What if Kai wasn't a hoops player?
At 7-foot-3, Kai Sotto was an imposing presence when he walked to his seat at the PhilSports Arena on Sunday.
Currently rehabbing the back injury he sustained in his last NBA Summer League game against the Boston Celtics, Sotto enjoyed the action-packed championship and bronze medal matches in the PVL Invitational Conference.
The Japanese foreign squad Kurashiki Ablaze outlasted the Creamline Cool Smashers for the title. Gel Cayuna and the HD Spikers eventually bagged the bronze.
“Sa tingin ko mas masaya manood ng volleyball. Sa basketball medyo, alam mo 'yun, parang may pressure na sana ako na lang ‘yun (naglalaro). Pero kapag volleyball mas masaya,” said Sotto when he sat down with Dzi Gervacio and Mela Tunay in the Pilipinas Live Fan Stream on the same day.
The Hiroshima Dragonfly then revealed he gave volleyball a shot back in high school before completely focusing on the sport he loves now.
“Nung high school ako tinry ko pero basketball ako nag-focus,” he said.
“Pero lagi ko sinasabi pag hindi ako basketball player, baka volleyball player ako."
Imagine Kaiju blocking spikes, not layups or floaters. Philippines would have ruled volleyball in Southeast Asia or, well, Asia.
Right now, though, the focus is to fully recover from the injury and join Gilas Pilipinas in their preparations for the FIBA World Cup later this month.
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(GM)