KAI SOTTO SET TO JOIN GILAS AT FIBA ASIA CUP

(UPDATE) AS Kai Sotto continues to recover from a recent knee surgery, Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone expects the 7-foot-3 young big man to join the national squad when they travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 set to start on Aug. 5.

Sotto is still recovering from a surgery after tearing his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in January in a Japan B.League game while playing for the Koshigaya Alphas.

Still, Cone said he'll be happy to see the left-handed Filipino slotman join Gilas and serve as their cheerleader on the bench.

"Right now Kai is scheduled to go to Jeddah with us as cheerleader. He wants to support the team... (But) he's not ready to play," Cone said during an interview last Saturday at the Power and Play sports program of former PBA commissioner Noli Eala.

Cone disclosed that the earlier Sotto could possibly return to action is this November when Gilas begins its quest for the 2027 FIBA World Cup via the Asian Qualifiers.

"The earlier, (Sotto returns to action, and) I'm saying this lightly is November. Even then I don't think he'll be ready in November, but January or February," he said. "Fingers crossed, if everything comes perfect for him, we see him on November."

The World Cup qualifiers won't be a walk in the park for the Philippines considering that it is bunched in the same bracket with former Oceania powerhouse squads Australia and New Zealand, along with the Jericho Cruz-led Guam side for the group stage.

But before even thinking too much ahead, Gilas will have to take care of business in the Jeddah basketball tournament, without Sotto.

2025-06-23T16:16:19Z