THE decisions of Kai Sotto and Thirdy Ravena to bring their acts overseas would only serve their careers in good stead.
That’s according to Serbian coach Rajko Toroman, who lauded the two Filipino cagers’ moves.
“In my opinion, it was a great move. I think that the G League is too strong at this moment for Kai Sotto. He’s not athletic enough for the G League,” Toroman, a former Gilas Pilipinas tactician who now calls the shots for Indonesia, said last Saturday on Radyo5 92.3 News FM’s Power and Play program hosted by former PBA commissioner Noli Eala.
“I was watching a lot of games looking for the players, that is a league of the small players.
You know because everybody is looking for an NBA contract and they don’t give the ball to the big guy too much,” he added.
After a botched stint with Ignite in the NBA G-League, the 7-foot-3 Sotto signed a multi-year contract with Adelaide in the National Basketball League of Australia.
“The Australian league is a great league. That’s a very strong league, with excellent domestic players, and very strong, very good big guys,” Toroman said.
“I think that was the best move, at this moment, for Kai Sotto, you know, to try to find the confidence in this kind of league.”
Sotto, 19, is bidding to become the first homegrown Filipino to gain NBA foothold.
A veteran strategist who led Iran to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Toroman also maintained that suiting up in Japan will only make Ravena a better player and ready for Gilas.
“They’re playing in a strong league. Thirdy, I have to say, he has a Serbian coach and Serbian players who are playing with him. This season was not so great, but Thirdy was hurt and it’s a part of the season. But he’s an extremely athletic player, and these experiences in Japan will help him go to the next level and help with the national team,” he said.
“Even in the first window, he was the best player for the national team against us, 23 points, something like that. That’s the best for him.”
Despite a seemingly underwhelming first season as an import, the 6-foot-2 Ravena last week signed a multi-year extension with San-En NeoPhoenix in the B. League.
