With Kai Sotto's knee injury, national coach Tim Cone expresses confidence in Japeth Aguilar's ability to step up for the Philippines in the upcoming FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.
TIM CONE always has Japeth Aguilar for good measure in the event that one of the bigs in the national men’s basketball team either get injured or won’t be available for any other reasons. “That’s why we have Japeth Aguilar,” said Cone on Sunday night right after his Barangay Ginebra San Miguel gave San Miguel Beer a 93-81 beating in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Cone was reacting to questions surrounding 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto who injured his knee while playing for the Koshigaya Alphas in the Japan B. League Division 1 also on Sunday.“The only thing sure is somebody from the 14-man national roster will fill his shoes,” Cone said. “He is eligible and has the experience, and if you can tell me there’s another big out there that matches Japeth’s size and ability, then I will be happy to look at him,” Cone added. The Philippines will travel to New Zealand next month for the third window of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers. Sotto played big in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament last July with 18 points and eight rebounds in an 89-80 upset of Latvia in Riga and now has a 15.5-point, 12.5-rebound and 3.8-assist average in the qualifiers, where the Filipinos are unbeaten in four matches. Gilas Pilipinas will first fly to Chinese Taipei on February 20 before jetting to Spark Arena in Auckland to face a revenge-hungry Tall Blacks on February 23. Cone has committed to keep an intact national team composed of Sotto, Aguilar, June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, Dwight Ramos, Chris Newsome, Calvin Oftana, Kevin Quiambao, Carl Tamayo
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