently 3-0 in Group A while South Korea is 2-0.
