CHICAGO - After a hospital visit and a few anxious hours, a battery of tests has revealed that Kai Sotto did not sustain a rib fracture following a collision Gilas Pilipinas' OQT game against Georgia at Riga Arena in Latvia.
The incident occurred at the 6:42 mark of the second quarter when 250-lb Goga Bitadze of Georgia fell on Sotto, who was sprawled on the floor after an initial contact from Joe Thomassen.
"X-rays were negative," a source told SPIN.ph. An abdominal ultrasound also ruled out any injuries to internal organs (liver, bladder, etc) on or around the area that bore the full brunt of Bitadze's weight.
COLUMN: A big Kai of relief for Gilas Pilipinas
Hours after the hospital visit, the towering center is said to be free of discomfort when moving.
As part of his treatment plan, Sotto will be required to wear a Locoa patch and a protective compression wear that ideally has hex foam pads.
After notching 18 points and 8 rebounds in the 89-80 victory over Latvia last Wednesday, Kai's injury scare limited him to 11 minutes and 49 seconds of play where he managed 4 points and 2 blocks.
Sotto's availability against Brazil in the semifinals this Saturday remains unclear but the 7-foot-3 center's camp told SPIN.ph that they are "highly optimistic" that he will play.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
