Gilas Pilipinas’ Kai Sotto (middle) with Justin Brownlee and June Mar Fajardo during the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers game against Hong Kong at Mall of Asia Arena. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Gilas Pilipinas swept the second window of the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers and in both games, Kai Sotto showed why he’s one of the new go-to guys for the Nationals.
Gilas defended home court once more after defeating Hong Kong, 93-54, at Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday night after another stellar outing from star big man Sotto.
READ: Kai Sotto puts on impressive showing to defend Gilas home court
“It’s a good feeling but all of this starts with hard work. I worked hard for this, the entire team worked hard for this as well so I’m very happy that we got both wins in this window,” said Sotto in Filipino.
“We learned a lot plus we all improved a lot for this team.”
Gilas Pilipinas’ Kai Sotto during a Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers 2025 game against Hong Kong at Mall of Asia Arena. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Following a tremendous outing against New Zealand where the Philippines duked out a historic 93-89 win, Sotto turned in another monster game to push Gilas to a 4-0 card in the qualifiers.
Against New Zealand, Sotto dropped a near triple-double with a Fiba-high 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
READ: Justin Brownlee all praises for Kai Sotto in Gilas Pilipinas win
Sunday night was almost no different as the Japan B.League Filipino import recorded another double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds with two blocks for good measure against Hong Kong.
“We wanted to respect our opponents and respect the game. We wanted to go out and play hard. We had a slow start, but we picked it up. I’m happy everyone contributed,” said Sotto of Hong Kong.
Prior to their fourth game in the continental qualifiers, the Koshigaya Alphas standout normed 16.7 points, 11.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.3 blocks and close to a steal per outing, proving to be an anchor for coach Tim Cone.
Sotto aims to extend his string of exemplary games on February 20 when Gilas opens their third window run against Chinese Taipei.