Kai Sotto joins Gilas in Clark but playing status remains uncertain

The decision on whether Kai Sotto will suit up for Gilas Pilipinas in the third and final window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers next week will be made in the coming days.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) special assistant to the president Ryan Gregorio revealed that the 7-foot-3 wunderkind has joined the nationals in checking in at the Quest Hotel on Sunday in preparation for the competition.

His inclusion, however, is still up in the air as the federation has to first evaluate if he's already in good enough condition before joining the Filipinos against South Korea and Indonesia.

"We all know that Kai Sotto arrived 14 days ago and he tested negative (for COVID-19) so that's great news for us," Gregorio said in a press conference Sunday.

"(But) he will still be evaluated in terms of his match fitness, it's part of my discussion with coach Tab (Baldwin)."

Sotto could be a major boost to an already-depleted Gilas pool.

The recent signee of the Adelaide 36ers in the National Basketball League, although he has not seen action competitively, could help the team with his height and experience.

Gregorio admitted that Sotto still needs to train with the team for a number of days so as to build chemistry between him and other Gilas members.

“We want to make sure that we’ll not compromise his health and we want to immerse him slowly and build chemistry with the rest of the team,” Gregorio continued.

If the 19-year-old will indeed make the cut, he would join a youthful roster bannered by Isaac Go, Dwight Ramos, and naturalized big man Angelo Kouame.

His mettle will also be tested early, though, with looming match-ups against prized big man Ricardo Ratliffe of Korea and Lester Prosper of Indonesia, both of whom are American-born naturalized players.

The Philippines currently tops the Group A with a clean 3-0 win-loss card and will face South Korea twice on June 16 and 20 while taking on Indonesia on the 19th.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News