These are the top sports stories from Thursday.
Sports news June 15
Kai Sotto awaits NBA Summer League call-up
After showcasing his skillset to three NBA teams, Kai Sotto hopes to have made a solid impression to at least one of them in his bid to get into a Summer League team.
After participating in the minicamps of the Dallas Mavericks, the Utah Jazz, and the New York Knicks, the 7-foot-t 3 homegrown Filipino center is back in Los Angeles to stay in game shape – and await a call from among those three teams.
SPIN.ph sources said Sotto played well enough in his Jazz and Mavericks minicamps and the Pinoy’s side is still waiting from an update on how he fared with the Knicks.
There is optimism that Sotto will get an invite to a spot on the 15-man rosters of the three teams.
Rhenz Abando, AJ Edu settling into Gilas Pilipinas system
Gilas Pilipinas tries to accelerate the integration of Rhenz Abando and AJ Edu into coach Chot Reyes’ system as the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup in August draws near.
Part of the World Cup pool, Abando and Edu have seen little to no action with the national team in the last year, with Abando only playing two games in the third window of the qualifiers against New Zealand and India, and Edu not playing at all due to injuries.
“We want to assimilate both Rhenz and AJ into what we are doing,” Reyes said. “Because the others already know basically the stuff that we are doing. We want to fast-track the assimilation of Rhenz and AJ.”
Another priority of Gilas is to get the injured players back in full fitness. Among those injured, according to the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, are Roger Pogoy (finger fracture), Ray Parks (muscle strain) and Calvin Oftana (calf).
Gilas will shift its preparations to the Inspire Sports Academy next week before leaving for their European training camp that includes tune-up matches against Estonia and Finland.
How Ray Parks courted Zeinab Harake
Like how long he needs to join Gilas Pilipinas’ preparations to get a shot at a World Cup roster spot, Ray Parks took the same time to steadily gain the trust of Zeinab Harake.
The 24-year-old Harake bared Parks has been courting her for three months.
A social media sensation, Harake insisted she has yet to give her “yes” to Parks, but the couple has already showed hints of being official on recent Instagram exchanges.
"Three months na siyang nauuntog sa wall ko. Oo, laging sinasabi na may 'wall' daw ako," Harake told PEP.ph Headliner's Jocelyn Dimaculangan last May. "Kasi may trust issues ako sa life eh. Pero yun nga, hindi siya dapat madamay doon."
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.
