Kai Sotto lauds ‘tough’ Ryukyu import Allen Durham in first B.League showdown

MANILA, Philippines – Kai Sotto said former PBA import Allen Durham is the toughest player he has faced from the Ryukyu Golden Kings during his Hiroshima Dragonflies debut in the 2022-23 B.League season.

The 7-foot-3 center had a losing Japanese debut as the Dragonflies suffered an 86-78 loss to the Golden Kings on Wednesday at Okinawa Arena.

Sotto, who once watched Durham’s game with Meralco as a youth player in the Philippines, admitted that the American import is difficult to defend.

“[The] The toughest player is probably Durham. He played in the Philippines last year. I remember when I was young and I watched him play for the Meralco Bolts. I already know how good he is and I’m looking forward to playing against him. He’s good,” said Sotto, who scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and had three blocks, two rebounds and a steal in 19 minutes.

Durham poured in 19 points, four rebounds, five assists, and a steal against Sotto as Ryukyu improved its record to 30-9.

Sotto also praised Ryuichi Kishimoto, who led Ryukyu with 20 points and five assists, and Keita Imamura added 14 markers in the game, where he didn’t get a chance to play against former high school rival Carl Tamayo who was on the bench.

“I was surprised he was good. Our coach said he was a good shooter and didn’t miss, and then the crowd was really good. They helped a little bit. They made a lot of difficult shots,” he said.

Despite the loss, Sotto was still able to help Hiroshima limit center Jack Cooley, who was held to five points on 2-of-6 shooting and committed four fouls but grabbed eight rebounds.

“Jack Cooley is one of the biggest tasks that coach gave me. I took that task to defend him to keep him and I feel good,” said Sotto. “They just played better, shot better, made a lot of tough shots, which was a key factor in why they won.”

Sotto also likes the atmosphere in Okinawa, is the biggest basketball city in Japan.

“He told me that this is the best arena in Japan and it looks like an NBA arena, it’s smaller, but it looks like an NBA arena. The crowd is good and it’s a good feeling to play here. I really like playing in this arena,” he said.

Sotto vowed to do better in the next game in Hiroshima, facing Matthew Wright Kyoto Hannaryz next Wednesday.

He looks forward to his next game as his teammates make life easier for him in his transition from the Australian National Basketball League to the B League.

“When the game started, it was different. It really brought more energy and I wanted to give more energy to the team. I think my team is really good, they are all good people, so I can easily relate to them. It was a fun game even if we didn’t win. But it’s only going to get better for us,” Sotto said.

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