Kai Sotto bonds with Pinoys in Adelaide Filipino community

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

With the National Basketball League (NBL) in Australia kicking off within a month, Filipino basketball sensation Kai Sotto took time in visiting his kababayans in Adelaide.

The Filipino Communities Council of Australia organized a get-together ceremony to formally welcome Sotto in the area.

“Kai was really happy to be welcomed by our kababayans there. Alam mo naman yung mga Pinoy, nasa dugo natin ang pag-welcome sa mga bisita,” said his dad Ervin Sotto.

Sotto was already in Adelaide last month and will suit up for the home team’s 36ers squad that is looking to get back in the winning column of the pro league.

“It’s had a massive impact on us. That just shows you the magnitude of his pull and the gravitas that he has for not just the Filipino community, but also for basketball at wide,” said Homegrown Basketball Australia’s Karlo Basa.

After his successive stints for the Gilas Pilipinas squad during the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, Sotto is ready to embrace his role as an Asian import in Australia.

Going up against the mighty Korean squad, Sotto showed flashes of brilliance when he took on the towering Ricardo Ratliffe down the block and scored several times against him.

Ratliffe, a familiar face in the PBA when he played as an import for the Magnolia Hotshots years ago, applauded the skillset Sotto had during their back-to-back duels.

As Sotto is currently training with his team in Adelaide, he also confirmed that there are still bigger plans in store for his future especially the NBA and the G League.