Despite being on the losing end as the Adelaide 36ers were beaten 93-85 by the Brisbane Bullets in the National Basketball League on Monday, it was a night to remember for Philippine prospect Kai Sotto as he recorded a career-high 21 points.
Still only 19, the 2.18-meter center produced the most prolific outing in his fledgling career thus far from 17:34 minutes off the bench -- the most game time from all the 36ers' non-starters.
Sotto's 21-point haul was also a team high on the night and far exceeded his current season average of 7.2 points per game.
When Mitch puts it π, Kai puts it β¬οΈ
β Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) April 12, 2022
This moment wins our Fantastic Play of the Day!#WeAreSixers pic.twitter.com/JnHrp1aN2m
The first sign of things to come arrived with 6:19 remaining in the opening quarter when Sotto opened his account for the evening with an emphatic dunk after being set up by Mitch McCarron -- which would go on to be Adelaide's Play of the Day.
With the scores tied at halftime, Brisbane then surged ahead but with just ten seconds remaining in the third quarter, Sotto displayed his dominance once again to reduce the margin to just eight points.
Lobs ποΈ.
β Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) April 11, 2022
πΊ - @ESPNAusNZ + @kayosports pic.twitter.com/C8ksWaKukL
The Bullets always looked in control and even stretched their lead to 13 points midway through the fourth quarter but Adelaide -- spearheaded by Sotto -- refused to throw in the towel.
A three-point effort early in the fourth even had the 36ers' social media team labelling the spot he landed the shot from as "Kai's Korner", although the Bullets ultimately held their nerve to condemn their opponents to a fourth consecutive loss in their final home game of the 2021-22 season.
πai's πorner.
β Adelaide 36ers (@Adelaide36ers) April 11, 2022
πΊ - @ESPNAusNZ + @kayosports pic.twitter.com/gsgKEiEIPP