By NIKOLE JAVIER
Kai Sotto scattered 20 points and helped power Hiroshima past Matthew Wright’s Kyoto, 102-95, in the 2022-23 Japan B.League on Wednesday, March 15, at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall.
The Filipino import had a decent 9-of-14 shooting clip in 23 minutes of action laced with eight rebounds and a steal to help the Dragonflies bounce back from a two-game slide for a 29-11 record.
“I’m happy to be in this team, to be in this city and I’m happy I got my first home win tonight and I’m happy for the team. I think the whole team played well, kudos to the coaching staff,” said Sotto during the post-game interview.
Fellow import Kelly Blackshear Jr. was behind Sotto after finishing with 17 points and eight boards while Ryo Terashima added 16 of his own.
Wright, for his part, erupted with 26 points to go along with eight assists, two boards and two steals in an all-around performance highlighted by seven triples.
Sotto couldn’t lead Hiroshima to the win column in his debut following their 86-78 loss to Carl Tamayo’s Ryukyu Golden Kings last March 8.
On the other hand, though, Tamayo finally got his first taste of the pro rank after scoring five points including a rebound and a steal in his debut as Ryuku slipped past the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins, 79-74, sans Bobby Ray Parks Jr.
The Golden Kings climbed to a 27-13 record in the standings, with Josh Duncan and Keito Imamura joining hands with 17 points each.
Meantime, Thirdy Ravena’s San-En NeoPhoenix suffered an 81-78 beating at the hands of Sun Rockers Shibuya.
Ravena delivered decent numbers of 10 points apart from seven assists and six rebounds in the losing effort, sending them further to a 17-23 slate.
Similarly, Dwight Ramos and the Levanga Hokkaido absorbed a 94-80 loss to the Chiba Jets which saw their two-game winning run come to an end, dropping them deeper into a 10-30 hole in the standings.
