KAI Sotto was more aggressive on the floor for the Adelaide 36ers, putting up a season-high in scoring on Monday.
However, his standout night was overshadowed by the sizzling shooting from the Illawarra Hawks who took the 100-89 victory over the 36ers in the 2021-22 NBL season at the WIN Entertainment Centre.
The Filipino center made the most of his 13 minutes and 44 seconds on the floor, equalling his six-point outing from the last game right in the first half which included a tough bucket over former NBL Rookie of the Year Harry Froling.
For the first time, Sotto also finished a game for the 36ers on the floor.
The 36ers continue this roadtrip on Friday against the Tasmania JackJumpers at MyState Bank Arena.
Sotto's charities pulled Adelaide within six, 55-49, with 6:32 left in the third quarter, but it was there where Illawarra went on a 15-2 run to grab a 70-51 edge- part of the Hawks' 31-point eruption to erect an 81-59 lead heading into the payoff period.
Kai's career performance
The Gilas Pilipinas wunderkind shot a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe for his 12 points and five rebounds but couldn't save the 36ers from suffering back-to-back losses and dropping to a 3-5 record.
Harry Froling was ablaze for the Hawks, going 8-of-10 clip from rainbow country for 27 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals off the bench for the bulk of the team's 15-of-28 shooting from three-point distance.
His brother Sam Froling tallied 18 points, eight boards, and five dimes, while Tyler Harvey contributed 19 points, five assists, three steals, and two rebounds as Illawarra snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 5-3.
Sunday Dech tried his best to keep up and trade treys as he went 6-of-10 from deep to lead Adelaide with 20 points, three rebounds, and two assists, while Todd Withers got himself 15 points, four boards, and two dimes in the loss.
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