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PASIG, Philippines — Contrary to an earlier announcement from his national team coach, the Orlando Magic's Kai Sotto was absent when the Philippine team for the FIBA World Cup, popularly known as Gilas Pilipinas, resumed its practice on Tuesday at the Meralco Gym here.
Philippines head coach Chot Reyes previously said that Sotto was supposed to return home on Tuesday from his NBA Summer League stint with the Magic. However, a back injury in the second quarter of the Magic's Saturday night game against the Boston Celtics at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas placed questions on whether Sotto will at least be in attendance during the Gilas training.
Indeed, Kai Sotto was not seen when 13 Philippines internationals took part in the training session from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. When asked why Sotto was not around, Reyes said that Sotto's arrival was pushed back by a couple of days. “The last we heard is that he's arriving on Thursday morning,” Reyes said in a mix of English and Filipino. Reyes also said that Sotto's camp is currently communicating with national team manager Butch Antonio regarding his status.
Reyes then assured that Sotto will quickly attend the Gilas Pilipinas practice once he arrives, although it's not an assurance that he can actively participate in the drills considering his back injury. “He'll be here when he'll be here,” Reyes added.
The good news, however, is that Sotto's back injury initially ruled as a back spasm is not as bad as anyone thought as what Tony Ronzone, Sotto's representative, relayed to Reyes. “He said that all the X-rays came back negative. So that’s good news,” Reyes said on Monday.
