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Ateneo coach hails Lebron Lopez, Kai Sotto for spreading their wings

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News 

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/life/07/14/20210714-sotto-lopez.jpg"/><figcaption>Kai Sotto and Francis &quot;Lebron&quot; Lopez, both former Ateneo Blue Eaglets, are spreading their wings and playing overseas. FIBA.basketball.</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines -- Reggie Varilla, head coach of the Ateneo Blue Eaglets, could not help but laugh when it was pointed out to him that two of his former players have now taken their talents overseas.&quot;I think I&#x27;m not the only one na magsasabi nito, but the whole Ateneo community is proud na nakaka-produce tayo ng ganyan,&quot; Varilla told ABS-CBN News.&quot;Kasi sa amin naman, we always have this mantra of magis eh, na you always aim for more. So, masayang-masaya kami na itong mga batang &#x27;to, they&#x27;re breaking boundaries, discovering new things,&quot; he added.First, it was Kai Sotto, who left the Philippines in March 2019 to chase his NBA dream. Sotto&#x27;s next steps have been much publicized: he signed with the NBA G League&#x27;s Ignite program, but didn&#x27;t play a single game for the team. Since then, he has committed to play for the Adelaide 36ers in Australia, and most recently suited up for the Gilas Pilipinas men&#x27;s team.Sotto, of course, led Ateneo to the UAAP title in 2018 and was the league&#x27;s MVP the following season.Just last night, another one of Varilla&#x27;s players, Francis &quot;Lebron&quot; Lopez, announced that he, too, would be foregoing the rest of his eligibility to instead play abroad.Lopez, just 18 years old, signed with Overtime Elite -- a new league that is meant to provide high school prospects with a new path towards professional basketball. Lopez, who made the UAAP Mythical Team in Season 82, is the first Filipino to sign with the program.In Season 82, Lopez averaged 16.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game while wowing the crowds with his athleticism.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/13/21/gilas-lebron-lopez-signs-with-overtime-elite">READ: Gilas&#x27; Lebron Lopez signs with Overtime Elite</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/03/24/21/baldwin-sees-very-very-bright-future-for-gilas-prospect-lebron-lopez">READ: Baldwin sees &#x27;very, very bright future&#x27; for Gilas prospect Lebron Lopez</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/07/09/21/kai-sottos-next-goal-for-gilas-to-do-well-at-fiba-world-cup-2023">READ: ​​Kai Sotto’s next goal? For Gilas to do well at FIBA World Cup 2023</a></li></ul>&quot;In our own little way, nakatulong kami sa kanila,&quot; Varilla said. &quot;Siguro nagugulat ngayon, kasi we&#x27;re not used to that eh. Itong dalawang &#x27;to, si Kai at si Francis, they weren&#x27;t even done with high school, &#x27;di ba?&quot;&quot;Nakakatuwa. There&#x27;s a little sense of pride, not only from me, but also for my coaching staff, and the whole Ateneo community. Na parang, uy, kakilala namin &#x27;yun,&quot; he added.&quot;He&#x27;s stretching his wings, although not here, elsewhere. Pero we&#x27;re proud of them.&quot;Lopez also recently made his debut for the Gilas Pilipinas men&#x27;s team, playing against Indonesia in the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 qualifiers. In 10 minutes, he had eight points, five rebounds, an assist, a steal, and a block.It was a solid debut for the teenager, the youngest member of the team whom head coach Tab Baldwin said had a &quot;very bright future.&quot;Varilla has no doubt that Lopez will only become better as he trains and competes with other elite prospects in the United States.&quot;Francis needs to work on a lot of things pa, and ang maganda naman doon is he knows that,&quot; said Varilla, who steered the Blue Eaglets to a fourth place finish in Season 82.&quot;Kaya nga doon sa Gilas program, puro kuya niya doon. So alam niya na he needs to work on a lot of things,&quot; he added.In Overtime Elite, Lopez will earn a guaranteed minimum salary of $100,000 per year, plus bonuses and share of equity in Overtime.Among the players already committed are Jalen Lewis, widely regarded as a top three prospect in the 2023 class, Jai Smith, Amen and Ausar Thompson and Matt and Ryan Bewley, plus top international prospects like Jean Montero (Dominican Republic), Alexandre Sarr (France) and Nathan Missia-Dio (Belgium). FROM THE ARCHIVES:<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Sk-X8k-BB-U?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Reggie Varilla, head coach of the Ateneo Blue Eaglets, could not help but laugh when it was pointed out to him that two of his former players have now taken their talents overseas.

Reggie Varilla, head coach of the Ateneo Blue Eaglets, could not help but laugh when it was pointed out to him that two of his former players have now taken their talents overseas.

Ateneo coach hails Lebron Lopez, Kai Sotto for spreading their wings

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Ateneo coach hails Lebron Lopez, Kai Sotto for spreading their wings

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published July 14, 2021 08:13 PM PHT

Read More:

UAAP

Ateneo Blue Eaglets

Reggie Varilla

Kai Sotto

Lebron Lopez

Francis Lebron Lopez

Adelaide 36ers

NBL

Overtime Elite

OTE

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