KAI Sotto is expected to arrive in the Philippines by early next week.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) special assistant to the president Ryan Gregorio revealed to online show The Chasedown the timetable the federation is working on in relation to the arrival of the 7-foot-3 center.
"There's a strong marching order from our president Al Panlilio to get him over here and there's just so many moving parts, and it's bit of a challenge for us," he said on Saturday.
Difficult as the endeavor was, Gregorio noted that Sotto and his camp have cleared every hurdle in bringing the Filipino wunderkind home and allow him to practice with the current national team pool in time for the third window of the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers in Doha.
"Merong US protocols and Philippine protocols na kailangang intindihin, but sa management team ni Kai, we've gotten a very good response from East West Private led by Ms. Chao Espaldon," he said.
"It's taking longer than expected because of the pandemic and we're supposed to be cautious, but hopefully by early next week, we'll see Kai in the Philippines."
It may be such a short time, especially with Gilas expected to leave for Qatar five days before the competition proper, but Gregorio assured that the SBP won't be taking "any shortcuts" when it comes to Sotto following the quarantine guidelines.
"Kailangang umabot siya, but we're strictly going to follow the guidelines from the government," he said. "Ang importante dito, as soon as possible we can get him in the Philippines and we'll see it from there."
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