Filipino basketball player Kai Sotto made his debut in the NBA Summer League on Thursday night (Friday in the Philippines) in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Coming off the bench, Sotto tallied six points, four rebounds, three blocks, and one assist for the Orlando Magic, who lost to the Portland Trail Blazers, 88-71.
The 7-foot-3 center played for 13 minutes to the delight of Filipino fans who watched the game at Thomas & Mack Center and on social media.
“It feels good, obviously, to anybody that’s playing to have a lot of guys cheering for you. It’s a blessing. For me, it’s just to do my part to show my 100 percent effort every game. Hopefully, I made them happy and proud,” the 21-year-old said in an interview after the match, which was posted on Orlando Magic’s social media accounts.
Sotto relished the experience of competing with and against ”pretty skilled” players.
”It’s a good first game, just to go out there and compete. It’s not good that we didn’t win, but we learned a lot from this game,” he said.
”Everybody’s pretty skilled. Everybody is hungry to show that they are worthy of a roster spot. It’s competitive.”
He did not see action in Magic’s first three games.
Sotto is bidding to become the first homegrown Filipino player in the world’s premier professional basketball league.
In May, Sotto renewed his contract with the Hiroshima Dragonflies for the 2023–2024 season of the Japan B. League, with an option to sign with an NBA team this summer.
Sotto went undrafted last year, but this did not stop him from pursuing his ”biggest dream.”
“The NBA is my biggest dream, so I will continue to work hard in the United States this summer,” he said after signing a contract extension with the Dragonflies.
