Kai Sotto is yet to decide whether he will join Gilas Pilipinas in their pocket tournament in China, in preparation for the upcoming FIBA World Cup.
The pocket tournament is scheduled for August 2 to 6, and the Philippine team is expected to fly to China on Tuesday.
“Hindi pa sure. Siguro bukas after practice,” said Sotto during an ambush interview on Sunday afternoon during the battle for bronze clash between F2 Logistics and Cignal in the Premier Volleyball League at Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Gilas will face Iran, Lebanon, and Senegal in the tournament.
Sotto has yet to join the Gilas practices at Meralco Gym, but he bared that he will be there tomorrow.
“Bukas, may training bukas. Doon na lang ako bukas,” he said.
Sotto said he has yet to join the team as he wants to fully heal first from his back injury that stemmed from the grind he had last year.
The 7-foot-3 big man played for Adelaide in NBL-Australia, Hiroshima in the B.League, and Orlando in the NBA Summer League while also coming back home for a FIBA window.
Sotto’s camp had asked the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas to give their client a quick break to recover from the back stress injury he has been nursing.
The Philippines’ campaign on the grandest stage will start on August 25 against Angola.
“Always excited. Ako naman hinihintay ko lang naman talaga magheal yung likod ko dahil gusto ko 100 percent ako pagdating ng mga games,” said Sotto.
“Sabi yun nga hinihintay ko lang talaga, nagrerehab ako and everything so sana pagdating ng World Cup okay na ako, 100 percent na ako.”
Head coach Chot Reyes said on CNN Sportsdesk on Thursday that Sotto, despite being the country’s best hope of having a full-blooded Filipino NBA player in recent years, is still not a shoo-in for Gilas’ final lineup.
The veteran tactician also said that Sotto needs to practice and earn his minutes – something he’s longed for throughout his international career.
“[I] think he will need more time with us, especially in the strength and conditioning part. If he wants to be a big part of the team, he has to come in as soon as possible. We are planning to play him a lot in the China pocket tournament, but he has to earn those minutes. If he is not in practice, he might not even play in China,” said Reyes back on Thursday.
“Sayang naman. The entire saga of Kai Sotto is about the lack of playing time. He has always been sitting. He sat in Australia, and he is not even getting much playing time in Japan. He didn’t get much playing time in the Summer League. This is his opportunity to get major minutes,” he added.
Sotto said his last conversation with Reyes happened the day before the latter’s interview.
“Last communication namin yun nga mag practice ako even though may iniinda pa rin ako sa likod, at least I’ll still be there na gawin kung ano yung makakaya ko,” said Sotto, who was with Gilas during their tuneup against Ateneo last July 19.
“The day after may sinabi siyang iba pero ewan ko, hindi ko na alam sa kanya.”
Despite the frosty relationship he has now with Reyes, the 21-year-old second-generation cager who plays for Hiroshima said that he still remains in touch with his Gilas peers.
“Yung teammates ko close ako sa lahat ng mga yun, okay ako doon.”
