Kai Sotto heralds comeback with a pair of B.League double-doubles

February 2 ------ JUST days after admitting his struggles in a long-awaited comeback from ACL injury, Kai Sotto announced he's back with back-to-back double-doubles for the Koshigaya Alphas in the Japan B.League season over the weekend.

The 7-foot-3 Gilas Pilipinas slotman came away with 20 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, and one block to help the Alphas pull off an 81-80 win on Sunday that snapped Dwight Ramos and Levanga Hokkaido’s 13-game home win streak.

The game should come as a big boost to the confidence of Sotto as he makes his comeback in the B.League with a Fiba window coming later this month.

Just last Wednesday, the former Ateneo high school star admitted he was at rock-bottom as he returns to the Japan league after the injury. "Right now, I feel like I’m rock-bottom and but the only way is up. I can’t stop," Sotto said. "I just need more reps, more games and once I get in game shape, I think I’ll be good again. But it’s a difficult task and I’m taking it day by day."

His Sunday heroics came just a day after collecting 14 points, 10 rebounds, six assists in just his fourth game back from a year-long injury layoff - an 81-88 loss to a Hokkaido that got 18 points from Asian import Ramos. Ramos, incidentally, went scoreless on Sunday as the Alphas improved to 13-22 for the season. Hokkaido remained in first place in the Eastern Conference despite suffering just its 9th loss in 35 games overall.

Source: spin.ph