CHICAGO - After watching the Gilas Pilipinas game last Friday night, my natural instinct was to hop on my laptop and fire away with my thoughts.
But I couldn't do it. Not without murdering the keyboard.
So here I am, a day late but more sober and less heartbroken.
And I still undecided whether Gilas'demise was caused by trauma from a blunt instrument named Karl Anthony-Towns or because Jordan Clarkson got disqualified via five fouls with the game hanging on the balance.
READ: Chot explains decision to play Kai for just 73 seconds
Down 69-72 with 6:41 to go inside the unholy din of the Philippine Arena, the Dominican Republic, heavy 10.5-point favorites, was stunned and groggy, ripe for the upset.
But a pair of back-to-back 3s from Andres Feliz and Antonio Pena righted a sinking ship and turned a 3-point deficit into a 75-72 cushion.
Soon after Gilas' thin advantage eroded, so did their momentum and confidence, losing steam and their shots in an uncharacteristically frantic, haphazard ending,
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 87. PHILIPPINES 81.
Instead of painfully mulling the countless what-if scenarios that could have turned our L into a W, I'm stuck with what happened to Kai Sotto.
I was rooting for a star performance. What I saw instead was a disappointing cameo.
He entered at the 4:04 mark of the first quarter and left with 2:51 to go. Yup, he saw a mere 73 seconds of action and logged zeroes in points, rebounds and assists while going 0-for-1 from the field, an errant 3.
He also owned 2 fouls and 1 block.
Given his massive appeal in the country, the near brush with a DNP (Did Not Play) must have been a crushing blow to Kai's self esteem and self image.
Although he had no obligation to explain his decision, coach Chot Reyes tip-toed the razor's edge and risked being second-guessed by a very discerning fan base by citing two key factors that left Sotto parked in the bench.
Kai's two quick fouls and the splendid performances of bigs AJ Edu and June Mar Fajardo.
While no one could predict how long Kai was supposed to play against the Dominicans prior to tip-off, the fact that he wasn't a starter was a clue.
GRACE UNDER FIRE
By not publicly questioning his sad lack of exposure in front of a record-shattering FIBA World Cup crowd of 38,115 that included dignitaries, celebrities, his family and friends, Kai showed a professional attitude and maturity beyond his 21 years.
With NBA coaches and executives keeping close tabs, Kai not getting precious playing time in his own national team is a terrible look.
Does this hurt his chances of signing with an NBA team?
No one can know.
If I were Kai, I wouldn't lose sleep over this. As every baller knows, he is only as good as his last game.
And besides, he can only fight one cause at a time. And for now, that's Angola.
Chin up, Kai.
This FIBA fight has only just begun.
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