Chot explains Kai Sotto benching

GILAS Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes had no intentions of benching Kai Sotto in the Philippines-Dominican Republic FIBA World Cup game at the Philippine Arena on Friday evening, August 25.

Sotto’s two quick fouls and the solid outing by his fellow big men AJ Edu and June Mar Fajardo, however, forced him to do so in the match that drew a World Cup record of 38,115 fans.

“Kai picked up two quick fouls, so we had to get him out right away. We couldn’t put him back in because [AJ Edu] was playing a great game, and that’s the reason why he’s here [in the press conference], right? He was playing really, really well,” explained Reyes.

Gilas Pilipinas’ Kai Sotto (left) and Dominican Republic’s Angel Delgado battle for the rebound during the Philippines-Dominican Republic FIBA World Cup game at the Philippine Arena on Friday evening, Aug. 25, 2023.PHOTO BY RIO DELUVI 

“If we get him in, then the other guy I have to sit is a guy named June Mar Fajardo, who had 16 points in 28 minutes. I’m sure a lot of people are going to wonder why, but between sitting AJ and June Mar, there was just no opportunity, and the matchups just didn’t favor Kai.”

Sotto, who stands at 7-foot-3, played for only 73 seconds and logged just one block. He was a minus 4 in the plus minus category.

Meanwhile, Edu and Fajardo had themselves a night as they fared well against NBA superstar Karl-Anthony Towns who led Dominican Republic to an 87-81 win with 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Edu notched seven points, five boards and two blocks in 27 minutes of action, and his presence inside the paint really helped Gilas, especially on the defensive end.

Edu, who shot 3-of-3 from the field, was a +4 in the plus minus department.

Fajardo, on the other hand, also went perfect in the field, going 5-of-5 to finish with 16 points on top of seven rebounds and a +3 in the plus minus department in 28 minutes of play.

Reyes, though, assured that Sotto would see more minutes in the next two games of the Philippines in Group A — against Angola on the 27th and Italy on the 29th.

“In the next game and the game after, you should be able to see more of him.”