WITH Fil-Am NBA player Jordan Clarkson set to suit up as Gilas Pilipinas’ naturalized player in lieu of Ange Kouame, 7-foot-3 center Kai Sotto has answered the call to provide the team an added boost.
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas yesterday announced that Sotto is making his Gilas comeback after seeing action for the team in the Olympic qualifying tournament last year in Belgrade.
“We are glad to have Kai into the Gilas fold and thank him for his proactive response to the call to play for flag and country for the August qualifiers,” SBP executive director and spokesperson Sonny Barrios said in a statement.
“Kai has expressed his eagerness to join his Gilas teammates in preparing for the qualifiers and will arrive in Manila from Australia on Thursday, August 18th.”
The Filipino cagers take on Lebanon in Beirut on Aug. 26 and Saudi Arabia three days later at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Sotto joins the pool for the fourth window that includes the likes of Japan B. League standouts Dwight Ramos, Kiefer Ravena, Thirdy Ravena, and Bobby Ray Parks Jr., as well as Carl Tamayo of University of the Philippines, La Salle’s Kevin Quiambao, and Francis Lopez.
The rest of the pool will be composed of PBA players who will be named after the semifinals of the PBA Philippine Cup.
Sotto, 20, went undrafted in the NBA rookie draft last month in Brooklyn and will also return for another stint with Adelaide in the National Basketball League of Australia.
Sotto was good for 7.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 0.8 bpg for the 36ers after a botched stint with Ignite in the NBA G League.
He also had workouts with the New York Knicks and the Sacramento Kings, among other NBA teams.
The new NBL season is set to begin on October 1.
Earlier this month, Sotto’s camp also parted ways with agent Joel Bell in lieu of Wasserman, a Los Angeles-based music and sports company that handles the careers of NBA star Klay Thompson, former MVPs Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lu Dort, Domantas Sabonis, and Evan Mobley.
