MANILA, Philippines – In their second game playing minus their top center Kai Sotto, the Koshigaya Alphas snapped a three-game losing skid following a nail-biting 91-89 win against the Chiba Jets in the Japan B. League on Sunday, January 12.
Koshigaya’s Soichiro Inoue knocked down a tough game-winning three-pointer off the glass with just 5.4 seconds left in overtime as the Alphas dedicated the dramatic victory to their Filipino import Sotto, who suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee last January 5.
“Kai, we won!” shouted Inoue in Japanese in the post-game interview while wearing Sotto’s No. 11 Koshigaya jersey.
“This is for @kzsotto,” added Inoue of his clutch trey on his Instagram story shortly after the match.
The 7-foot-3 Gilas Pilipinas big man Sotto is expected to be sidelined for a significant time and will miss the B. League Asia Rising Star Game along with his fellow Filipino Asian Quota imports on Saturday, January 18, as well as the third and final window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in February.
He is also likely to miss the Philippines’ campaign in the Asia Cup in August, which will take place in Saudi Arabia.
Prior to his injury, Sotto was averaging a near double-double of 13.8 points on 52.8% shooting and 9.6 rebounds, on top of 2 assists and 1.1 blocks in 26 games played for the Alphas this 2024-2025 B. League season. – Rappler.com