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HONG KONG – Kai Sotto knows there are ways to make his presence felt when his offense is not clicking.
The 7-foot-3 big man used his length to full effect as he cleaned the glass and challenged shots to help Gilas Pilipinas breeze past host Hong Kong, 94-64, at the start of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers on Thursday, February 22.
He finished with a double-double of 13 points and 15 rebounds on top of 2 blocks in a little over 20 minutes of play, stepping up in the absence of injured big men June Mar Fajardo and AJ Edu.
“There are games when your shots are not falling or when you’re out of luck, but the only thing you can control is your effort so I start on defense and rebounding,” said Sotto in Filipino.
Injuries to Fajardo (calf) and Edu (knee) depleted the Filipinos’ frontcourt unit, but Sotto showed he is capable of holding the fort.
With Sotto serving as the last line of defense, Hong Kong scored just 22 points in the paint, 28 less than the Philippines’ tally – a stark contrast that made the difference as the Filipinos won by almost the same number of points.
“I have the same mentality no matter if they’re playing or not: to just work hard when it comes to the court,” said Sotto, referring to Fajardo and Edu. “I just give my best.”
Although pitted against a lowly Hong Kong side ranked 119th in the world, Sotto and No. 38 Philippines came to play.
The Filipinos dropped a 30-9 bomb in the third quarter to break the game wide open as the new era under head coach Tim Cone started on a promising note.
“Like coach Tim said, this game was a test for us. We’re the ones who are going to be judged, not our opponents, because we all know that we’re a better team compared to Hong Kong,” said Sotto.
“It was a test of character for us. We picked it up in the second half after a slow first half and we won.”
To close out the opening window of the qualifiers, Gilas Pilipinas returns home to host Chinese Taipei at the PhilSports Arena on Sunday, February 25.
And Sotto cannot wait to test his mettle against more capable foes.
“I’m excited to face Taiwan. They’re a better team. Looking forward to it,” said Sotto. – Rappler.com
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