Kai Sotto to play for Mighty Sports in Dubai tourney

MANILA, Philippines — It's official: Kai Sotto is heading to Dubai to suit up for Mighty Sports in the 31st Dubai Invitational Tournament, according to a tweet announcement from head coach Charles Tiu.

Sotto joins promosing cagers in the lineup such as Juan and Javi Gomez de Liano of the University of the Philippines. 

Welcome to our Mighty Sports team @kzsottolive. Pleased to share that Kai Sotto will be playing for us in Dubai. ???? you there. Excited to be reunited with Kai. pic.twitter.com/NtUq5YeQT2

— Charles Tiu (@charlestiu) December 17, 2019

The seven-foot-two bigman played for the the Gilas Pilipinas youth team in the World Championships where they edged China and finished at 14th place.

His tenure with Mighty Sports is seen to have no bearing on his eligibility for the NCAA in the United States, as he is playing with Mighty Sports-Philippines as an amateur, according to Tiu.

Sotto has made unofficial visits to various high-profile universities like Kentucky and Georgia Tech, which have been well-documented on social media. He has also been training with the Atlanta-based The Skills Factory since he departed in April. 

The former Ateneo star himself expressed his excitement in joining Tiu.

I’m super excited to be coming back to Manila next month for a week to train with the Mighty Sports team under Coach Charles Tiu. Looking forward to playing as an amateur representing my country in the 31st Dubai International Basketball Championship. We are going for the gold! pic.twitter.com/UK1bsKzH0h

— Kai Sotto (@kzsottolive) December 17, 2019