Kai drew first blood in his first-ever game playing against Manong Kiefer.
Kai Sotto’s impressive 14-point, 12-rebound double-double in the Hiroshima Dragonflies’ 99-88 victory over the Shiga Lakes on Wednesday night felt like a bonus, considering how much he enjoyed playing against one of his Gilas Pilipinas teammates.
The 20-year-old beanpole showed out in his 16th game in the Japan B.League as he went up against Kiefer Ravena, who finished with 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 8 assists for the Lakes, at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall. The Filipino hoopers were visibly thrilled to see each other, which resulted in some friendly trash talk.
Horsing around during pregame, Sotto jokingly extended his leg out as he appeared to try and trip Ravena. The latter then played along and purposely fell on the 7-foot-2 center who was sitting on the Hiroshima bench.
Kai posted the whole thing on Instagram, writing a caption that says “Dirty player talaga” and then tagging Kiefer.
Kidding aside, the young gun appreciated the opportunity to go up against his senpai.
“Kiefer’s a really good guy, a very funny person. So, [there was] a little trash talk,” Sotto said in a postgame interview done by the B. League.
“It’s just fun playing against Kiefer. I like being his teammate. It’s the first time we played against each other. It’s fun playing against Kiefer, really good player.”
For Sotto, going up against Filipino cagers in an international stage is a special experience. He wishes to see more of his countrymen play hoops in the top leagues overseas.
“That’s my dream. To be in international leagues where I can see more Filipinos because I know our talents and our hard work as Filipinos, we’re getting better,” Kai explained.
“I believe Filipinos can play here [Japan]. Not just play, but play good,” he added.
At the moment, Kai and the Dragonflies are gearing up for the upcoming B.League playoffs. But first, they have to take care of business during the final stretch of the regular season.
“Heading into the playoffs, [we have] six more games. As a competitive team, we want to win all those six games” Sotto said.