MANILA, Philippines – Kai Sotto continues to be a dominant force for the Koshigaya Alphas early in the 2024-2025 Japan B. League season.
For the fourth time in seven matches, Sotto racked up a monster double-double for the Alphas, but his efforts went to waste as they suffered a 78-69 loss to the Akita Northern Happinets on Wednesday, October 23.
The 7-foot-3 Gilas Pilipinas big man exploded for game-highs of 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks in a total of 33 minutes and 53 seconds of action.
Sotto shot an ultra-efficient 13-of-16 clip from the field to reach 26 points, falling just 2 points short of tying his B. League career-high in scoring which he set last season.
He eclipsed his previous season-high of 22 markers, which he put up in Koshigaya’s breakthrough win over the Shimane Susanoo Magic last Saturday, October 19.
Despite Sotto’s strong play, the Alphas remained at the bottom of the B1 standings with a 1-6 record.
In a showdown between two Filipino Asian Quota imports, AJ Edu got the last laugh over Ray Parks as the Nagasaki Velca escaped with a narrow 81-79 win against the Osaka Evessa.
Parks, though, delivered a much-better scoring performance for Osaka as he produced 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, to go with 3 rebounds and 1 steal.
Edu, for his part, tallied an all-around line of 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 6 blocks for Nagasaki.
The Velca rose to a 5-2 card, while the Evessa fell to a 4-3 slate after a fiery start to the season.
In other B1 matches, Kiefer Ravena’s Yokohama B-Corsairs and Matthew Wright’s Kawasaki Brave Thunders absorbed twin double-digit setbacks on Wednesday.
Ravena had 7 points on 3-of-5 shooting, 2 rebounds, and 5 assists as Yokohama (3-4) bowed to the Seahorses Mikawa, 78-59.
Meanwhile, Wright recorded 2 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists for Kawasaki (2-5) in a 69-54 defeat at the hands of the Sunrockers Shibuya.
Finally, Dwight Ramos — who is nursing an injury — sat out for the fifth straight contest as his Levanga Hokkaido (2-5) scored an 81-76 victory against the Shiga Lakes on Wednesday. – Rappler.com