The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) is keeping its fingers crossed, hoping that there’s no major damage on the knee of Kai Sotto following his scary fall in the first quarter of the game between Koshigaya Alphas and Seahorses Mikawa in the Japan B.League over the weekend.
SBP executive director Erika Dy said they are awaiting the result of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on Sotto, who landed awkwardly and tweaked his knee after posting up on Zach Auguste in the first 3:40 of the match. He did not return to the game.
Dy said they can’t make any conclusion about his status at Gilas Pilipinas unless they see the result of the MRI.
“Yes, we are still waiting for the result of the MRI,” she said in a short message to DAILY TRIBUNE on Monday morning.
Gilas Pilipinas is doing well as it remains unbeaten in Group B of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
The Filipinos are already in the semifinals but are still expected to go all out when they battle Chinese Taipei on 20 February and New Zealand on 23 February.
Gilas coach Tim Cone said even if the 7-foot-4 Sotto fail to make it, he is still not keen on adding players on the current roster. Instead, he will bank on Japeth Aguilar and Mason Amos to step up and fill the huge void that will be created by Sotto’s absence.
Aguilar, a 6-foot-9 big man, can definitely get the job done as he is overflowing with international experience with three stints in the World Cup while Amos can also provide significant numbers with his outside shooting.
“That’s why we have Japeth. Japeth is there to replace any of the bigs that we have,” said Cone, following Barangay Ginebra’s 93-81 victory over San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The 25-time Philippine Basketball Association champion mentor added that expanding the pool can do more harm than good.
“If you can tell me there’s another big man out there that matches Japeth’s size and ability, then I’ll be happy to look at him. But we also have Mason Amos to fortify us if we lose someone like Jamie or if one of the other guards can’t play,” Cone said.
“I know there’s a real clamor for a bigger pool, but it’s just the way the windows are set up. The preparation time is limited so you really have to make the most of that time. We can’t afford to try and teach 18 or 19 players and get them into rhythm. We need to keep the roster tight so we can maximize our preparation,” he added.
“If we had two or three months, we could consider expanding the pool, but with the way things are now, and if you talk to any national team coach nowadays, they’ll tell you it’s the same everywhere. We’re not the only ones doing it this way.”
“We’re open to making adjustments, but right now, we’re sticking with this approach. We’re going with 14 players.”