Kai Sotto once again proved his worth in the B. League.
The 7-foot-3 Filipino big man led Hiroshima to a dominant 90-72 win over Ibaraki, Saturday at Adastria Mito Arena.
Sotto had a fantastic performance, scoring 21 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, earning his first double-double in the league.
The former Adelaide 36er shot an impressive 8-of-12 from the field and also recorded three blocks and one steal. His efforts helped the Dragonflies secure their second consecutive win and bring their slate to 30-11.
After a scoreless first quarter, Sotto came alive in the second period, scoring nine of his 21 points to help Hiroshima take a double-digit lead at halftime, 36-25. In the third quarter, he failed to score, and Ibaraki closed the gap to just six points, 54-60, heading into the final period.
But Sotto quickly regained his form and scored eight straight points in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter to extend the Dragonflies’ lead to 11 points, 68-57, and put the Robots away for good.
Dwayne Evans II also contributed to the win with 16 points.
Over at Toyohashi Gymnasium, Thirdy Ravena delivered a double-double performance but San-En fell to Sendai, 74-82.
Thirdy had 13 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block, but it was not enough to secure a win as San-En fell to a 17-24 record.
Carl Tamayo, meanwhile, started his first game, helping Ryukyu punish Shinshu, 81-66 at White Ring.
Tamayo finished with nine points, four rebounds, two steals, and one block in close to 27 minutes of play. The Golden Kings went up to 32-9.
In contrast, Shinshu’s Matt Aquino had only two points, one rebound, and one steal.
Meanwhile, Dwight Ramos tallied 11 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals in Hokkaido’s 82-92 loss to Mikawa. The Levanga fell to 11-31.
Matthew Wright almost tallied a triple-double with nine points, nine rebounds, and nine assists in Kyoto’s 91-93 loss to Chiba. The Hannaryz dropped to 16-25.
Finally, Kiefer Ravena and Shiga notched their sixth win in 41 games after beating Toyama, 96-87, on the road.
