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| Kai Sotto is clutching to his left knee after falling down early into Koshigaya's game against Mikawa. Screenshot from Japan B.League's stream |
MANILA--Koshigaya fell prey to Mikawa for the second straight day in the Japan B.League.
Worse, the Alphas might need to sit out Kai Sotto for a while.
The seven-foot-three beanpole appeared to have injured his knee early into Koshigaya's 77-79 loss to Mikawa on Sunday at the Wing Arena Kariya.
Sotto lost his balance while posting up against Zach Auguste, and as he fell down, he was holding onto his left knee with 6:20 left in the first quarter.
Although he returned to the Alphas' bench, Sotto never got back into the game.
Even without him, though, they put up a gallant fight against the SeaHorses, but the latter held on at home.
Auguste had 17 points, 15 rebounds, three assists, and one steal to lead Mikawa, which moved up to 20-8, tying Alvark Tokyo, who lost, 63-65, to SunRockers Shibuya, for second place in the Central District standings and 3.5 games behind San-En, which was playing Shiga in another game that was called off, for the top spot in the said conference.
Jake Layman added 13 points, seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and one steal.
LJ Peak put up 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists, and one steal, while Tim Soares added 20 points, 12 rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and three steals for Koshigaya, which dropped to 8-20.
Play was stopped between the NeoPhoenix and the Lakes with 1:12 left in the third quarter when Shiga import Javier Carter fell down on the floor after a backdoor play by Hirotaka Yoshii.
Carter, seemingly still unconscious after the fall, was sent off the floor, and the game has yet to resume as of posting.
Shiga was leading, 59-57, before action was postponed.
Meanwhile, Dwight Ramos led the way for Levanga Hokkaido in a huge 70-64 upset against the Chiba Jets at the LaLa Arena Tokyo-Bay in Funabashi.
Ramos put up 17 points, three rebounds, and one assist off the bench in the huge win that moved Hokkaido up to 10-18.
Thomas Welsh added 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting, 22 rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Ryan Cleaner chipped in 14 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists.
Yuki Togashi also tallied 17 markers, but he was 7-for-20 from the field and 2-of-11 from long range with four rebounds and two assists for Chiba, which fell to 18-10.
Elsewhere Kiefer Ravena outplayed AJ Edu in Yokohama's 90-67 blowout against Nagasaki at the latter's home, the Happiness Arena.
Ravena fired 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting including a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc with two rebounds, three assists, and one steal for the B-Corsairs, who are now at 11-17 with the win.
Edu was held to only three points and four rebounds with one block and one steal as the Velca fell to 13-15.
Matthew Wright, on the other hand, hit 20 points with three rebounds, one assist, and three steals in Kawasaki's 77-71 win against Sendai at the Todoroki Arena in Kawasaki.
Ray Parks Jr. made nine points in Osaka's 94-83 win against Kyoto at the Kataoka Arena in Kyoto.
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