MANILA – Kai Sotto had his best game in his 2021-2022 National Basketball League career but his team, Adelaide 36ers, suffered a 100-89 defeat to Illawarra Hawks on Monday night at the WIN Entertainment Centre.
The Gilas Pilipinas center tallied career-high 12 points, including 8-of-8 shooting from the free throw line, in foul-plagues 13 minutes of action. Still, the 36ers dropped to 3-5 win-loss slate.
It was the second consecutive defeat of Sotto and the 36ers after being badly beaten by league-leader Melbourne United, 97-78, on Saturday afternoon at the Adelaide Entertainment Center.
The 36ers, playing without veteran Isaac Humphries due to a right knee injury, managed to keep in step with lllawarra in the third canto as they were just down 49-55 after two free throws from Sotto.
However, the 36ers defense collapsed, allowing the Hawks to unload a blistering 26-4 scoring blast spearheaded by the Froling brothers — Harry and Sam and fellow veteran Tyler Harvey.
The 36ers started the fourth quarter strong with consecutive points but could only cut the lead down to as low as 15 points early in the final frame before settling for the 11-point defeat.
Harry Froling finished the match with 27 points, including eight three-point conversions, to go with nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals for Illawarra, who went up to 5-3 in the standings.
Harry’s brother Sam, on the other hand, chipped in 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting with eight rebounds and five assists while Harvey got 19 points on eight field goal conversions for the Hawks.
Sunday Dech, meanwhile, top-scored for the 36ers with 20 points built on six treys, Todd Withers added 15 points, while Daniel Johnson produced 10 points and eight rebounds while Cameron Bairstow added 10 rebounds and eight points.
Sotto and the 36ers will try to bounce back in their next game against Tasmania on Friday afternoon./PN
