MANILA, Philippines – One of Kai Sotto's dreams is already in the works, apart from the basketball phenom’s goal to become the first Filipino in the NBA.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday (Friday, Manila time), the Philippine wunderkind shared an update on his personal project — a basketball academy in Hamilton, Ohio.
"This right here is a dream coming true. Workers are busy building and very soon, the Spooky Nook Champion Mill will open and will be the permanent home to the first ever Kaiju Global Academy," said Sotto.
The 18-year-old first announced the project in December, which he embarked on through a partnership with the Spooky Noook Champion Mill Complex — a 1.3 million square-foot sports facility.
Coming from humble beginnings here in the Philippines, Sotto hopes to give the youth better facilities with his basketball academy.
"I grew up playing on dirt and concrete basketball courts in the Philippines so to have a playground and performance center like this for all athletes around the world to come to is such a blessing," he said.
Sotto is expected to join Gilas Pilipinas in the third window of the FIBA 2021 Asia Cup Qualifiers relocated to Doha, Qatar in February.
He will likely miss his team's — Team Ignite — initial stint in the NBA G League bubble in Orlando, Florida as it coincides with Gilas' schedule.