At A Glance
- Beaten but never losing hope, Gilas Pilipinas big men Kai Sotto and AJ Edu brace for the final battle against China on Saturday, Sept. 2, in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
By MARK REY MONTEJO
Beaten but never losing hope, Gilas Pilipinas big men Kai Sotto and AJ Edu brace for the final battle against China on Saturday, Sept. 2, in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Sotto, who tallied eight points, five rebounds and three blocks in Gilas' 87-68 loss to South Sudan last Thursday night, said he will bring the lessons of the painful defeat to their anticipated match against their Asian rivals.
“We need a quick turnaround so we need to move on. Whatever we learned here, we will apply in our next game and we’ll just give our best every time we step on the court,” Sotto said.
“[Saturday’s] our last game so we’ll just give our best. As a player, I will never enter a game having already given up. This is our last game so we will leave everything on the floor.” he added.
The former Adelaide player also mentioned that he feels good when he is on the floor with Edu.
“Every time I step on the court with him, it’s a good feeling,” Sotto continued.
Edu is also wary of their next opponents.
“They're a pretty tall team, we’ve got some matchup with their big men. Yeah, you know, they're confident, so we just have to give it our all, as simple as that,” said Edu, who had 12 points and 14 rebounds for Gilas against South Sudan.