JUST days after admitting his struggles in a long-awaited comeback from ACL injury, Kai Sotto announced he's back with back-to-back double-doubles for the Koshigaya Alphas in the Japan B.League season over the weekend.
The 7-foot-3 Gilas Pilipinas slotman came away with 20 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, and one block to help the Alphas pull off an 81-80 win on Sunday that snapped Dwight Ramos and Levanga Hokkaido’s 13-game home win streak.
READ Kai Sotto's B.League return cut short by ankle injury
The game should come as a big boost to the confidence of Sotto as he makes his comeback in the B.League with a Fiba window coming later this month.
Just last Wednesday, the former Ateneo high school star admitted he was at rock-bottom as he returns to the Japan league after the injury.
"Right now I feel like I’m rock-bottom and but the only way is up. I can’t stop," Sotto said. "I just need more reps, more games and once I get in game shape, I think I’ll be good again. But it’s a difficult task and I’m taking it day by day."
His Sunday heroics came just a day after collecting 14 points, 10 rebounds, six assists in just his fourth game back from a year-long injury layoff - an 81-88 loss to a Hokkaido that got 18 points from Asian import Ramos.
Ramos, incidentally, went scoress on Sunday as the Alphas improved to 13-22 for the season. Hokkaido remained in first place in the Eastern Conference despite suffering just its 9th loss in 35 games overall.
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