Gilas Pilipinas to tap Kai Sotto for FIBA Asia Cup final window, Olympic qualifiers

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) on Tuesday said Kai Sotto is included in their plans for the final window of FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers and the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

According to SBP president Al Panlilio, the 18-year-old big man is part of the list for the 20 to 25-man pool expected to enter the Gilas Pilipinas training bubble by the end of the month.

"We just have to talk to him and reach out to him again," Panlilio said in a virtual conference on Tuesday. "We have not finalized our calendar yet. Once we do, we will have to share with him what the plan is and [talk to him] on what he is doing, align that with what is ours."

"Like I said in the past, he is welcome to join us," he added.

Sotto flew to Manila before the start of the NBA G League tournament for the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers in Doha, but the event was later scrapped due to the pandemic situation in Qatar.

He later returned to the United States but did not rejoin Ignite in a mutual decision  between him and the G League team.

Aside from Sotto, Philippine Basketball Association board chairman Ricky Vargas said the SBP plans to field an all-cadet team for the said tournaments.

"The PBA will not be asked to contribute any players, other than those they have contributed already during the draft this year and the previous draft," Vargas said.

The Gilas cadets include Isaac Go, Rey Suerte, Matt and Mike Nieto, and Allyn Bulanadi, and upcoming draftees Jaydee Tungcab, Jodan Heading, Tzaddy Rangel, and Will Navarro.

According to Panlilio, the decision was made so as not to disrupt the PBA's season which is expected to start on April 11.

"If you take a look at it, if you want to start training early this month and the PBA starts the conference in April and this will go all the way to July 4 (FIBA Olympic Qualifiers), it will derail the calendar of the PBA," Panlilio said.

Aside from the nine players and Sotto, Panlilio said they are planning to include Ange Kouame, who is a candidate for naturalization, and other collegiate players for the 20-25-man training pool.

Gilas Pilipinas has been invited to play as a guest team in the upcoming PBA Philippine Cup, but the SBP president admitted that it might be difficult for Gilas to compete in the PBA given their schedule.

However, as part of their preparations for the upcoming qualifiers, they are planning to conduct a pocket tournament with two PBA teams and a foreign team, or play with other teams abroad.

"The intention of the program is to start to build up quite early, maybe starting by this month, and go off to international leagues for some competitions," Panlilio said.

The Philippines will host the final window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers in the second week of June.

Gilas will also compete in the FIBA Olympic Qualifiers in Serbia on June 29 to July 4, replacing New Zealand which withdrew from the said tournament.

—MGP, GMA News