NIKOLE JAVIER 

Kai Sotto has decided to leave the Adelaide 36ers to pursue his dream of playing in the NBA one day.

Before chasing his NBA dream, Sotto, however, is reportedly set to take his act to Japan B.League with the Hiroshima Dragonflies. 

In two seasons in the NBL, Sotto has averaged 7.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in his 50-game stint.

 “Adelaide 36ers head coach CJ Bruton said he is thrilled for Sotto to take the next step on his journey and will continue to track his progress,” read the announcement. 

The 7-foot-2 center has been a regular starter for the Sixers and has put up solid numbers for the NBL team. 

However, Adelaide saw its playoffs contention vanish into thin air following a 116-107 loss to Melbourne United also on Feb. 5. 

The 20-year-old Sotto also felt that “the time was right in his career for the next challenge” citing his journey towards his goal to make the bigger league as the primary reason for the move. 

The Sixers ended its 2022-23 campaign with a 13-15 win-loss record after failing to force the triple-way tie for the sixth spot. 

“A new opportunity for me is really good and another opportunity for me to play basketball, I’m excited. I didn’t want to spend a lot of time not playing, I’m lucky I’ve been offered this deal,” said Sotto. 

Bruton, for his part, said he is thrilled about Sotto’s new opportunity and will continue to keep his eye on the latter’s progress from overseas. 

Meanwhile, Hiroshima was the same team that Justine Baltazar barely saw action for and eventually got released from last December. 

But Sotto is expecting longer playing time and further growth once the transfer moves forward.