After Kai Sotto helped Gilas Pilipinas complete a home sweep of Jordan and Iran in the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, Sotto’s dream of entering the NBA remains on the table.
Head Coach Tim Cone raised the NBA question himself at the post-game podium, addressing Sotto directly.
“I still think you need to get into the league,” Cone told him.
“Find a way. I’ll talk to Miami,” as reported by ABS-CBN Sports.
Cone previously served as an assistant with the Miami Heat during the 2022 NBA Summer League.
From prodigy to journeyman
Sotto led Ateneo de Manila to a UAAP Juniors title before leaving high school early to pursue a professional basketball career in the United States.
Rather than enrolling in college, he signed with the NBA G League Ignite but never suited up for the team, choosing instead to represent the Philippines in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
He later moved to Australia’s National Basketball League, where he played for the Adelaide 36ers.
Sotto went undrafted in 2022 before earning a brief NBA Summer League stint with the Orlando Magic in 2023.
Back problems, however, cut his appearances short.
His career then took him to Japan’s B.League, where he played for the Hiroshima Dragonflies, Yokohama B-Corsairs and, most recently, the Koshigaya Alphas.
With Koshigaya, Sotto returned from an ACL tear to average 13.1 points and 9.4 rebounds last season.
He is currently a free agent and is weighing a possible return to amateur basketball through the NCAA.
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Gilas’ new centrepiece
What has changed is how indispensable Sotto has become to the national team.
Sotto was only 11 when June Mar Fajardo first joined the Gilas lineup in 2013.
Thirteen years later, he was on the court for Fajardo’s final game in national colours, not only as a teammate but as his successor at centre.
“I’m thankful to my idol, everyone’s idol, Kuya June, for his wonderful career with the national team,” Sotto said, as reported by Tiebreaker Times.
Playing without Justin Brownlee, Gilas needed overtime to beat Jordan and a big fourth quarter to put away Iran. Sotto averaged 15.5 points and 15.0 rebounds across the two games.
“Without him joining us, I don’t think we’d get these two games. I don’t think we’d even get close,” Cone said, as reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “He’s the one that takes us over the top.”
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Stark contrast between previous international window
When Sotto sat out in March, Gilas lost to both New Zealand and Australia’s B team by wide margins.
Sotto himself viewed the sweep as evidence of what the national team’s younger core, now increasingly built around him at the five, could become.
“I’m just very blessed to be part of this team and to have this young core that we have; it gives me confidence when it comes to the future,” he said, as reported by SPIN.ph.
Whether Miami or another NBA franchise eventually calls remains uncertain.
Sotto has heard encouraging words before without them translating into a roster spot.
But his value to Philippine basketball no longer hinges on that outcome. With or without the NBA, Gilas’ path forward increasingly runs through Sotto.
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