Philippines, 12 Jul 2025
  Home >> News

 


BOXERS

CURRENT CHAMPIONS 

FORMER CHAMPIONS   

RATINGS                       

NEWS           

FORUM        

FIGHT GALLERIES        

RING CARD GIRLS        


 
 
News  


SECOND OVERTIME: Do yourself a favor, Kai Sotto, go to Real Madrid


PhilBoxing.com




CHICAGO -- If I had Kai Sotto's ear, I won't just suggest that he take Real Madrid's reported five-year $1 million offer. I will insist that he sign that contract right now, right this minute.

This means leaving his comfort zone. his friends, his loved ones, and the fine learning institution that is Ateneo.

But there is no sadness here. He's not going to a desolate monastery where cellphones don't work and wi-fi doesn't exist. Kai is going to Spain, a culinary paradise where paella was born, a wedge of heaven where life's worries are short and the afternoon naps are long.

So stuff your Nike Elite backpack with your sneakers and gear, Kai, and head on to Europe. It's not selfishness, just self-preservation. Sure, the melodrama of missing your friends and your country will sting, but like leaves in winter, those emotions die down, too.

Don't get stuck with today's pain, Kai, move on forward for tomorrow's happiness.

Coach Tab Baldwin prefer that Kai sticks around, which is a bit ironic given that Baldwin himself had bounced around Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, New Zealand, and the Philippines chasing his own hoop dreams.

"I want him to stay in the Philippines. I want us to create a program that he and his family can realize that everything he needs in terms of his development can get here," Baldwin implored.

After Kobe Paras and Kiefer Ravena's much-publicized sojourn to the U.S. to better themselves, the "program" Baldwin is romanticizing is too many players, too many generations too late.

The draining of our basketball talents to more prosperous courts of play will continue and Kai won;t be the last to leave. To argue otherwise is to be incredibly naive.

Time waits for no one. Opportunity only knocks once. Go now. Kai.

I'm a fan of Baldwin and his brilliant coaching mind. I believe his sentiments about Kai comes from a good, warm place. But the fact that Tab, 60 and wise, neglected to mention his own happiness if Kai stays gives the cynics a wide-open shot.

You see, Kai Sotto is a 7-foot-1 force of nature who can power the entire Ateneo campus and its surrounding neighborhoods. His presence --- the length, the deft touch, the velvet feet ---- virtually assures the Blue Eaglets of another title, and if he stays on for college, another feather in Baldwin's cap.

The social media gladiators will staunchly defend the merits of education and ask Sotto to stay.

Well, school can wait. Last time I checked, Ateneo De Manila University has been around since 1859. It would still be there the moment Kai surrenders his jersey for a toga.

The God honest is that when Kai sprouted to 6-foot-9 at age 13, all dreams of becoming the tallest Filipino doctor, lawyer or astronaut went out the window. By going to Spain, not only will he follow his dad's footsteps as a pro basketball player, he will experience something his pops never did -- grab a realistic chance at reaching the highest playing field, the NBA.

REAL MADRID BASKETBALL is a division of Real Madrid C.F., a franchise that according to Forbes was worth $4.09 billion in 2018 and the third wealthiest ballclub in the world behind the Dallas Cowboys and Manchester United.

Not only does Real Madrid have money, it has the temerity to spend it. In 2012, per Britian's The Telegraph, Real Madrid outbid the Dallas Mavericks for the wages to acquire the services of guard Rudy Fernandez.

With its bottomless resources, Real Madrid has become become a superstar-producing machinery. Among its notable alums who have reached the NBA include the late Drazen Petrovic, Arvydas Sabonis, Nikola Mirotic, and most recently, Luka Doncic. As of August 2018, says HoopsHype, former Real Madrid players have appeared in 832 NBA games.

Spain is where Kai belongs. The worst thing that could happen to him there is improve his game exponentially.

But here's where it really gets mouth-watering.

While Real Madrid's nutritionists, trainers, and array of coaches get busy molding Kai into a deadly weapon of basketball destruction, Sotto collects $200,000 a year.

In today's exchange, that's P10.8 million a year or P900,000 month. As of 2015, said a SPIN.ph report, the most a PBA player can make is capped at P420,000, more than twice less than Kai's bounty.

By most accounts, Kai is a good kid, polite in his ways, with traits that suggest impeccable parenting from his folks. He is generous, patiently giving of his time and attention.

Just this once, however, Kai Sotto needs to do what's best for Kai Sotto.

