BACK TO SCHOOL: Sotto not yet done chasing NBA dream, eyes college stint

Kai Sotto is not yet done dreaming of playing in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

No less than Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Ricky Vargas broke the news to DAILY TRIBUNE on Monday night, saying that the 23-year-old Sotto is looking to go to college before making the jump to the biggest and most prestigious basketball league in the world.

“Kai’s objective is to reach the NBA. That’s important to him, and he believes that he still has a chance, possibly through college basketball in the US,” said Vargas in a round-table discussion with select sportswriters on Monday night.

“He’s still young and making it to the NBA is part of his dream — and it’s also our dream to have a Filipino playing in the NBA.”

The US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is now a viable pathway for former professional cagers who want to play in the NBA. This season, some former NBA G League players like James Nnaji of Baylor, Thierry Darlan of Santa Clara, and London Johnson of Louisville will be seeing action in the NCAA.

Even Euroleague stars had taken that route.

Italian forward Dame Sarr, who suited up for FC Barcelona a year ago, is now at Duke; Montenegrin guard Luka Bogavac, who previously played with SC Derby, is now at North Carolina; while Serbian point guard Mihailo Petrović, who played for Mega Superbet, is now at Illinois.

Sotto is the country’s brightest chance to have representation in the NBA.

After a solid high school career at Ateneo de Manila University in the University Athletic Association (UAAP), Sotto bypassed the American collegiate system when he played for Team Ignite in the G League, which features future NBA players like Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga.

But his dream of playing in the NBA fizzled out during the pandemic when he opted to go home to join Gilas Pilipinas in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup. Since Team Ignite was inside a training bubble, he was no longer allowed to return, prompting him to pack his bags for the Adelaide 36ers in the National Basketball League.

He played for the Orlando Magic in the NBA Summer League, but still went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft, prompting him to pack his bags for Japan. Now, he is having a solid season for the Koshigaya Alphas in the B.League, where he is averaging 13.8 points and 9.8 rebounds.

Vargas stressed that although they are very supportive of his dream, he hopes that the 7-foot-3 Sotto should still consider playing for the country if and when his NBA career pushes through. After all, the federation also has its own dream, which is to compete in the Olympics for the first time since 1972.

So far, Sotto has been diligently playing for Gilas Pilipinas. The only setback, however, was in the second window recently, in which he had to beg off as he was still recovering from a knee injury that he suffered while playing for the national team last year.

“But in the process, we hope he continues to include the Philippines whenever he can,” said Vargas, agreeing that deploying Sotto in the very crucial third window in July will be very challenging since the NBA Summer League will be opening a few days before the competition.

“So far, he has said ‘yes’ more times than ‘no.’ Right now, he’s preparing for the NBA and, possibly, college. We understand that. It’s his ambition. It’s our pride, too. He’s the closest we have to reach that NBA dream.”

Vargas reiterated that money is not Sotto’s main motivation to chase his NBA dream. In fact, since Tim Cone formally took over as Gilas coach in 2023, they made it a point that everybody will get the same amount of salary, fully knowing that what they’re doing is for the country.

“It was never about the money with him. Even from the very beginning, it was never about the money,” Vargas added.

“Everyone who joined Gilas received the same pay. The culture that we built, especially starting in the Asian Games, was that playing for the country should not be about money.”

Still, the SBP chief admitted that the ball is no longer in their court.

“Once that player commits abroad, it’s going to be harder for him to commit to the national duty,” said Vargas, sounding very realistic about the consequences of Sotto’s decision to chase his NBA ambition.

“That’s part of the challenge we have to face.”