The young core squad faced off against Serbia and Dominican Republic and despite bannering a solid performance it was not enough to bring down the two powerhouses.

Nonetheless, Sotto shifted the loss as a great experience to play against outstanding players saying that “we are still very young. So, it ended up with a lot of basketball lessons on the court and off the court. But, it was an excellent learning experience.”

The 19-year old Sotto also averred that the games were an eye-opener to the squad as it revealed their weaknesses.

“We still have time to improve. But I believe in this team and I believe in this coaching staff. So you can expect us to be better—and we will,” he said.

Now, the Gilas is set to prepare for their next big battle at the FIBA Asia Cup but the bigger picture is to bulk up for the 2023 Fiba World Cup.

“The 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup is our main goal and this team is the development team for the future. Everybody sees that we are very young and many of these players will be on the roster for that time. Therefore, I believe everybody will keep working hard and get better until then,” Sotto ended.