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Baldwin shares Pinoys' excitement as Kai chases NBA dream

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt=" Gilas Pilipinas center Kai Sotto during the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers in June 2021. File photo. FIBA.basketball" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/04/28/gilas-pilipinas-kai-sotto.jpg"/><figcaption>Gilas Pilipinas center Kai Sotto during the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers in June 2021. File photo. <em>FIBA.basketball</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA, Philippines -- Count former Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin among those who are hoping for the best for Kai Sotto as he chases his &quot;ultimate dream&quot; of playing in the NBA.</p><p>The 19-year-old Sotto announced early Thursday that he will be joining the 2022 NBA Rookie Draft, after one season of playing for the Adelaide 36ers in Australia&#x27;s National Basketball League (NBL).</p><p>Baldwin, the head coach of Ateneo de Manila University, had the opportunity to mentor Sotto during the build-up to the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in June 2021. Sotto was called up to the Gilas Pilipinas team that played against South Korea and Indonesia in a bubble in Pampanga, and he averaged 9.3 points and seven rebounds while playing nearly 19 minutes per game in three contests -- all wins for the Philippines.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/28/22/kai-sotto-declares-for-the-nba-draft">READ: Kai Sotto declares for the NBA Draft</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/28/22/36ers-back-sotto-as-he-pursues-nba-dream">READ: 36ers back Sotto as he pursues NBA dream</a></li></ul><p>&quot;I&#x27;m excited for him,&quot; Baldwin said when asked about his reaction to Sotto&#x27;s decision.</p><p>Baldwin, who was replaced by Chot Reyes as Gilas coach in March this year, acknowledged that he is not in the position to assess whether or not Sotto will eventually be drafted by an NBA team.</p><p>&quot;Kai and his people know much better what his standing is with the NBA teams. I&#x27;m sure they&#x27;ve been in touch with teams,&quot; he said.</p><p>Rather, the coach said he shares in the excitement of Filipinos who welcomed the news of Sotto&#x27;s entry into the NBA Rookie Draft. Sotto has long carried the hopes and dreams of the basketball-crazed country on his shoulders, as many feel that he can be the first homegrown Filipino to play in the NBA.</p><p>Right now, there are two players of Filipino heritage in the league -- Jordan Clarkson of the Utah Jazz and Jalen Green of the Houston Rockets.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin. UAAP Media." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/sports/04/28/uaap_admu-tab-baldwin.jpg"/><figcaption>Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin. UAAP Media.</figcaption></figure></div><p>&quot;I&#x27;m like all the rest of Filipinos -- just excited for the opportunity that he might get drafted. And if he does, that he gets a real chance to make a roster,&quot; said Baldwin. &quot;It would be a dream come true for this basketball-crazy country.&quot;</p><p>Baldwin had been in full support of Sotto&#x27;s decision to play for Adelaide in the NBL, and he believes that the young center learned plenty in his one season in the league.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/23/21/basketball-kai-sotto-nbls-adelaide-an-excellent-match-says-tab-baldwin">READ: Kai Sotto, NBL’s Adelaide an ‘excellent match,’ says Tab Baldwin</a></li></ul><p>&quot;I&#x27;m sure Kai is excited and nervous, but he&#x27;s worked really hard. He had a good season in Adelaide, and that was a good place for him to be, I believe,&quot; the coach said &quot;A lot of big men, a lot of talented big men in that league, and he held his own. He had a good season.&quot;</p><p>&quot;So I hope it&#x27;s the right decision. I can&#x27;t make any assessment as to whether it is or not. But you know, we just wish him well,&quot; he added.</p><p>As head coach of the Blue Eagles, Baldwin also shares in the pride that the Ateneo community has in Sotto. The center played his high school ball with the Blue Eaglets, leading them to the UAAP championship in Season 80. He won MVP honors in Season 81 before deciding to focus on his pursuit of his NBA dream.</p><p>&quot;All of us Ateneans, we still believe he&#x27;s one of us,&quot; said Baldwin. </p><p>&quot;We&#x27;re very proud of what he&#x27;s accomplished so far, and hopeful that there would be a lot more of his story to be told at the highest level,&quot; he added.</p><p>Meanwhile, also expressing his support for Sotto is Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al Panlilio, also the president of the MVP Sports Foundation and Smart Communications Inc.</p><p>&quot;As a basketball-loving country, it has always been a dream for Filipinos to see a homegrown player set foot on the NBA hardcourt. Today, we have come closer to realizing this as Kai aims to show the world what Filipino basketball players are made of: talent, skill, determination, and above all, PUSO,&quot; Panlilio said in a statement.</p><p>&quot;As an advocate of Philippine sports and basketball, it is an honor for us at Smart to be part of Kai&#x27;s journey. From his varsity days in Ateneo and when he suited up for Batang Gilas in 2017 up to this point, we have always known that Kai’s NBA dream has always been bigger than himself, and we fully support his bid to fulfill it and inspire our nation,&quot; he added.</p><p>Sotto became a brand ambassador for Smart in 2021.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2016574" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div><div> </div>

Count former Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin among those who are hoping for the best for Kai Sotto as he chases his 'ultimate dream' of playing in the NBA.

Baldwin shares Pinoys' excitement as Kai chases NBA dream

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Baldwin shares Pinoys' excitement as Kai chases NBA dream

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Apr 28, 2022 08:07 PM PHT

Read More:

basketball

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Ateneo Blue Eagles

Tab Baldwin

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Kai Sotto

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