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    Mark Dickel feels Kai Sotto's NBL stint 'the best move for him'

    'In my opinion, this is the first good move his handlers have made in his career'
    May 9, 2021

    TAKE it from someone who has seen and experienced it.

    Mark Dickel, the former TnT Tropang Giga active consultant and one-time Gilas Pilipinas mentor, believes Kai Sotto's decision to take his act to the Australia National Basketball League (NBL) augurs very well for his dream to become the first full-blooded Filipino to make it to the NBA.

    The 44-year-old Dickel said it was the right decision for the lanky, 7-foot-3 Sotto given the way his campaign in the NBA G League Ignite panned out.

    Sotto just recently signed a two-year deal with the Adelaide 36ers, with an option for a third year.

    “Good move from him,” said Dickel in a correspondence from Las Vegas, where he’s currently based with his family. “In my opinion, this is the first good move his handlers have made in his career.”

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      It’s not that Dickel was against Sotto putting his fate in the Ignite Team as a pathway to living his NBA dream.

      But the fact that everything didn’t turn out well after both parties agreed to ‘mutually part ways,’ and with Sotto not even playing in a single game in the G League, meant he should have considered other available options best suited for him.

      While that may be water under the bridge now, Dickel said Sotto playing in the NBL is the best way for the Filipino to bolster his confidence.

      Even better than going to EuroLeague, added the former star point guard of the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, who once led the US NCAA in assists back in 2000.

      “It was a good move now for his development,” said Dickel, who led TnT to two runner-up finishes in his close to three years of working with the franchise, including the last Philippine Cup at the Clark bubble.

      “Kai just needs to get in a situation where he is comfortable. He can really play.”

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        Dickel of course, knows where he is coming from.

        He saw action in the NBL during his 21 years as a professional ball player, suiting up for the Victoria Giants and Sydney Kings, respectively.

        Similarly, the 6-foot-2 coach played in the New Zealand NBL, signing with ballclubs such as the Otago Nuggets, Wellington Saints, North Harbour Kings, and the Southland Sharks.

        It was in the same league where the New Zealander also had his first coaching stint in a professional league when he called the shots for the Canterbury Rams prior to accepting the consultancy job at TnT Tropang Giga.

        “It’s a great league with really good players,” said Dickel of the NBL. “I think it was the best move for him (Sotto).”

        Moreover, Sotto will be playing under 36ers coach Connor Henry, who was a deputy coach of the Sydney Kings during Dickel’s time with the franchise.

        “He’s (Sotto) playing for a friend of mine who I played for. Great club Adelaide 36ers,” said Dickel, who handled Gilas Pilipinas in an interim capacity during the opening window of the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers in 2020.

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          At the same time, the NBL is a good training ground for Sotto to further toughen his game, he said.

          “It’s physical, tough. So many good big players,” said Dickel, a two-time Olympian (2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens) and two-time FIBA World Championship veteran (2002 Indianapolis and 2006 Japan) with the New Zealand Tall Blacks.

          “It also has other traditional 5s for him to match up with,” he added. “Australian and New Zealand players play so hard and know how to play.”

          Just like him.

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