Kai Sotto

Kai Zachary Perlado Sotto (English: , Tagalog: [ˈkaɪ ˈsɔtɔ]; born May 11, 2002) is a Filipino professional basketball player who last played for the Koshigaya Alphas of the Japanese B.League. Listed at 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m), he plays the center position. He and Raul Dillo share the record for being the tallest Filipino professional basketball player. Sotto and Dillo are also the second-tallest Filipino men, with William Biscocho being the tallest at 7 ft 4 in. Sotto is the son of former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) player Ervin Sotto. He played high school basketball for the Ateneo Blue Eaglets of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), winning the juniors' division championship and MVP award. He then moved to the United States, where he was recruited by several NCAA Division I schools, but decided to forgo his college eligibility and signed with NBA G League Ignite in 2020. However, due to COVID-19-related travel restrictions and his decision to play for the Philippine national team at the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, Sotto left Ignite by mutual agreement. He then joined the Adelaide 36ers of Australia's National Basketball League (NBL) for the 2021–22 season, after which he declared for the 2022 NBA draft but went undrafted. He returned to the 36ers for another season before joining the Hiroshima Dragonflies of Japan's B.League. After a loan spell with the Yokohama B-Corsairs, he joined the Koshigaya Alphas in 2024. Sotto has also represented the Philippines national team in several senior and youth tournaments. Among these are the Under-17 and Under-19 Basketball World Cups as well as the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.