After missing a chunk of the B.League season, Kai Sotto hopes to keep his new-found fitness.
Amid the twist and turns of his young basketball career, Kai Sotto has a new fresh start.
One part of that is he has a new team, now a member of the Yokohama B-Corsairs on loan transfer from the Hiroshima Dragonflies.
A second, more major part of that is his fitness. Upon his transfer to Yokohama, Kai is also fit-again to play, after missing the huge part of the current B.League season due to a back injury.
“Okay na ‘yung likod ko,” Sotto said. “Two to three months ako nag-rehab at nagpalakas. Confident na ako sa lagay ng katawan ko.”
Since coming to Yokohama, Kai is easing into the B-Corsairs rotation, coming off the bench in the four games he’s played so far.
Sotto is averaging 6.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in 11 and a half minutes per game.
The hope is for more, as Kai looks to help Yokohama return to the B.League playoffs after the team’s breakout campaign last year. The B-Corsairs are led by spitfire guard Yuki Kawamura, the B.League’s reigning MVP and current leading scorer.
However, Yokohama can’t seem to find its footing quite yet in the new season and the B-Corsaids are just 12-16 for 6th in the Central Division.
“Kakalipat ko lang, so bagong adjustments,” Sotto said. “I just want to help my team win more games, nag-playoffs sila last year and sana matulungan ko rin sila mag-playoffs this year.”
That hope falls on Kai’s health, and Sotto now just wants to keep his new-found fitness.
“Number one is to stay healthy, walang injury,” he said. “Mahirap maglaro na may iniinda.”
(With reports from Randolph Leongson/Cignal)