Gilas Pilipinas falls to New Zealand for 3rd straight time, all without Kai Sotto

MANILA, Philippines – It’s probably not a coincidence that Gilas Pilipinas’ three consecutive losses to New Zealand were without Kai Sotto.

The 7-foot-3 big man has missed national team action for over a year now since he suffered a knee injury in January 2025, and he remained sidelined in a 69-66 defeat to the Tall Blacks in the second window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Thursday, February 26.

“We know Kai Sotto is a big part of the puzzle for the Philippines,” said New Zealand head coach Judd Flavell. 

“He’s very mobile, and obviously being over seven feet, he’s going to be giving them another dynamic to play, so he does absolutely help.”

Sotto was instrumental when Gilas Pilipinas beat the Tall Blacks for the first time in FIBA play as he powered a 93-89 win in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in 2022 with an all-around effort of 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists.

In that breakthrough victory, the Filipinos outrebounded the Kiwis, 44-31. 

But New Zealand, which boasts of a 7-1 win-loss record against the Philippines, has restored the status quo since Sotto got injured.

Without Sotto, Gilas Pilipinas lost the rebounding battle against New Zealand in each of their last three encounters, sorely missing the inside presence of the Koshigaya Alphas big man, who ranked second in rebounding in the Asia Cup Qualifiers with an average of 12.5 boards. 

His absence also prevented him from once again linking up with AJ Edu and June Mar Fajardo and sharing the floor with Quentin Millora-Brown for the first time. 

“I think a big strength of the Philippines is the rebounding that they present. I remember Kai Sotto, he’s a handful on the rebounds. Not just him, Fajardo, Edu, and tonight, Millora-Brown, this was the first time we saw him,” said Flavell. 

“They’ve got some quality bigs, so they’re a handful collectively,” Flavell added. “But [Sotto] gives them another dynamic.” 

Millora-Brown and Edu held the fort down low as they limited New Zealand top scorer Sam Mennenga to just 10 points, his lowest scoring output in this Asian Qualifiers.

Edu produced 5 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks, while Millora-Brown put up 7 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. 

“AJ and Q, they battled their big guys really well. Mennenga is a special scorer and we held him down,” said Philippine head coach Tim Cone.

It is still uncertain whether Sotto will suit up for Gilas Pilipinas in the third window in July, but Flavell is already expecting a dogfight. 

“Next time we’re going to see the Philippines is in July, so we know that it’s going to be another big challenge,” said Flavell. – Rappler.com