Sotto’s best game with Gilas comes at perfect time vs mighty New Zealand

MANILA, Philippines — A week ago, Kai Sotto was still in the middle of concussion protocol. He was deemed questionable to play for Gilas Pilipinas, who is set to face  World No. 22 New Zealand in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers. 

A win for the Philippines would have given them a strong chance to punch an outright ticket to next year’s Asia Cup, but they are facing an uphill battle against the Tall Blacks, whom they lost to in their previous four games. 

This underscored the importance of the 7-foot-3 behemoth for the Nationals, who will already play without AJ Edu and Jamie Malonzo.

Fast forward to Thursday’s game, Sotto, who cleared the concussion protocol a few days ago, had his best game in a Gilas jersey. 

The 22-year-old center finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and a steal in 33 minutes of play in the Nationals’ 93-89 win at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Sotto, who started alongside June Mar Fajardo, shot an efficient 8-of-14 from the field despite missing both of his attempts from beyond the arc.

After the game, head coach Tim Cone tipped his hat to the young big man. 

“I just love the commitment that Kai is showing, coming in every day… Poor guy had to go through two-a-day practices coming off a concussion and still battled through it all,” he told reporters at the postgame press conference.

With Gilas trailing by two, 52-54, with less than six minutes left in the third, Fajardo was subbed out, leaving Sotto as the only big man on the court for the Philippines.

This seemingly turned the tides for Gilas, as they unleashed a 16-0 run capped by a Carl Tamayo layup to go up 72-60 with 47 seconds remaining. During that stretch, Sotto was heavily involved — he scored five points, grabbed two rebounds, a block, a steal and an assist – before being subbed out with 1:15 left in the quarter. 

In the fourth quarter, he also had four points, including an emphatic dunk with 4:30 to go. And, with Gilas holding on to a 93-89 led with about 10 seconds left, Sotto also had a huge block on Taylor Britt with time winding down, icing the game as he wagged his finger. 

Cone said that while he enjoys playing Fajardo and Sotto side-by-side, his decision to