GILAS Pilipinas is mulling the inclusion of Kai Sotto for the fourth window of the Fiba Basketball World Cup Asia qualifiers next month.
Will Kai Sotto play for Gilas in November?
Head coach Chot Reyes said the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) is reaching out to Basketball Australia in relation to the availability of Sotto for the November window.
“I know that the SBP is clearing it with Aussie basketball. We don’t know kung ano ang sagot,” said Reyes on Saturday after TNT’s win over Blackwater in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
With the original plan of players from San Miguel, TNT, and Barangay Ginebra made available for the November window, Sotto is not part of the pool as he is also playing for the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL.
However, Gilas Pilipinas recently lost six-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo for the coming window following surgery on his throat due to an inadvertent elbow by Rain or Shine import Steve Taylor Jr.
Sotto could be available for the November window as the NBL will take a break during the November window. A look at the 36ers’ schedule shows that after they will face the Perth Wildcats on November 5, they will go up against Melbourne on November 17.
Gilas Pilipinas will be playing on the road during the fourth window as it faces Jordan on November 10 and Saudi Arabia on November 13.
Regardless of the availability of Sotto, Reyes expressed confidence that the depth of the pool will make up for the absence of Fajardo. Among the bigs that are part of the pool are Japeth Aguilar and Poy Erram, and naturalized player Ange Kouame.
“That’s pretty obvious that with his absence, he [Fajardo] is physicality incapable of joining us in the window. That’s why we have a big pool. I know a lot of people are saying that we have to name already our 12, 15 players, but that’s the reason why because of these incidences.”
“We just go to the other bigs that we have in the pool. Hopefully, we can get a lot of good, quality practices,” said Reyes.
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