MANILA, Philippines – Even in a blowout loss, Kai Sotto still found playing time hard to come by.

The Filipino big man saw action for just five minutes as the Adelaide 36ers opened the National Basketball League season in Australia with a 97-72 home defeat to the Tasmania JackJumpers on Thursday, October 13.

Sotto sat out the entire first half and played sparingly in the last two quarters of the wire-to-wire loss, finishing with 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 steal.

The 36ers trailed by as many as 22 points in the first quarter no thanks to the hot shooting of JackJumpers guard Josh Magette and never recovered.

Magette went a sizzling 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in the opening frame and dropped 14 of his game-high 23 points in the period as Tasmania enjoyed a 32-10 lead.

A Robert Franks layup pulled Adelaide within 11 points with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, 60-71, but the JackJumpers erected a 9-0 blitz to restore order.

Craig Randall topscored for the 36ers with 18 points on top of 3 rebounds and 3 assists, although he shot poorly from the field after going 2-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Frank put up 14 points, while Antonius Cleveland added 10 points in the loss.

Tasmania spread the wealth with a total of five players scoring in double figures as Rashard Kelly backstopped Magette with 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals off the bench.

Milton Doyle chimed in 16 points for the Jack Jumpers, who improved to 2-3 for sixth place in the 10-team tournament.

Sotto looks to get more minutes when the 36ers shoot for their first season win against the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday, October 15. – Rappler.com