SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – Kai Sotto and the Adelaide 36ers finally snapped their five-game losing streak and kept their playoff hopes alive with a thrilling 99-96 upset of the Cairns Taipans in the National Basketball League in Australia on Monday, January 30.
Despite seeing limited playing time due to foul trouble, the 7-foot-3 Filipino big man delivered once again as a starter for Adelaide as he tallied 12 points on a near-perfect 4-of-5 shooting, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 4 fouls in 12:49 minutes of action.
Antonius Cleveland was on a mission for the 36ers in the do-or-die affair, scoring a game-high 27 points to go with 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals, while Robert Franks also came up big with an all-around performance of 20 markers, 9 boards, and 5 dimes.
Leading by only a single point, 97-96, former NBA champion of the Golden State Warriors Ian Clark took it upon himself and delivered the pivotal basket to put the 36ers up by 3 points with only 34 seconds remaining.
Cairns’ Shannon Scott had a chance to trim the deficit back to a point in the next play, but he failed to convert on his layup attempt with 24 seconds left.
Cleveland then could’ve iced the game for the 36ers in the following possession with two free throws, but both of his charities also failed to hit the mark. Luckily for Cleveland, he was able to redeem himself with a decisive steal on Cairns’ Tahjere Mccall, which sealed the deal for Adelaide.
Adelaide overcame the huge scoring outbursts from D.J. Hogg and Sam Waardenburg, who fired 26 points apiece for the second-seeded Cairns.
With the hard-earned victory, the 36ers improved their record to 12-14, but they still cannot afford to drop their last two elimination games and will need the Perth Wildcats (14-12) and the Melbourne United (14-13) to lose all their remaining matches in order to create a three-way tie for the sixth and final play-in spot.
Adelaide takes on the Sydney Kings in an all-important showdown on at 4:30 pm on Friday, February 3 (Manila time).
The Scores
Adelaide 99 – Cleveland 27, Franks 20, Sotto 12, Clark 11, Johnson 11, Dech 7, Drmic 6, Acuoth 3, Harris 2, Mccarron 0, Galloway 0.
Cairns 96 – Hogg 26, Waardenburg 26, Kuol 15, Ayre 11, Mccall 8, Scott 5, Antonio 3, Deng 2.
Quarters: 25-24, 50-53, 75-77, 99-96.
– Rappler.com
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