Kai Sotto’s best game so far in the NBL 2022-23 season went in vain as Adelaide saw its two-game winning streak get snapped by New Zealand Breakers with a 99-70 blowout win on Friday, Oct. 28, at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
Sotto proved that he only needed to be given some minutes to contribute as he made up for the lost time after rarely seeing action in the first few games of the 36ers, this time dropping team-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field along with five rebounds in a little over 14 minutes of play.
The 7-foot-3 Filipino center even scored seven of his total in the second quarter where he helped Adelaide stay within striking distance at halftime, 46-38.
Sotto and the 36ers, however, simply had no answer to the searing second half from the Breakers which all but broke Adelaide’s back as it took a 74-50 lead at the end of three quarters before building the largest lead at 31, 90-63, halfway through the final frame.
Antonius Cleveland added 14 points while Robert Franks and Craig Randall added 11 points apiece – all of which went for naught as the 36ers couldn’t follow up their impressive 92-88 upset of defending champions Sydney Kings last time out.