TIM Cone admitted that without young big man Kai Sotto returning to play for the Justin Brownlee-less Gilas Pilipinas, the national team wouldn’t have beaten Jordan and Iran.
“This guy to my left, he’s the difference-maker. Without him joining us, I don’t think we get these two games. I don’t think we’ll even get close,” said Cone during the postgame press conference Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Philippines swept its two-game home assignment for the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers after outlasting Jordan, 82-81 in overtime, followed by a 68-56 spanking of Iran Sunday night.
The 7-foot-3 center put up import-like numbers in his return to Gilas after a 22-month absence, as he averaged 15.5 points, 15.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 block in the fourth window.
His huge all-around numbers enabled Gilas to improve to 4-4 in Group E.
While the Philippines remains in fifth place, the national team is now just one game behind third- and fourth-placed Iran and Jordan, which both went winless in the fourth window to share similar 5-3 cards for third to fourth spots.
“Especially without Justin Brownlee, we had our import in this guy. This guy was our import. He played certainly like an import, so thank you, Kai, for coming and doing the work you did,” added Cone.
Cone’s high trust on Sotto brought back to his memory long-time Iranian star center Hammed Haddadi, who dominated the region by leading his country to three FIBA Asia Cup titles and two FIBA Asia Challenges championships during his prime.
“You remember Haddadi? When they had Haddadi, they were just dominating Asia,” Cone said, during a brief chat with Sotto prior to the start of Sunday’s postgame press conference.
To which, Sotto responded: “You got me now, coach.”
Cone added, “I know. You can dominate. I love to have you, man.”
The brief exchange just before the press conference began shifted to a potential NBA stint for Sotto, which Cone believes should really be his next step.
No wonder, the Gilas mentor convinced the 7-3 big man to be open to pursue his NBA dream, telling him that he’ll try to get in touch with the Miami Heat, where he previously served as assistant coach to Filipino-American head coach Erik Spoelstra during the 2022 NBA Summer League
“I still think you need to get into the league,” Cone told Sotto. “Find a way. I’ll talk to Miami.
“I’ll see what I can do. Would you be willing?” he added.
Sotto nodded.
