sports
Gilas Pilipinas to Play Without Kai Sotto in July FIBA Qualifiers
Head coach Tim Cone said the team will not interfere with the 7-foot-3 center's NBA plans. Sotto has been sidelined since a January 2025 knee injury.
RapplerAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
Gilas Pilipinas will compete without Kai Sotto in the third window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. Head coach Tim Cone said the national team will not stand in the way of the 7-foot-3 center's pursuit of an NBA roster spot. “Kai is working on his plan to go to the NBA.
We’re not going to interfere with that,” Cone said before the team departed for road games against New Zealand and Australia. “If he could be here, I think he’d be here. ” Sotto has not played for Gilas Pilipinas since suffering a knee injury in January 2025.
He went unselected in the 2022 NBA Draft and appeared in the NBA Summer League with the Orlando Magic in 2023 while playing for Japan B. League club Koshigaya Alphas. The Philippines enters the window with a 2-2 record and sits third in Group A. It must finish in the top three to advance to the second round.
The team faces New Zealand on July 3 in Auckland and Australia on July 6 in Perth. Quentin Millora-Brown is also unavailable after back surgery.
Gilas added Mike Phillips and Justine Baltazar to the roster for the two matches. Since Sotto’s injury, the Philippines holds a 4-7 record in FIBA competition, including three losses to New Zealand and two to Australia. “It’s too bad because Kai would make an incredible difference and really, really give us a chance,” Cone said.
