Ignite head coach Brian Shaw supports Kai Sotto's decision to play for Gilas Pilipinas but isn't sure whether Sotto will return in time to play the 2021 G League season.
In a virtual press conference held early Thursday (Manila time), Shaw said he and team officials are open about letting their players represent their respective countries in international tournaments.
Sotto's teammate Princepal Singh briefly left the team's bubble in California last November to suit up for India in the second window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers. Sotto is to see action for Gilas in the third and final window in February.
"Back at the end of November, Princepal, who's on our team now from India, went to go play with his national team to try to help them qualify for the games that they were going to be playing in," Shaw said. "One of the things (we committed to) before all these guys entered the program was that, you know, we weren't going to hold anybody back. We commend our players for wanting to represent their countries in that fashion. That was a decision that Kai and his team wanted and thought was important for him, so we supported him going and being a part of that."
However, this means Sotto will miss a huge chunk -- or possibly all -- of Ignite's 15 games to be held in the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
"Unfortunately, a lot of it is during the time of when we're going to be in the bubble. And so we're just wishing him the best. We've worked with him up until the point that he left, and hopefully he'll be able to go there and perform well," said Shaw.
Ignite and 17 other teams will compete in the four-week single-site tournament until Mar. 6, with a playoff to be held from Mar. 8 to 11 for top eight teams.
Behind Filipino-American guard Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga, who are both projected to go in the top five of next year's draft, Ignite will start its season against the Santa Cruz Warriors on Feb 10.
Gilas' games, meanwhile, will be held on Feb. 18 and 22 against South Korea and Indonesia on Feb. 20 in Doha, Qatar. The travel ban in the Philippines forced FIBA officials to move the games from Clark, Pampanga.
Although Ignite and East West Private have agreed that Sotto will fly back as soon as the games wrap up, there is still no guarantee that the 7-foot-3 center will make it due to quarantine protocols set in place for international travelers.
"And then depending on the timing of everything, especially because he's traveling internationally, the quarantine times can be a lot longer. So we don't know how that's going to play out when it's all said and done in terms of him coming back and joining the team or not," said Shaw. "But we want him to do well in those competitions and then if the timing (is right) and (he) comes back, you know, we'll see what happens then."