INDIANA - Donning facial whiskers that appeared well-manicured and allowed to grow beyond a few days' stubble, the transformation from baby-faced teenager to a full-grown adult was the first to tug the attention.
A public figure since he was a kid, one that sprouted like Jack's beanstalk at an early age, Kai Sotto has grown in front of our eyes.
And fortunately for basketball-crazy Philippines, his game has also matured.
READ Tim Cone hails commitment of Kai Sotto, Gilas teammates
A step quicker now, and demonstrably bigger than years past when his skin appeared too close to the bone, the 7-foot-3 former Ateneo high school star towered above New Zealand on Thursday night and belted a dominant performance many doubted he could.
Falling just three dimes short of a triple-double, he led Gilas Pilipinas to a 93-89 triumph against the Tall Blacks as he finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and two steals.
A masterpiece that took 32 minutes and 58 seconds to carve at the Mall of Asia hardwood, it was a sizzling, mesmerizing effort that brought a country to its feet.
BUT HERE'S THE BEST PART.
"What we saw in Kai is just the tip of the iceberg. We're still waking up the Godzilla inside him," said Mel Lantin, Sotto's strength and conditioning coach for the last 15 months.
Lantin, who owns swanky Fit Twenty One in Las Pinas, explained that Kai's "speed, strength, power, reaction time, and other skills components" have yet to fully develop but that he is making enormous progress.
The more established star athletes typically go through three to five years of strength and conditioning before reaching their athletic apex. And Kai, who has gained 17.6 pounds of body mass and muscle, is working hard to arrive at that hallowed place.
Kai's vivid improvements was startling but not surprising. This was what his agent representation, Wasserman Sports, had envisioned all along, that bigs take time to develop but will eventually get there with the appropriate grind and the proper path.
Success doesn't lapse overnight but neither does it play itself out by happenstance.
THE SIGNS WERE ALREADY THERE.
Entering this 2025 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers, Sotto had already been flexing at the Japan B.League, averaging 12.1 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists per game with the Koshigaya Alphas. And like never before, his workload has increased to 28.3 minutes a contest.
And while a nation rejoiced over the exploits of their returning hero - stomping, clapping and cheering its lungs out - another community was watching.
The NBA.
Fiba windows are heavily scouted by agents and executives, it's hard for them not to notice what the 22-year old Filipino did to a New Zealand team that was ranked No. 22 in the world.
Kai certainly stimulated the interest of the best pro league in the planet but another giant offering against Hong Kong this Sunday might just trigger more tangible attention such as a phone call.
For now, though, let's relish this moment, especially those among us who are swamped with relief and vindication for never doubting Kai Sotto.
The NBA is alive and well.
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