Kai Sotto admitted that he couldn't breathe for a couple of minutes after getting injured, and it still hurts a lot. The most important thing for Gilas Pilipinas against Brazil is going to be stopping their set plays, the player said.
Gilas Pilipinas is one of the most surprising teams in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. After beating Latvia in the first game, they managed to advance to the playoffs despite losing to Georgia. During the last game, the team's leader, Kai Sotto, got injured.
Sotto got fouled by Georgia's Joe Thomasson, with the naturalized guard hitting the big man with his shoulder during a shot attempt. After the contact, Sotto fell on the floor. Just moments later, Georgia's big man Goga Bitadze fell on Sotto with his full weight, leaving the Gilas Pilipinas center lying on the ground.
The Gilas big man was transported to the hospital for X-rays which ultimately came out negative.
"It does hurt a lot but I still try to practice," Sotto told BasketNews. "I don't currently do a lot. Hopefully, it feels better tomorrow. It's a game-time decision if I'm going to play. Breathing is hard and yeah, that's it."
"It happened so fast. When I fell down, the big guy just landed on top of me, and then I felt like a click on my right rib, and I couldn't breathe for a couple of minutes," the player admitted. "It just happened so fast. It's like a big bone bruise. It's pretty painful."
Sotto could be seen with a block of ice tied to his stomach/rib area. Later on, he was on a stationary bike throughout the majority of the third quarter. He never came back to the court.
"I just couldn't move. It was hard to move. I couldn't really breathe properly," Sotto said.
It was a shocker for Gilas Pilipinas in an otherwise amazing set of events. Head coach Tim Cone even told the delegation had bought tickets to go home after the group round.
"A lot," Sotto said when asked how many messages of support he received that night after he got injured. "My family, my fans, they were wishing good health. They were worried. I told them I was going to be OK, that I was not going to die soon, that I'm alright."
After advancing to the next round in the OQT, Gilas Pilipinas are going to play against Brazil, who surprisingly lost against Cameroon in the last game of the group stage on Thursday.
Brazil are not immune to injuries as well. They have already lost Raul Neto to injury this week, while their other point guard, Yago dos Santos, is playing his first games after a month of not practicing due to an injury.
"We have to match their pace. They do a lot of ball screens, we have to work hard on pick-and-roll defense. They do that throughout almost the entire game. We have to prepare for their sets, their plays, and we'll be good," Sotto explained.
"We always start defense first. I think the offense will come naturally," he later continued. "We all run the same system, we're all teammates, we don't really have guys that don't know our plays. The offense will, it's just how we stop our opponent."
With two surprises already in the books, can Gilas Pilipinas knock out another tournament favorite out of their way?
"Yeah, I think so. Hopefully, I wake up with a good feeling, with a good rib tomorrow, so I can play," Kai Sotto concluded with a smile.
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