By NIKOLE JAVIER
Kai Sotto was limited on the offensive end as the Adelaide 36ers suffered their second straight loss at the hands of the Tasmania JackJumpers, 98-82, in the National Basketball League in Australia on Thursday, Jan. 12, at the MyState Bank Arena.
In the Filipino import’s seventh start for the 36ers, Sotto could only register six points on a 3-of-9 shooting apart from seven rebounds in 18 minutes and 34 seconds of play.
The 7-foot-3 center had his season-high 16 points in Adelaide’s tight 85-83 loss to the New Zealand Breakers last Jan 8.
Down by 10 with eight minutes in the final period, the 20-year-old import tried to highlight his limited outing with a dunk to pull Adelaide within eight.
However, Tasmania would keep the final word with a 15-6 run to pull away for good, leaving Sotto's crew unable to recover.
Robert Franks paced the 36ers as the lone bright spot with 24 points as they absorbed an 11-11 record at the eighth spot.
Despite the beating, head coach CJ Bruton was happy with the way his team carried themselves in the early stages of the contest.
“I was happy with the guys, the way that we shared the ball early and we got it on the offensive end, we got the looks that we wanted to get defensively. We had some breakdowns here and there given the boards which got to kick out three balls, the timing ones which kept us at a little point where we weren’t able to be in front and find that balance,” said Bruton.
Sotto and his crew are looking to get back in the win column when they face the Perth Wildcats (11-10) on Saturday, Jan. 14.