A HUGE blow for the streaky Gilas Pilipinas, as young center Kai Sotto confirmed that he sustained an ACL tear, which would sideline him for months.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, January 8, the 7-foot-3 Sotto provided an official update on the injury he incurred during Koshigaya Alpha’s loss to Mikawa Sea Horses on Sunday in Japan B.League.
“The worst way to start the year, might be the darkest day of my basketball career, when I was told I tore my ACL,” said Sotto. “Tough to let this one sink in.”
“I appreciate all the love and support everyone has given me these past few days. I know God has a better plan for me and we just have to keep going,” he went on to say.
Big loss for Gilas
Sotto has been an integral component of the Gilas program under head coach Tim Cone. He averaged 15.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in four games of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers.
He even had one of his best games as a Gilas player, recording 19 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and two blocks in the Philippines’ upset victory over New Zealand infront of the home crowd at the MOA Arena.
With this injury, Sotto will most likely miss Gilas Pilipinas’ brewing match in February, as well as their campaign in the 2025 Asia Cup, which will be held in Saudi Arabia in August.
Preparation goes on
Now that the final window for the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers is just a few weeks away, the national team will begin planning another training camp sans Sotto in preparation for their sweep attempt.
Cone revealed that Gilas may host a training camp in Doha as part of their preparation for two road matches against Chinese Taipei on February 20 and New Zealand on February 23.
“There is a chance we will go to Doha before the next window for some friendlies. scheduled workout, but that’s not a hundred percent yet,” Cone said in an interview after their win against San Miguel last Sunday.
“That will be part of our preparation. But that’s going to happen February 10th or 11th, we might go there and do our preparation there and then come back,” the tactician went on to explain.
The silver lining
Unlike previous windows, they will have more time to prepare for the next and final window as the PBA will take a break from February 8 to 10 to allow for Gilas’ build-up, which is an ideal time to adjust after losing Sotto.
“The whole idea is to continue to get to know each other. We have such small windows to be together that each window is absolutely crucial to our chemistry and our ability to compete at a high level together.” Cone said.
“So all of these games are so important to us. The friendlies are going to be important for us, learning how to go on the road and beat Taiwan, who is a completely different team this time than they were the last time.”
“We are expecting a big battle from Taiwan. And then they go to Auckland and play New Zealand at home, that’s going to be a real chore. All this right now is preparation for us to compete in the FIBA Asia,” he added.
Cone and the rest of the Gilas squad have a few more weeks to figure out how to go forward after losing a vital player in Sotto. Nonetheless, they have already qualified for the Asia Cup and may continue to raise the flag even higher.
