MANILA, Philippines: Gilas coach Tim Cone has no doubt that Filipino young big man Kai Sotto is bound to reach the NBA after getting the chance to coach the 7-foot-3 Japan B.League import in the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers.
Sotto averaged 15.5 and 14 rebounds in the Philippines’ two-game sweep of the opening round of the regional qualifiers that saw Gilas drub Hong Kong, 94-64, before tearing apart the visiting Taiwan side, 106-53 at the Philsports Arena on Sunday night.
“He is going to absolutely dominate Asia. I’ve always felt that,” said Cone during the post-game press conference at the famed Pasig City sports venue.
WIth Sotto manning the middle, Gilas managed to get off to a hot start, thanks to its repeated defensive stops that prevented Taiwan from getting clean looks into the basket.
Sotto went on to finish with three blocks as well, while his 7-foot-3 frame intimidated the shorter Taiwanese players.
Cone felt that given more time to play, Sotto, who currently plays for the Yokohama B-Corsairs, is capable of rising to the European level, and hopefully, see him reach the NBA one day.
“If you get him into the right spots, he can absolutely dominate Asia. For him, the next spot is to get up to the European level and the NBA level and we are hoping that we can help him get into that level,” said Cone.
The American mentor has been in pro basketball circuit long enough to see a specific talent that’s capable of reaching the NBA. In fact, just last year, Cone joined the Miami Heat coaching staff during the NBA Summer League, allowing him to see NBA talents up close.
With Sotto still young and the potential to dominate evident, Cone believes there might come a time when the Filipino slot man might not be available to join Gilas in future competitions.
“There may be a time where we might lose Kai. He may not be able to join windows because he might be in the NBA and we will be very, very proud of that,” said the all-time winningest PBA coach.
Gilas finished the first window tied with New Zealand at the top with their respective 2-0 records in Group B.
New Zealand earlier ambushed Hong Kong, 88-49 for its second straight win. The Tall Blacks routed Taiwan on opening day, 89-69.
Gilas will continues its FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers stint in the next window this November. Cone and his charges though will next prepare for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia this July.