KAI Sotto may have played limited minutes in the NBL Blitz preseason games, but coach CJ Bruton was pleased with the glimpses that the 7-foot-3 center has shown ahead of his second year in Australia.
Kai Sotto NBL update
The Adelaide 36ers mentor noted the strides that the Filipino import has made which helped the team complete a sweep of its three games in Darwin.
"I thought Kai was really amazing, how he bounced back. He got on the rim and finished and became a target for us," he said.
Sotto finished with six points, a rebound, and a steal in his 10 minutes of play, but those came when it mattered the most for Adelaide as he helped in taking the 84-77 win over the Illawarra Hawks on Thursday.
"His level of activity helped shift the needle for us to know we can play with length and size," said Bruton.
It's these kinds of games that the 36ers are hopeful to see from Sotto, who only averaged 2.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11 minutes of play in the NBL Blitz.
Nonetheless, it's a positive one still especially with how the rest of the team has picked up the slack in these friendlies, first taking an 84-76 win over South East Melbourne Phoenix last Friday and an 87-79 victory over the Tasmania JackJumpers on Monday.
'We got punched in the mouth in all three games, but to show that response was a positive," said Bruton, optimistic with how the team will perform in the upcoming season behind imports Craig Randall II, Antonius Cleveland, and Robert Franks.
"We had to show something, but the guys did pick up the defensive intensity."
Adelaide opens its NBL campaign at home on Oct. 13 against Tasmania.
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