Kai Sotto showed flashes of his playmaking in Hiroshima’s 81-70 victory over Toyama in the 2022-23 B.League Season, Saturday at Tottori Prefectural Gymnasium.
The 7-foot-3 Filipino center failed to score in double digits for the second time this week, but grabbed nine rebounds and dished out six assists. He also had two blocks and a steal in nearly 24 minutes of play.
The Dragonflies went up to 32-12 for third in the west while dropping the Grouses to an 8-36 slate.
Brothers Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena had contrasting performances.
Kiefer was at his clutch best as he delivered in the endgame to help Shiga escape with a 93-87 win over Shibuya at Daihatsu Arena.
Kiefer scored a total of 27 points, including a crucial three-pointer that gave the Lakes the lead with only 33 seconds left on the clock.
Meanwhile, Thirdy sustained his splendid play for San-En, but it was not enough to prevent a fifth straight loss for the team. They bowed to Utsunomiya, 68-80, at Nikkan Arena Tochigi Main Arena.
Thirdy paced San-en with 21 points.
Shiga rose to 8-36 for second-to-the-last place in the league. On the other hand, San-En fell to 17-27 – fifth in the central division.
In other results, Tokyo (35-9) romped Hokkaido (12-32, 88-65, with Dwight Ramos scoring 12 points at Yoyogi National Stadium 1st gymnasium.
Matthew Wright’s 18 points also went for naught as Kyoto (16-28) fell to Shimane (37-7), 75-87, over at Tottori Prefectural Gymnasium.
Carl Tamayo only played two minutes in Ryukyu’s 75-73 escape of Sendai (15-29). The Golden Kings went up to 35-9.
In Division II, Jordan Heading scored eight points in Nagasaki’s 81-51 whipping of the Roosevelt Adams-less Kagawa (14-37). The Velca rose to 36-15 with the win.
Finally, Greg Slaughter played eight minutes in Fukuoka’s 63-65 loss to Nara (14-37). The Rizing Zephyr dropped to 16-35.
