Japan B. League

Kai Sotto dominates anew as Hiroshima rips Ibaraki for back-to-back wins

Martin Mendoza

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Kai Sotto dominates anew as Hiroshima rips Ibaraki for back-to-back wins

CONSISTENT. Kai Sotto sustains his solid showing in the Japan B. League.

HIROSHIMA DRAGONFLIES

Kai Sotto flexes his muscles inside the paint for his first double-double performance for the Hiroshima Dragonflies in the Japan B. League

MANILA, Philippines – Kai Sotto continued to be a force to be reckoned with in the Japan B. League as he propelled the Hiroshima Dragonflies to a 90-72 victory over the Ibaraki Robots at the Adastria Mito Arena on Saturday, March 18.

Fresh from a 20-point outing in Hiroshima’s 102-95 win against Matthew Wright and the Kyoto Hannaryz last Wednesday, Sotto once again flexed his muscles inside the paint en route to his first double-double performance in the B. League with 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Sotto shot an efficient 8-of-12 clip from the field and also recorded 3 blocks and 1 steal for Hiroshima, which picked up its second straight win for a 30-11 slate. 

After a scoreless first quarter, Sotto came alive in the second period and poured in 9 of his 21 points to help Hiroshima seize a double-digit cushion at halftime, 36-25. 

In the third frame, the 7-foot-3 Filipino center failed to come up with a bucket yet again as Ibaraki managed to pull within just 6, 54-60, heading into the payoff period.

Sotto, though, immediately unloaded 8 straight points in the first 4 minutes of the final salvo to push the Dragonflies’ lead back to 11, 68-57, and put the Robots away for good. 

Dwayne Evans II chipped in 16 points for Hiroshima, while Kerry Blackshear Jr. and Ryo Terashima contributed 12 and 11 markers, respectively.

On the other side, Eric Jacobsen led Ibaraki in the scoring department with 19 points.

Like his Gilas Pilipinas teammate Sotto, Thirdy Ravena likewise delivered a double-double showing for the San-En NeoPhoenix, but it wasn’t enough as they bowed to the Sendai 89ers, 82-74. 

Ravena racked up 13 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block for San-En, which fell to a 17-24 card after dropping its second game in a row.

Elsewhere, Carl Tamayo provided quality minutes as a starter for the Ryukyu Golden Kings in their 81-66 demolition of Matt Aquino and the Shinshu Brave Warriors.

Tamayo finished with 9 points built on 2-of-4 shooting from three-point land, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block in close to 27 minutes of play. 

Aquino, on the other hand, tallied just 2 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal for Shinshu.

Ryukyu stretched its winning streak to 9 games and hiked its record to 32-9, while Shinshu slipped to 19-22. 

Other results

Seahorses Mikawa def. Levanga Hokkaido, 92-82. (Dwight Ramos – 11 points, 3-of-8 field goal, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 27:22 minutes.)

Chiba Jets def. Kyoto Hannaryz, 93-91. (Matthew Wright – 9 points, 4-of-14 field goal, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 38:41 minutes.)

Shiga Lakes def. Toyama Grouses, 96-87. (Kiefer Ravena – 6 points, 2-of-8 field goal, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 18:15 minutes.)

– Rappler.com

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