By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Kai Sotto struggled with his shots as the Adelaide 36ers suffered a 98-82 defeat at the hands of Tasmania JackJumpers in the 2022-2023 National Basketball League (NBL) at the MyState Bank Arena in Australia on Thursday night, January 12.

The 7-foot-3 Gilas Pilipinas center Sotto went ice-cold from the field as he ended with just six points, on 3-of-9 field goal shooting, to go with seven rebounds in almost 18 minutes of action.

Sotto’s output against the JackJumpers was a far cry from his season-high of 16 points, on efficient 8-of-12 shooting, during the 36ers’ 85-83 loss to the New Zealand Breakers last Sunday, January 8.

Trailing 61-69 after three quarters, the 36ers fell short of their uprising as the JackJumpers doubled up their lead at 84-68 midway in the fourth quarter behind the hot hands of Milton Doyle and Jack Mcveigh.

It was all Tasmania from that point on as Adelaide only managed to get as close as 13 points, 78-91, with just two minutes remaining before Doyle and Mcveigh found their range again.

Doyle finished the game with 28 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Mcveigh also had 28 markers and six boards as the JackJumpers improved to a 13-10 win-loss slate in fourth place.

Rashard Kelly also made his presence felt for the winning team with 19 points, five rebounds and three assists, while Sean McDonald chipped in nine markers, two boards and two feeds.

Robert Franks, formerly of the Orlando Magic in the NBA, was the lone bright spot for Adelaide as he drained five treys to end up with 24 points to go with three rebounds and two assists.

No other player scored in double figures for the 36ers, which dropped to an even 11-11 slate, with Sunday Dech finishing with nine points, while Antonius Cleveland and Daniel Johnson had eight markers each.

Sotto and the 36ers will try to snap out of their two-game skid when they collide with the Perth Wildcats at the latter’s homecourt today at 5:00 p.m./ASC, WDJ