Ervin Amedo Sotto (born July 30, 1981) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He was also an assistant coach for the NLEX Road Warriors. He was the seventh overall pick in the 2004 PBA draft by the Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs. He also played for the Shell Turbo Chargers, Barangay Ginebra Kings and the Air21 Express, Alaska Aces before joining NLEX Road Warriors camp. Sotto was one of the most promising big men and was known for his good shooting from outside the arc. He was included in one of the most controversial trades in the PBA involving Rudy Hatfield, Billy Mamaril, Rafi Reavis, and Aries Dimaunahan.
 Sotto with Air21 in 2007 | |||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | July 30, 1981 Las Piñas, Philippines | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Filipino | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 210 lb (95 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| College | St. Francis | ||||||||||||||
| PBA draft | 2004: 1st round, 7th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Selected by the Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs | |||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2004–2016 | ||||||||||||||
| Position | Center | ||||||||||||||
| Number | 30, 36, 13, 21 | ||||||||||||||
| Coaching career | 2018–2019 | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| As player: | |||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs | ||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Shell Turbo Chargers | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | Barangay Ginebra Kings | ||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Air21 Express | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2012 | Alaska Aces | ||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Petron Blaze Boosters | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Byaheng SCTEX | ||||||||||||||
| As coach: | |||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | NLEX Road Warriors (assistant) | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||
Professional career
editBefore the 2004 PBA draft, Sotto played for Saint Francis of Assisi College System along with his twin tower center-forward Ranidel de Ocampo to which they grab championships in a collegiate league NCRAA. Sotto was a highly heralded prospect mainly because of his size and was projected by some to be the first pick of that year's draft. Eventually, he was picked seventh overall by Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants. Coming out of the Philippine Basketball League he once acquired the Most Improved Player and Mythical Five selection from a well known team Welcoat Housepaint.
In 2005, Sotto was traded to Shell Turbo Chargers for Mike Hrabak. In December 2005, his contract with Shell expired and was not renewed, making him a free agent.
In December 2005, Barangay Ginebra Kings signed him after his contract with Sta. Lucia expired.
In July 2006, Sotto was traded by Barangay Ginebra to Air21 Express in a controversial three-team trade that also involved Coca-Cola Tigers.[1] In the end of the 2007–08 PBA season, Sotto was released by the Express.
In September 2008, just after he was released by Air21, the Alaska Aces picked him up.[2]
On 2012, Sotto was signed by the Petron Blaze Boosters. However, after just four games with the team, he was released.
In March 2016, Sotto was signed by Byaheng SCTEX of the Pilipinas Commercial Basketball League.[3]
National team career
editSotto represented the Philippines national basketball team at the 2003 Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam where he won the gold medal.
Personal life
editSotto is married to Pamela Sotto (née Perlado) and has three children, including his eldest son, Kai, who plays for the Koshigaya Alphas of the Japanese B.League.[4][5][6]
PBA career statistics
edit| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Season-by-season averages
edit| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004–05 | Shell | 33 | 6.7 | .299 | .211 | .625 | 1.3 | .2 | .1 | .2 | 1.7 |
| 2005–06 | Purefoods / Barangay Ginebra | 33 | 8.1 | .448 | .000 | .697 | 1.8 | .2 | .0 | .4 | 3.3 |
| 2006–07 | Air21 | 29 | 7.6 | .426 | .000 | .722 | 1.9 | .5 | .1 | .1 | 2.2 |
| 2007–08 | Air21 | 42 | 6.9 | .390 | .231 | .600 | 1.2 | .2 | .0 | .1 | 1.6 |
| 2008–09 | Alaska | 13 | 5.3 | .562 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.1 | .1 | .0 | .0 | 1.5 |
| 2010–11 | Alaska | 2 | 2.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .500 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 3.0 |
| 2011–12 | Petron Blaze | 4 | 3.5 | .571 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .3 | 2.0 |
| Career | 156 | 7.0 | .408 | .189 | .681 | 1.5 | .2 | .0 | .2 | 2.1 | |
References
edit- ^ Cordero, Abac (July 30, 2006). "Ginebra, Coke, Air21 okay 7-player trade". The Philippine Star. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
- ^ daVe (September 10, 2008). "PBA Teams: Player Movement". BasketballChat.Blogspot.com. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
- ^ Joble, Rey (March 6, 2016). "SCTEX joins PCBL as Chairman's Cup opens Sunday in Malolos". Interaksyon. Archived from the original on March 12, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2016.
- ^ Snow Badua (April 11, 2016). "Kai Sotto, 13 and already 6-foot-9, dreams of making it to NBA, idolizes Kevin Garnett". Spin.ph. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Norman Riego (March 15, 2017). "Sotto family's move northward bears fruit as 6'11" Kai now rising in Katipunan". ABS-CBN Sports. Retrieved May 18, 2017.
- ^ Morales, Luisa. "Kai Sotto's NBA G League season set to begin next month". Philstar.com. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
- ^ Player Profile at PBA-Online!