Take it from Kaiju himself.
Kai Sotto, who is once again deep in the process of pursuing his NBA dreams, has made it clear that playing for Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA World Cup is still part of his plans.
In an interview with former PBA commissioner Noli Eala on Sunday, Sotto emphasized where he stands in terms of donning the Philippines' colors as it hosts the quadrennial tournament.
“First of all, I never said no,” Sotto told Eala.
“I’ve been playing for my country ever since I was 14 years old. I don’t get what other people are saying, about me not wanting to join.”
Questions on Sotto’s availability for the national team continue to linger among fans as the 21-year-old continues the journey of trying to make it to the world’s most prestigious hoops league. One of the steps he has taken towards that goal is joining the Utah Jazz mini-camp.
The 7-foot-3 center also signed an extension with the Hiroshima Dragonflies for the 2023-24 season of the Japan B.League.
And with coach Chot Reyes laying the roadmap that requires Gilas pool players to commit a significant amount of time for the preparations, the rumblings if Kai could make it to the national team only rang louder.
The Filipino wunderkind, however, is filtering out all the noise.
“I’m not trying to listen to it.”
Sotto, who was joined by Tony Ronzone of the sports agency Wasserman in the interview with Eala, says his representation will handle the talks with the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
“Tony can explain more about that, but yeah, I never said no to play for my country because that’s my dream ever since I started playing basketball,” he said.
“My top two dreams: make it to the NBA and represent the national team,” Sotto added.
Fans can watch Eala's full interview with Sotto on the next episode of the program, Power and Play, on Saturday via Cignal TV's One PH.
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