THE PBA’s winningest coach is convinced Kai Sotto has what it takes.
In fact, Gilas Pilipinas and Ginebra strategist Tim Cone has no doubt the 7-foot-3 center can dominate Asia.

“He is going to absolutely dominate Asia. I’ve always felt that,” Cone said after the Nationals dismantled Chinese Taipei 106-53 last Sunday night in Group B play of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers. “If you get him into the right spots, he can absolutely dominate Asia.
“For him, the next spot is to get up to the European level and the NBA level and we are hoping that we can help him get into that level,” he added.
Sotto, who went undrafted in the NBA Draft two years ago, notched 13 points on top of 12 rebounds in Gilas’ 94-64 whipping of Hong Kong last week. He followed it up with 18 markers and 10 boards against Chinese Taipei.
“I think confidence comes from preparation and I think we prepared really well. When we got to Inspire, we went to training camp. We trained twice a day, it was tough, it was tiring, but we learned so much. So as coach said, it showed today (Sunday),” Sotto said.
“If you’re asking about confidence, it’s just confidence that we all worked together, we all got better together and I got my brothers behind me to lift me, and I’m gonna do the same thing to them. It’s just contagious, it’s a good team environment and I’m happy with the result.”
The Philippine five now train its sights on the Olympic qualifying tournament in July in Latvia where Cone’s charges face a tall task in their bid to gain a slot to the Paris Olympics.
The second round of the qualifiers is set for Nov. 21 and Nov. 24.
Sotto, 21, is expected to play a big part in Gilas’ future stints overseas.
This early, Cone is bracing for the possibility of not having Sotto around.
For good reason.
“There may be a time when we might lose Kai,” he said. “He may not be able to join windows because he might be in the NBA and we will be very, very proud of that.”