WILL Kai Sotto make his maiden stint with Gilas Pilipinas on home soil?
Everybody wants that to happen but the prospects remain uncertain.
The 7-foot-3 big man was expected to arrive back in the country last night to beef up the all-amateur Philippine five set to do battle in the third window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
But Sotto must undergo the mandatory 10-day quarantine, meaning the earliest he can clear protocols will be on June 11.
The final window of the qualifiers is set from June 16 to 20 in a bubble in Clark, making it also unlikely for the former Gilas Youth standout to join the nationals who are toughening up at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna
Sotto, 19, signed a multi-year contract with Adelaide in the National Basketball League of Australia last April.
Bidding to become the first homegrown Filipino to gain NBA foothold, Sotto was supposed to suit up for Ignite in the NBA G League but opted to return to the country and suit up for Gilas in the third window last February in Clark that was eventually called off.
Leading the 20-man pool are naturalized player Ange Kouame and Dwight Ramos, 2019 Gilas special draftees Isaac Go, Rey Suerte, twins Matt and Mike Nieto, and Jordan Heading, William Navarro, Tzaddy Rangel, and Jaydee Tungcab, who were also tabbed in the Gilas draft last March.
Completing the pool are Justine Baltazar of La Salle, University of the Philippines’ Javi Gomez de Liaño and Carl Tamayo, Kemark Cariño of San Beda University, Far Eastern University’s RJ Abarrientos, and the Blue Eagles’ Dave Ildefonso, Lebron Lopez, SJ Belangel, Jason Credo, and Geo Chiu.
Gilas will also try to clinch a Tokyo Games slot in the Olympic qualifying tournament from June 29 to July 4 in Belgrade, Serbia.
The Filipinos will square off with rival South Korea on June 16, a reset of their initial match that was postponed in the second window last November in Manama.
Gilas will also tangle with Indonesia on June 19 and Korea anew on June 20, needing just a win to clinch a berth in the FIBA Asia Cup from Aug. 16 to 28 in Indonesia.