Kai Sotto feels most comfortable in Cone system than any other in his career

Kai Sotto feels most comfortable in Cone system than any other in his career

KAI Sotto is feeling right at home in Tim Cone’s system with Gilas Pilipinas after only one game under the new head coach.

Sotto opened the new Gilas era under Cone with 13 points, 15 rebounds, one steal, and two blocks in Gilas’ 94-64 away win over Hong Kong on Thursday to start the Fiba Asia Cup 2024 qualifiers.

This early, Sotto said Cone’s system is by far the best fit for his skill set than any other he has been in his entire career.

“Para sa akin, maaga pa, pero sa lahat ng linaruan kong coaches at sistema, dito ako pinaka-komportable siguro,” said Sotto after Saturday’s Gilas practice at the Philsports Arena.

“Kasi sa skill set ko, magaling ako pumasa, kaya kong pumoste, maganda ‘yung vision ko, magaling ako sa play. I think ‘yung sistema ni coach Tim, sakto sa akin or sakto ako sa sistema ni coach. Basta ganun, kumportable ako,” said Sotto.

It also helps that he has players around him who are high IQ guys that make everything on the court easy, citing the likes of Justin Brownlee, Scottie Thompson, and June Mar Fajardo.

“I think naman, kahit sinong player na high IQ, kapag pinagsama-sama mo, madali ‘yan mag-connect. JB is a very smart player. Sobrang dali niyang kasama sa court,” said Sotto.

The 21-year-old Sotto likes the Gilas win over Hong Kong that got the program off to a positive start especially on the defensive side.

“In the first and second quarter, they are either shooting a three or driving hard sa basket. Sabi sa amin, just jump straight up kasi they are going to finish over us kasi malalaki kami sa kanila. Sa tingin ko, ‘yung adjustment namin, mas naging better kami defensively.”

Sotto also said he was ready for any pass by his teammates inside the paint.

“Kapag hindi pa nila ako nakita, ewan ko na lang,” Sotto said in jest.

The Gilas big man expects a tough game against Chinese Taipei on Sunday even though the latter lost to New Zealand by 20 points in the first game of their own campaign in the Fiba Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers.

“We expect that they are going to be better than Hong Kong. Expect namin na they will come out hungrier kasi coming off a loss sila. We will be ready. Handa naman kami. Pinaghandaan namin ng maayos ito,” said Sotto.