New G League season nixes Kai Sotto’s plan to rejoin Gilas

MANILA, Philippines — Kai Sotto’s Gilas stint in the FIBA Asia Cup is in peril as the new G League season will run smack to the qualifier’s next window slated in February.

The G League is penciled in to open training camp in a Bubble set up tentatively in Atlanta on January 29 next year, first reported by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.

The G League is looking at a February 8 opening date of a truncated regular season, with the playoffs starting on March 8.

Despite several G League teams expressing their disinterest in participating, the NBA is motivated to have a season because they want to showcase Ignite, a selection of top high school prospects who skipped college to join the developmental league’s first pro pathway program.

Sotto is part of the Ignite team that features lottery prospects Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, and other NBA draft hopefuls Daishen Nix, Isaiah Todd, and Princepal Singh of India.

Earlier, Sotto expressed his plans of rejoining the Gilas program in a recorded video message.

"I'm really looking forward to joining my former teammates and the PBA players that I have idolized since then. Together with them, I hope we play our best to bring glory to our country," Sotto said in the video. “It will be special for us all as the Philippines is the co-host for the 2023 World Cup.”

The Philippines is set to host the February window in Clark, Pampanga, from February 18-22. Gilas currently holds a 3-0 win-loss record after the first window.

Gilas will be arch-nemesis Korea (2-0) twice on February 18 and 22, sandwiched by a matchup against former Gilas coach Rajko Toroman and Indonesia (1-2) on February 20.

Thailand is in the cellar of Group A with 0-4 card.

Group C games will also be held in Clark, Pampanga. Group C is composed of New Zealand, Australia, Guam, and Hong Kong.