So explore the word, young man. Follow your dreams.

As those rich, free-spirited Spaniards would say -- Sigue tus suenos.


Click here to view a list of other articles written by Homer D. Sayson.


Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:

  • Taylor vs. Serrano Trilogy: Can Amanda Get The Nod?
    By Chris Carlson, , Sat, 12 Jul 2025
  • BERLANGA-SHEERAZ, STEVENSON-CEPEDA, MORELL-KHATAEV MAKE WEIGHT IN NEW YORK
    By Dong Secuya, , Sat, 12 Jul 2025
  • Johnny Spell Takes on Chancellor Batttenberg on Saturday, July 19th at the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows in Washington, PA
    , Sat, 12 Jul 2025
  • JV Tuazon, Ador Torres, Lemuel De Barbo, Jomar Fajardo Make Weight for Brico Santig's Highland Show in Thailand
    By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Philippine Under-12 Girls Team Shines Bright, Clinches Multiple Medals at 23rd ASEAN+ Age Group Chess Championships in Penang
    By Marlon Bernardino, , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Kenneth “Llover Boy” Takes on “El Nica” Concepcion Aug 17 on Gerry Peñalosa’s Show @ the Winford Resort and Casino Manila (Analysis)
    By Carlos Costa, , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Undefeated junior middleweight prospect Anthony Velazquez won’t be Boxing’s best kept secret in 2026
    , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Undefeated Gabriela Tellez Returns July 18 at “Night of Champions” Live on DAZN
    , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Dushanbe hosts stacked fight card with Bakhodur Usmonov and Christopher Mouafo headlining IBA.Pro 8
    , Fri, 11 Jul 2025
  • Shakur vs Zepeda & Morrell vs Khataev Fight Analysis
    By Ralph Rimpell, , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Peñalosa To Test "Lover Boy" Llover Versus Accomplished Panamanian Veteran Concepcion
    By Teodoro Medina Reynoso, , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • USA Boxing Youth High Performance Team Begins Brandenburg Cup Prep Camp
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Dream Fight: “Bam” Rodriguez vs “Puma” Martinez on the Horizon
    By Carlos Costa, , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Perez vs Vivas Headlines All Star Boxing's Prueba de Fuego Card on July 25
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Christy Martin Promotions & Ringside Ticket Inc. Present ‘Lopez Vs. Vargas’ Welterweight Battle
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • Vegas Fight Experience Where Authentic Sparring Meets Cinematic Vegas Energy
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • 4 Division World Champion & Hall of Famer Erik Morales Confirmed for Eighth Annual Box Fan Expo, During Mexican Independence Day Weekend, Saturday September 13, in Las Vegas
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • SALITA PROMOTIONS SIGNS FORMER WORLD CHAMPION TONY HARRISON
    , Thu, 10 Jul 2025
  • FIGHT EMPIRE! TUAZON, ADOR, DE BARBO, JOMAR, AND MORE ARE READY FOR ACTION IN BRICO SANTIG'S EXCITING SHOW JULY 12 IN THAILAND
    By Carlos Costa, , Wed, 09 Jul 2025
  • Shakur Stevenson and David Morrell Face "Crossroad Fights" This Saturday in Queens
    By Ralph Rimpell, , Wed, 09 Jul 2025
  • Christy Martin’s “Mayhem in Music City 2” to Feature Undefeated Vic Hernandez Facing Jayvon Garnett for NABA & Jr. NABF Featherweight Championships
    , Wed, 09 Jul 2025
  • James Perkins & Anthony Andreozzi Headlines “Oceanside Prize Fights”
    , Wed, 09 Jul 2025
  • GORST PURSUES GOLDEN GLORY IN JEDDAH, DEFENDING WORLD POOL CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE IN SAUDI ARABIA, 21–26 JULY
    , Wed, 09 Jul 2025
  • Hovhannisyan and Barrientes Set for High-Stakes Showdowns July 18 on DAZN
    , Tue, 08 Jul 2025
  • UNBEATEN PROSPECT KENNETH LLOVER TO FACE FORMER TWO-DIVISION CHAMPION LUIS CONCEPCION IN MANILA
    , Mon, 07 Jul 2025




  •  



     
    PhilBoxing.com has been created to support every aspiring
    Filipino boxer and the Philippine boxing scene in general.
    Please send comments to feedback@philboxing.com


    PRIVATE POLICY | LEGAL DISCLAIMER
    developed and maintained by dong secuya
    © 2025 philboxing.com.