Dahil absent si Justin Brownlee, nagkaroon ng double take si coach Tim Cone kung kakayanin ng Gilas na maipanalo ang dalawang krusyal na laro sa window 4 ng 20th FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
Ini-host ng ‘’Pinas sa SM Mall of Asia Arena ang Aug. 27-31 window kaya mas lalong dapat magpakita ang Nationals sa harap ng home fans.
“We weren’t really that confident going in because we’ve relied on Justin in the past. So we were wondering about ourselves,” wika ni Cone. “We were wondering if we would be able to stand up to these guys.”
Pasok si Kai Sotto.
Nagpakita sa training ang 7-foot-3 center, isinama agad sa pool at kalaunan sa final 12 laban sa Jordan at Iran.
January 2025 pa huling naglaro sa Gilas si Sotto matapos abutin ng ACL injury. Nagarahe ang 24-year-old big man ng halos dalawang taon. Ang pag-report niya sa pool ay malaking dagdag na sa kumpiyansa ng team.
“When Kai decided to play, it really gave us a boost of confidence,” dagdag ni Cone.
Nag-iba ang complexion ng national squad dahil kay Kaiju – sa kanyang size, abilidad sa passing at basketball IQ.
Una ay kinailangang mag-adjust ang mga nasa pool kay Sotto.
“We’re just not used to playing with a 7-foot-3 guy who could dominate the paint and dominate the rim, protect the rim and make great passess,” pag-amin ng winningest coach ng PBA. “So the rest of the team kind of had to figure out how to work with him.”
Ang resulta ay 2-0 homestand ng all-Filipino Gilas.
Dinomina ni Sotto ang dalawang laro, nagsumite ng double-double sa 82-81 overtime win kontra Jordan sa 68-56 victory laban sa Iran.
“Kai is such a brilliant player in terms of his mind,” papuri ng head tactician sa big man. “He really sees the game. He knows the game really well. I compared him to like a 7-foot-3 point guard.” (Vladi Eduarte)
