The last time June Mar Fajardo and Kai Sotto teammed up, great things happened for Gilas Pilipinas.
When Gilas Pilipinas locked horns in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga earlier this year, national team coach Tim Cone could not help but marvel at the frontcourt tandem of June Mar Fajardo and Kai Sotto.
Who wouldn't?
After all, Fajardo and Sotto formed a formidable partnership that had Latvia scratching their heads in the entire way of Gilas Pilipinas’ sensational 89-80 win last July 4.
“The nice thing is that Kai and June Mar are developing a chemistry where as they can play together. That’s really unusual, to get a two 5 men and allow them to play together,” said Cone.
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Sotto and Fajardo imposed their might early on, with the former ending up with 18 points on 7/10 shooting from the field while also getting eight rebounds, an assist, and a block.
Meanwhile, the PBA’s eight-time MVP submitted 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, three steals, and a block in the rousing win that set the tone for Gilas in the OQT.
To say that the two complemented each other really well is an understatement.
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“That’s a credit to Kai’s versatility and his character in terms of ‘I’m comfortable with the 5 but I will go play the 4 and be comfortable so that June Mar can stay at the 5,’” said Cone.
“So it’s a really good rotation. You have the two of them that an play together and then when June Mar rests, Kai can swing to the 5. And when June Mar comes back, Kai can swing to the 4.”
Unfortunately for Gilas then, the partnership ended rather quickly when Sotto suffered a rib injury in the 96-94 loss to Georgia. He sat out the game against Brazil in the semifinals of the tournament, where an Olympics berth to Paris 2024 was at stake for the eventual champion. The Philippines lost that game to Brazil too, and the Brazilians ended up winning the whole tournament to make it to the Olympic Games.
Fortunately for Gilas fans, there's potential for the pair of dominant local bigs join forces anew in the second window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers, provided Sotto gets cleared to play after being placed under concussion protocols by the Japan B.LEAGUE.
[ALSO READ: Kai Sotto expected to be cleared to play for Gilas Pilipinas in time for match vs New Zealand]
If things go as planned, Cone sees the two making immediate impact when they take on New Zealand (Nov. 21) and Hong Kong (Nov. 24) at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.