Kai: For flag, wife, baby

MANILA, Philippines — Kai Sotto is poised to pick up from where he left off with Gilas Pilipinas.

And “Kaiju” is coming in with more maturity and extra motivation now that he’s an expectant father to a baby boy with his wife, actress Rere Madrid.

“Sobrang inspiring,” the 24-year-old said of becoming a family man as he rejoins Gilas after a nearly two-year absence for its pivotal FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers’ fourth-window duels with Jordan (Friday) and Iran (Sunday) at the MOA Arena.

“Medyo mas seryoso pa, na gusto kong makuha itong dalawang panalo – para sa baby ko na parating, para sa asawa ko, para sa bansa. Mas motivated ako na maglaro ngayon and siyempre manalo.”

Sotto’s return couldn’t have come at a better time as the Nationals are reeling from a four-game skid after a 2-0 start in the first round of the WCQ and dealing with Justin Brownlee’s absence due to injury.

The 7-foot-3 slotman accounted for 15.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists the last time he suited up at the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in November 2024, and his absence brought about by an ACL tear he sustained in January last year was too much for Gilas to bear.

“Very happy na nakabalik na ulit ako dito,” Sotto said.

“We think he’s going to cause problems for both teams (Jordan and Iran) and he’s going to make everybody around him better. He’s just a great addition. We’re just real happy to have him,” said coach Tim Cone.

Sotto reunites with 6-foot-10 AJ Edu, his old sparring partner back in their days with the youth squad, in their much-delayed frontcourt collaboration under Cone. This marks the first time both behemoths are injury-free and available at the same time since the program started and Cone couldn’t hide his excitement.

“They complement each other very well,” Cone said of Sotto and Edu, who had formed a strong bond personally having shared experience of a major injury.

Cone gets more thrilled with the prospect of the two forming a Triple Tower combo with veteran June Mar Fajardo.

“I think it’s fun and then you add June Mar to the mix and we’ve got a real good big-man rotation. And AJ and Kai are both versatile enough to play the four position. So it gives us a little bit of versatility in our frontline,” he said.