Kai Sotto impressive in brief Gilas camp stint — Tab Baldwin

Kai Sotto’s recent trip to the Philippines may have been short, but it was enough to impress some key basketball officials, particularly, Gilas Pilipinas program director Tab Baldwin.

Baldwin shared his thoughts about the teen sensation and his brief appearance in a Gilas camp last February over a Zoom interview with GMA News Online last Wednesday.

"I was very impressed with Kai and I was very impressed with the development that he's made," Baldwin said.

"I know he acknowledges that there is still a lot more to do, and his aspirations being in the NBA is as high as you can get, so there’s a lot more work to do. But he seems very committed to doing it," he added.

Sotto arrived in Manila last February to join Gilas’ preparations for the supposed final window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in Doha, Qatar.

But due to quarantine restrictions and an untimely cancellation of the window, Baldwin admitted that they only really got to see "a taste" of Sotto on the basketball floor.

From the little he was able to see, though, Baldwin feels Sotto could be a great fit for the future of the Gilas program, even side by side with naturalization candidate Ange Kouame.

"I think you'll see that both of them, in the coming years, will be able to play both inside and out. It's going to, I think, create some interesting problems for our future opponents and it's gonna create a lot of enjoyment for our other Filipino players that play alongside these guys that have this versatility," he said.

Baldwin also shared that with the 7-foot-3 Sotto present in the bubble, the 6-foot-10 Kouame showed signs of being more competitive and motivated.

Aside from Sotto's skills, Baldwin also observed that the 18-year-old big man was happy to be reunited with faces familiar to him.

"He looked very happy out there with his old teammates, old friends from high school basketball and age group teams," Baldwin shared. "It was really positive and reassuring to see that."

The Gilas program director expressed hope that circumstances will allow Sotto to join the national team in its upcoming tournaments.

"We’re hopeful that travel restrictions will allow. We’re hopeful that Kai’s plans for his development in the States will allow. But we know that he has a desire to be here. We know the team really wants him to be here."

Sotto’s participation in the camp was cut short a few days after his arrival, when the cancellation of the FIBA event prompted Sotto return to the United States to rejoin his NBA G League Team, Ignite.

However, Sotto and Ignite would later mutually decide that it was best for the player not to return to the squad.

Sotto is still expected to be a part of the national team that will compete in the final window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers and the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament, both scheduled in June.