SBP Reiterates Support for Kai Sotto

Kai Sotto, after a whirlwind trip that brought him back to the Philippines, and then back to the United States, will no longer re-join his Team Ignite teammates inside the Orlando bubble for the National Basketball Association (NBA) G-League season. In a statement released, G-League President Shareef Abdur-Rahim said, "NBA G-League Ignite and international prospect, Kai Sotto of the Philippines, today announced the mutual decision that Sotto will not re-join Ignite,"

Abdur-Rahim also added, "Kai and the team both understood the challenges for him to rejoin Ignite given the current international travel constraints, quarantine times, and health and safety protocols," 

In light of the saddening development, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) released a statement in which the federation reiterated its support for the Filipino basketball prodigy.

"The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas will always be 100% behind Kai Sotto as he pursues his NBA dream," the statement read.

"When Kai announced via social media that he wanted to come home and play for Gilas Pilipinas men, we welcomed him with open arms because he'll always have a home with us at the SBP. The same is true for any Filipino basketball player chasing their dreams on the international stage,"

Kai Sotto was supposed to make his debut with the Gilas Pilipinas men's team for the third window of the 2021 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup qualifiers that was originally set to be played in Clark then was moved to Doha, Qatar, and now back to Clark. When the Doha bubble was canceled, Sotto decided to fly back to the US and try to catch the last bus ride to Orlando. 

"Although we are saddened with the recent announcement that he will no longer be rejoining Ignite in the NBA G League, we still wish Kai all the best and we will support him in any way we can," the SBP assured in its statement. 

Photo is from the Manila Times