Gigantic return

Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone is very vocal in saying how big of a game-changer Kai Sotto is when he is on the floor for the national team.

The 7-foot-3 center has been showing great progress in full recovery from a knee injury and could be available as early as the November window of the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Sotto has already started non-contact workouts with his Japan B.League team, Koshigaya Alphas, ahead of their 2025-2026 season campaign set to roll in October.

The big man has also joined the team’s promotional events, a welcome sign for Cone and Gilas, which had a gaping hole in the middle during its failed attempt to end a four-decade title drought in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Sotto tore his left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the Alphas in a 79–77 loss to the SeaHorses Mikawa last 5 January.

He went under the knife in the same month and has been working on his recovery since.

“I’m back in Japan, I can’t wait to see the fans of Koshigaya Alphas,” Sotto said in a promotional video clip posted by the Alphas.

“I’m going to continue doing my rehab and hopefully when I get ready, I’ll be back on the court with y’all, see you guys soon.”

Sotto’s personal strength and conditioning coach, Mel Lantin, told DAILY TRIBUBE that the 23-year-old Sotto is on track to get back in action.

“He’s well and recovering very good,” Lantin said in a short message.

“Hopefully, this good development continues.”

But Lantin admitted that Sotto’s availability for Gilas Pilipinas’ match against Guam to open the Asian qualifiers on 28 November will still depend on his progress in the coming couple of months.

“It will all depend on his doctors if they’ll clear him to play,” Lantin added.

Clips from Koshigaya’s social media showed Sotto doing some shooting drills.

“Back for another year,” Sotto wrote on his Instagram account.

But Sotto is not rushing his return and is working cautiously with his conditioning.

“I’m doing rehab to make sure I’ll come back stronger and for my knee to feel better than the previous days,” Sotto said.

“It feels good, but it’s not yet perfect. So, I can’t rush my recovery.”

Sotto averaged a double-double of 15.5 points and 12.5 rebounds with 3.8 assists and 2.3 blocks per game in four outings during the Asia Cup qualifiers.

In a rare win over New Zealand in the second window held at the Mall of Asia Arena in November last year, Sotto had a near triple-double of 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

He, however, missed the third window last February when Gilas got pummeled by Chinese Taipei and the Kiwis in a couple of road games.

Without Sotto’s towering presence and veteran center June Mar Fajardo struggled in form due to calf issues, Gilas had a hard time getting past the FIBA Asia Cup group stage.

The Nationals dropped their first two games against the Taiwanese and the Tall Blacks before bouncing back against Iraq.

Gilas outlasted host Saudi Arabia in the playoff for a quarterfinal seat but got routed by 24 points by the eventual three-peat champion Australia in the Last Eight.

“Hopefully, we get Kai and that makes us a little bit more competitive,” Cone said.

Gilas could be looking at a taller and more athletic lineup in Sotto’s return alongside AJ Edu, Kevin Quiambao, Dwight Ramos, Carl Tamayo and the possibility of 6-foot-9 Quentin Millora-Brown joining the fray.

Aside from Guam, the Philippines is also bunched with world No. 7 Australia and New Zealand in Group A of the World Cup qualifiers.