HERE are the top sports news from Tuesday.
Sports news May 3
Rajko Toroman on Kai Sotto
If Kai Sotto would practice delayed gratification, he could improve his NBA draft stock even further.
So much so that former Gilas Pilipinas coach Rajko Toroman believes the homegrown Filipino NBA aspirant could become a first-round pick if he plays in the National Basketball League in Australia for another year.
If not, Sotto is still good enough to be a second-rounder this year, according to the Serbian coach.
“If he goes in the draft, he will be picked because of his size and his skills in the second round, which is great,” said Toroman during his appearance in the SPIN POV (Point of View) podcast on YouTube and Facebook on Tuesday.
“But if he stays one more year, maybe there is a chance for somebody to pick him in the first round. That’s up to him and his agent," he added. “But the development of Kai Sotto is good. And I expect that he can join the NBA in one or two years for sure."
Marques Bolden is new Indonesia naturalized player
Indonesia is flaunting a new naturalized player in its bid to give Gilas Pilipinas a run for its money in the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.
Indonesia coach Rajko Toroman bared his team is tapping former Cleveland Cavaliers big man Marques Bolden in place of Lester Prosper in their bid to land a medal this time after falling short in 2019 following its loss to Vietnam in the bronze-medal game.
Derrick Michael Xzavierro, an NBA Global Academy product who recently became the first Indonesian player who will play in the NCAA Division I with Grand Canyons. will also be making his SEA Games debut.
“I don’t know if Brandon Jawato will play because of his injury but the Indonesian kid from NBA Academy, he joined us a few days ago. We now have 6-10, 6-9 just to be a little bit competitive with the size of all other Asian teams. That makes us a little bit more optimistic than before,” Toroman said.
Rogen Ladon over Carlo Paalam
The Alliance of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines has no special treatment to any of its wards, evidenced by picking Rogen Ladon over Carlo Paalam in the men’s flyweight category of the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam.
Abap president Ed Picson explained Ladon, who will be defending his 2019 SEA Games gold medal, is simply a better fit than the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist in Paalam – as far as their current conditioning is concerned.
“Para sa akin, Rogen Ladon is an ex-Olympian as well although hindi siya naka-medalya nung 2016. He has been showing his grit and determination in the past few weeks and he has proven himself,” Picson said during Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.
“So with the present condition of Rogen Ladon and Carlo Paalam, the coaches felt that Ladon will be the best bet in that weight category at this point,” he added.
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