Kai Sotto gets praises from ex-PBA import, Indonesia naturalized player Lester Prosper

Before they trade baskets and bang bodies on the hardcourt, former PBA import and now Indonesia's naturalized big man Lester Prosper first threw praises towards Kai Sotto.

Prosper had seen the 7-foot-3 cager play hoops up close.

He chanced upon the Filipino wunderkind at the DBC Training Center in Miami earlier this year following Sotto's shortened stint with Ignite in the NBA G League.

And now that they are about to face each other in the final window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers, Prosper said sky's the limit for Sotto, who headlines a 12-strong Gilas Pilipinas that will first tackle South Korea today.

"He wants to learn, he wants to improve and he came to the right place. He came down there, he learned, he soaked everything up, and now we're here," said the 6-foot-10 Prosper.

"And he has to go to Australia after this so the sky's the limit for Kai. I'm looking forward to his future and it's a beautiful thing."

Prosper, who was tapped as reinforcement of Terrafirma Dyip in the PBA and the San Miguel Beermen in the East Asia Basketball League, said he'll bring in his import mentality when he goes up against opposing teams' big men like Sotto and Angelo Kouame of Gilas Pilipinas and Ricardo Ratliffe (now known as Ra Gun-ah) of South Korea.

"I'm just trying to do what I need to get, rebounding, blocking shots, scoring a little bit of everything. What coach Rajko needs me to do, what I have added to my game over the summer," he said.

"The duty is to be able to come in and take your team to the next level. That's the job of an import."

Prosper and the Indonesian squad will take on the Philippines on the 19th after the Filipinos clash with the Koreans today and again on the 20th.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA News