KAI Sotto has been ruled out of the 2026 Japan B.League All-Star Game in Nagasaki.
The league said on Tuesday the Koshigaya Alphas' 7-foot-3 center won't be joining the Asia All-Stars team in the midseason game against a Rising Stars selection.
Sotto has been out of action since January due to an ACL injury that also kept him from suiting up with Gilas Pilipinas last year.
READ Kai Sotto inches closer to return as Alphas out to salvage season
He hoped to make it in time for the All-Star event, but the announcement is taken as a sign that the Gilas Pilipinas center's knee injury has yet to fully heal.
Still, four Pinoy imports in Dwight Ramos of the Levanga Hokkaido, AJ Edu of the Gunma Crane Thunders, Kiefer Ravena of the Yokohama B-Corsairs, and Ray Parks of the Osaka Evessa will play with their fellow Asian reinforcements from Jan. 16 to 18.
Chinese center Michael Ou has also been ruled out of the squad due to injury.
Also part of the Asia All-Stars squad are Yang Jae Min (Ibaraki Robots) and Lee Hyun Jung (Nagasaki Velca) of Korea, Omar Jamaleddine (Kawasaki Brave Thunders) and Sergio El Darwich (Sendai 89ers) of Lebanon, and Yu Ai-che (Shiga Lakes) of Chinese Taipei.
They will take on the Rising Stars team consisting of Japan's 24-under prospects, B2 Selected featuring a selection of players from the second division, and Kyushu United made up of players from the Kyushu Prefecture (Nagasaki, Saga, Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, Ryukyu).
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