Kai Sotto returned to playing limited minutes for Adelaide on Sunday during their 98-103 overtime loss to South East Melbourne in the 2022-23 National Basketball League season at John Cain Arena.
Just two days after scoring 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting with seven rebounds against New Zealand, Sotto was a DNP in both the final frame and extra time against the Phoenix.
The 7-foot-3 Filipino wound up with two points on two free throws with five rebounds, a steal, and a block in eight minutes of action.
It was a heartbreaking loss for the 36ers, who were able to force OT after two free throws from Craig Randall as they suddenly lost gas in overtime.
The Phoenix went on an 11-2 run to start extra time to notch their fifth win in eight games.
Trey Kell III led SEM with 24 points, five rebounds, four assists, and a steal, while Alan Williams got 18 points and six rebounds.
Ryan Broekhoff got 17 points, six rebounds, and two steals and Mitchell Creek chipped in 16 points and nine rebounds.
Zhou Qi only played 12 minutes for the Phoenix, tallying five points and three rebounds.
Adelaide suffered its second straight loss to fall to 2-3.
Randall paced Adelaide with 28 points, while Daniel Johnson added 16 points and eight rebounds. Anthony Drmic also played his best game of the season with 13 points.
Adelaide will next face Illawarra on Thursday.
