By JONAS TERRADO
Kai Sotto matched his season-high 12 points but the Adelaide 36ers couldn’t sustain their lead, bowing to the Tasmania JackJumpers, 76-71, Friday in Australia’s National Basketball League.
The 7-foot-3 made all four attempts from the field while adding two rebounds and one block in 16 minutes off the bench during the 36ers’ road defeat at the MyState Bank Arena in Glenorchy.
But Adelaide dropped to 3-6 after squandering a 12-point lead and eight early in the fourth quarter.
Adelaide failed to win on its two-game road trip which started Monday with a 100-89 defeat to Illawarra.
The 36ers return home Sunday when they host Melbourne United, which won 97-78 in their previous meeting last Jan. 22 also at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
Sotto’s dunk gave the 36ers a 62-57 lead over seven minutes remaining, before the JackJumpers made a 10-point turnaround the rest of the way to snatch victory.
Tasmania tied Adelaide in the standings with a similar 3-6 slate.
Sotto had seven points in the first half, including an alley-oop dunk midway in the second quarter that put the 36ers in front 31-21.