By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Kai Sotto picked up where he left off from a convincing FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers campaign and rode on his hot hands upon returning to his club Koshigaya Alphas in the Japan B. League.
After a dominant outing that steered the Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team to their first-ever FIBA win against New Zealand, Sotto kept his steady play and led Koshigaya to a 1-1 record over the weekend.
Sotto and the Alphas faced the Fighting Eagles Nagoya twice and leveled their duel with a 1-1 win-loss outing. In their first encounter last Saturday, Koshigaya crumbled and dropped a tightly-contested battle, 94-90.
Despite the sorry loss, Sotto was firing on all cylinders and proved his worth as the club’s Asian import with a dominant stat line of 20 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal.
Sotto was on fire from the get-go and bullied his way underneath, relying on his length and improved footwork to outsmart the quick frontcourt defenders of Nagoya.
The Gilas Pilipinas center nearly tallied a perfect shooting from the field but missed his second-to-the-last attempt with an efficient 7/8 offensive rating.
Eager to get back at Nagoya, Sotto doubled his efforts inside the hardwood and led the Alphas to a lopsided 101-71 revenge win.
Sotto registered a more flawless stat line of 24 points, 13 rebounds, three dimes, two steals, and a rejection to help the Alphas avoid a disappointing sweep.
From a paint-oriented offense in their first game, Sotto mixed things up during their rematch and shot more attempts from the outside, including the three-point line.
Also, Sotto fished early fouls that put the Nagoya frontcourt pool in foul trouble which resulted in a forced lineup tweak from the opposition’s head coach.
