Sotto shines bright on world stage

Adelaide 36ers big man Kai Sotto has starred for his home nation as the Philippines went two from two in their FIBA Men’s World Cup qualifiers on the weekend.

Backing up from their 74-66 win against Jordan, the Philippines were too strong for Saudi Arabia 76-63 in Jeddah, with the 218cm centre and big contributor.

Sotto had 11 points, nine rebounds and five blocks as the Philippines slowly built their margin against the Saudis for their 13-point win.

The Saudis looked like a completely different side to the one the Philippines easily defeated earlier this year in front of their roaring home crowd.

But when Sotto skied for an alley-oop jam halfway through the fourth quarter, it felt as if there was nothing else the home team could do to avoid the inevitable.

Jordan bounced back from their loss to the Philippines with a 92-75 against New Zealand in Amman.

This is the first time the Tall Blacks have lost two consecutive games in any World Cup Qualifiers, while also keeping them winless when playing in Jordan.

Both squads came out on fire, shooting over 50 percent on both ends with Jordan scorching hot at 58.8 percent.

That gave Jordan the advantage in the opening interval and also signalled this would be a different team than that had just lost to the Philippines on the same court just three days earlier.

Even after New Zealand opening up the quarter with a 7-0 run, Jordan kept their composure and continued to play their game, much to the pleasure of the fans in attendance.

Hyrum Harris again starred for the Tall Blacks, who have already qualified for next year’s World Cup, with 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists.