CHICAGO - Whatever smidge of doubt was left about his commitment to the flag, Kai Sotto crushed it like a slam dunk on Friday.
The 7-foot-3 center showed up at the Moro Lorenzo gym where Gilas Pilipinas practiced and then had a scrum with the dynastic Ateneo Blue Eagles of the UAAP.
A deal for the 21-year old to play in the FIBA World Cup 2023 is being "finalized," an official with the Samahang Basketbol Ng Pilipinas (SBP) told SPIN.ph.
READ: Kai Sotto finally shows up in Gilas practice
However, this doesn't mean Kai would suit up any time soon and go Rambo on the rim.
"The doctor hasn't cleared him to play yet," an official from the player's camp told me in a telephone interview. But seeing Kai roll up in practice was a giant boost to the morale of a Gilas side that is about to intensify preparations for the global tournament.
While Sotto heals from the back spasms that hounded his stint with the Orlando Magic during the NBA's Summer League tournament in Las Vegas last week, there is cautious optimism that he can reinforce Gilas in a three-country pocket tournament to be held in China beginning on August 2.
In other words, the mind is willing, but the body is still aching for now.
Although his NBA quest is still a work in progress, Kai is already a proven commodity in the region.
He has two seasons under his belt in the ulta physical and highly-competitive NBL in Australia and is presently anchored to a two-year contract with the Hiroshima Dragonflies of the Japan B.League, a deal that has both "G League and NBA outs," his agent said.
"It's huge," Wasserman Sports said of Kai's looming participation in the World Cup.
And great for Gilas, too.
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