Kai Sotto raring to make B. League debut against pal Carl Tamayo
MANILA, Philippines — Hiroshima Dragonflies big man Kai Sotto will have a match up to remember when he makes his debut for the Japan B. League on Wednesday, March 8, against the Ryukyu Golden Kings.
Sotto, who is taking his talents to the Land of the Rising Sun after two years in the Australian NBL, will be seeing a familiar face on the opponents' end of the court in Carl Tamayo.
He and Tamayo have a long history together, as they faced each other in the UAAP juniors basketball tournament finals back in the 2018 and 2019. They won one title each against each other.
Since then, they have also played together in the national team — both the juniors and men's teams.
"Yeah, Carl Tamayo is a really good friend of mine. We were teammates in the national team a couple of times, national team, men's national team, Under-18, Under-19, we go way back. And we played against each other in high school so I'm just proud of Carl Tamayo," said Sotto during his introductory press conference on Thursday.
The 7'3" big man even revealed that he had talked Tamayo into turning pro even years ago, believing in what his good friend could do.
"I told him two years ago, you could already go pro right now. So, I was happy to have him as my first game [in Japan]," said Sotto.
Now that they're in the same league again, Sotto shoots for his former rival's success.
"I'm excited to see him, I'm excited to play against him and I'm confident that he will do good in this league because I know how good Carl Tamayo is," he said.
Before the B. League, though, Tamayo is set to see action in the East Asia Super League Champions Week in Okinawa.
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