TIM Cone is beaming with excitement as he gets a chance to coach Gilas Pilipinas twin towers Kai Sotto and AJ Edu for the first time when the national team battles Jordan on Friday in the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
“I’m real excited about that,” Cone said on the Sotto-Edu tandem.
“Those guys, they complement each other, I think, very well. And I think it’s fun. And you add June Mar (Fajardo) to the mix, we’ve got a real good big man rotation.”
The 7-foot-3 Sotto and the 6-foot-11 Edu will suit up for the national team for the first time since 2023. Back then, the Gilas Pilipinas squad was coached by Chot Reyes when the Philippines co-hosted the FIBA World Cup in Manila.
Sotto is making his return to Philippine team duties. He last played for Gilas Pilipinas in November 2024 and led Philippines’ historic 93-89 win against New Zealand in Manila.
Sotto and Edu has not played together for the past few years as both had to deal with separate injuries.
Edu missed the chance to play with Sotto during the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers, as the Filipino Cypriot big man sustained a torn meniscus while playing in the Japan B.League in early 2024.
And when Edu was finally available, it was Sotto’s turn to miss playing for Gilas after tearing his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) on his knee in a Japan B.League game in January 2025.
Now that both are healthy, the two former Batang Gilas standouts will provide size and intimidating presence while forming a massive frontline with veteran June Mar Fajardo.
“Ironically, we get Kai and AJ together, but now we’re missing Justin (Brownlee). So, you know, it would have been ideal, obviously, to have Justin. But from that, we have to move on and figure it out,” Cone said.
“It’s going to get more opportunity for guys like KQ (Kevin Quiambao) and Carl (Tamayo) to step up and get major minutes, for Dwight (Ramos) to be more of a take-charge guy. So you lose someone, but that means other people get opportunities. And we’re going to try to take advantage of those opportunities,” he added.
Brownlee is still recuperating from an injury and will not play in the fourth window.
The Philippines is out to end its four-game losing skid when it battles Jordan on Friday followed by a game against Iran on Sunday.
Winning both homes games greatly enhances the Philippines’ chances to secure a spot in the FIBA World Cup in Doha, Qatar next year.
