MANILA, Philippines—Tab Baldwin knew Gilas Pilipinas’ young big men Angelo Kouame and Kai Sotto would be in a bind against the experienced Ra Guna of South Korea, but what he saw from his centers were enough for him to gauge their hearts.
Kouame, who just got naturalized, and Sotto, on his first time with the senior team, made their international debuts for the Philippines in the 81-78 win over long time tormentor South Korea in the Fiba Asia Qualifiers.
Ra still had better numbers than the two, even if Kouame and Sotto combined their stats, but Baldwin was still proud of the fight his bigs gave.
“You saw the determination in Kai to make an impact,” said Baldwin after the Philippi…
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