Sotto pursues NBA dream, may miss Gilas’ remaining WCQ games

Sports

GILAS Pilipinas heavily felt the pinch of not having Kai Sotto in the recent second window of the 2027 World Cup Asian qualifiers.

Without Sotto’s defensive and offensive presence, the Nationals fell to New Zealand and Australia, putting them in a must-win situation in their remaining games after falling to 2-2 (win-loss)

Having Sotto in the last three windows of the qualifiers will certainly be a big boost for Gilas but the youthful 7-foot-3 center may not be able to suit up as he is bent on pursuing his ambitious goal of making it to the NBA.

Sotto is reportedly exploring two routes to make it to the NBA. The first route is to try out for a spot through the NBA Summer League and another way is to play college ball in the US NCAA.

Through those routes, Sotto is hoping to impress NBA scouts enough to fullfil his dream of becoming the first pure Filipino player to make it to the big league.

About six years ago, the 23-year-old Sotto actually received offers to play in the US NCAA but he opted to play for the G-League Ignite before playing professionally in the NBL Australia and Japan B.League.

Sotto has just recovered from an ACL injury and is currently playing for the Koshigaya Alphas in the Japan B.League.(CCM)