Photo from Adelaide 36ers
MANILA, Philippines – Kai Sotto and the Adelaide 36ers finished 5 skates as they exited Cairns Taipans, 99-96, to feed his playoff hopes of the 2022-23 Australian National Basketball League on Monday at the Cairns Convention Center.
The 7-foot-3 Filipino scored 12 points in a 4/5 shootout with two rebounds and an assist but the starting center-back played just over 12 minutes due to a foul.
Antonius Cleveland came to the rescue in the compensation period, scoring 11 of his 27 burst points in the inning with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals to keep the 36ers going. continue to hunt for a playoff spot with a record 12-14 score for the eighth seed.
When Cairns took a 90-89 lead after Dj Hogg’s treble in the 4:20 minute mark, the Franks scored five in a row to ignite Adelaide’s 8-2 run to claim the driver’s seat, 97-92, with 2 :24 remaining.
However, the Taipans refused to give up as Tahjere Mccall and Shannon Scott cut the deficit to one, 97-96, only for Ian Clark to sink a clutch float, giving Team 36 a 99-96 breath of relief with 34 game seconds.
It was a rough end for Adelaide as Clark committed to revenue. But luckily, Hogg missed his timeout with 24 seconds left. Cleveland missed two free throws but he made up for his mistake with a McCall steal to seal the much-needed win.
The Franks have 20 points, 9 chess boards and 5 cents for the 36ers, while Clarke and Daniel Johnson each scored 11 points from the bench.
Sotto and his team need to win their final two games against Sydney Kings on Friday and Melbourne United on Sunday to continue in the knockout stages.
Second-seeded Cairns slipped to a 17-10 record with Hogg and Sam Waardenburg each scoring 26 points as the former grabbed eight rebounds.
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