Kai Sotto continues to dazzle in his new role as a starter for Adelaide.
On Christmas eve, the 36ers eked out a 94-88 win over South East Melbourne in the 2022-23 NBL Season at Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
The 7-foot-3 Filipino wunderkind tallied 10 rebounds to go along with seven points, proving that CJ Bruton made the right move to start him for the third straight game.
The 36ers took down Brisbane last December 17 (108-77) and Tasmania last December 19 (93-82) in Sotto’s last two starts.
It was a perfect vengeful win for Adelaide, who climbed to a 9-8 record for seventh place in the 10 team league, as it previously lost to the same team last December 11, 84-102.
Mitch McCarron sealed the win with three big free throws in the endgame.
McCarron tallied 16 points, four rebounds, and two assists while Robert Franks got 20 points and eight rebounds.
Daniel Johnson also powered his way to 20 points and seven rebounds. Antonius Cleveland also got 13 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and five steals.
Mitch Creek paced the Phoenix with 24 points while Kyle Adnam added 18 points.
SE Melbourne fell to 12-8 but still remained in third place.
Adelaide closes out the year against Brisbane on Thursday.
