Kai Sotto’s highly anticipated return for Koshigaya was cut short after he suffered a left ankle sprain on Saturday at Hitachi City Ikenokawa Sakura Arena.
In his first game in 384 days, Sotto was already making an impact, recording three blocks, two rebounds, and two assists in just 10 minutes of action.
However, after successfully swatting an attempt by Kotaro Hisaoka, Sotto collided with the Ibaraki player’s foot, resulting in the injury. He did not return to the game.
Despite the setback, the Alphas were happy to see him back on the court.
“First of all, Kai returned today, and although he twisted his ankle a bit, as a fellow player with a similar ACL injury, I’m really happy to have him back,” said Alphas guard Takeru Oba after their 83-81 victory that improved Koshigaya’s record to 11-20, placing them 20th.
(C) B.LEAGUE
Meanwhile, Quentin Millora-Brown had a rough debut in the B.League as Chiba suffered a 61-92 loss to Ryukyu at LaLa Arena. Millora-Brown played 12 minutes, finishing with three points, two rebounds, and four fouls, as the Jets fell to 24-7, remaining third in the league.
AJ Edu contributed eight points and 13 rebounds to help Gunma secure a 92-76 win over Shiga at Openhouse Arena, lifting the Crane Thunders to 20-11.
Dwight Ramos scored 13 points, adding five rebounds, two assists, and two steals in Hokkaido’s 95-77 victory over Utsunomiya at Brex Arena, improving the Levanga’s record to 24-7.
Ray Parks recorded 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block in Osaka’s 76-91 loss to Tokyo, dropping them to 13-18.
Kiefer Ravena’s 20-point outing for Yokohama was not enough as the B-Corsairs fell 63-76 to Kyoto at Shimazu Arena.
Finally, Francis Lopez impressed with 12 points, four rebounds, two steals, and a block to help Flying Eagles Nagoya edge Hiroshima 91-89 at Toyotagoseikinen Gymnasium.
