Kai Sotto 'played like an import' with Brownlee out for Gilas Pilipinas, says Cone

With Justin Brownlee unavailable for Gilas Pilipinas in the past two games, national men’s basketball team head coach Tim Cone said the Philippines could not have pulled off the wins without their own “import” in Kai Sotto.

Sotto made his return to national team duty in this window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, helping the Philippines secure victories over Jordan, 82-81, in overtime and Iran, 68-56.

“He is the difference-maker,” Cone said of Sotto.

“Without him joining us, I don’t think we [would have won] two games. I don’t think we would have even gotten close.”

Cone reiterated that Sotto makes everyone around him better and said he was delighted that the 7-foot-3 center chose to suit up for the crucial qualifying window.

“He’s the one who takes us over the top. He’s the one who makes everybody better on both sides of the floor, defensively and offensively. We’re just tickled pink that he’s chosen to join us this time,” Cone said.

“Especially without Justin, we had our import in this guy. This guy was our import. He played like an import.”

In his return to Gilas Pilipinas, Sotto averaged 15.5 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, and one block per game across the two victories.

—JMB, GMA News