Kai Sotto said the experience of playing against Serbia and Dominican Republic despite losing to both teams in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament will only make the young Gilas Pilipinas squad tougher moving forward.
Gilas produced contrasting performances during the two games in Belgrade, nearly scoring an upset over Serbia before falling 83-76 before losing 94-67 to the Dominican Republic after struggling in the second half.
Still, the 7-foot-3 cager believes the team was able to learn a lot playing against quality opposition.
“We learned a lot from these two games,” Sotto said as quoted by an article posted on the FIBA website. “We are still very young. So, it ended up with a lot of basketball lessons on the court and off the court. But, it was an excellent learning experience.”
Sotto, who has trained for the two years in the United States in hopes of fulfilling his NBA dream, was able to face off against fellow 7-foot-3 Boban Marjanovic, the Dallas Mavericks center whose key baskets late prevented Serbia from suffering an embarrassing defeat to Gilas.
The Dominican Republic also gave Gilas something to learn with its physicality, quickness and athleticism that contributed to a big second half that denied the Philippines a spot in the Belgrade OQT semifinals.
The 19-year-old Sotto said the team can now focus on getting better as it prepares for next month’s FIBA Asia Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia while also continuing the building blocks for the 2023 World Cup which the Philippines will host.
“Now we know our weaknesses. We still have time to improve. But, I believe in this team. I believe in this coaching staff. So you can expect us to be better — and we will,” said Sotto.
“I am more than grateful to play against these teams here, to play against outstanding players. I learned a lot, and I can't wait for the next time to play with my team,” he added.