Sotto, Adelaide fall to Melbourne in 5th straight defeat

MANILA, Philippines -- The slump continues for Kai Sotto and the Adelaide 36ers as they fell short of the comeback against Melbourne United, 94-87, at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in the 2022-23 NBL season on Saturday.

The 36ers fought back from 11 points down in the final salvo to get within two points, 87-89, off of an Antonius Cleveland dunk with 1:55 ticks left in the ball game.

But Adelaide would miss all their remaining shots in the contest while Melbourne's Rayjon Tucker took over as they staved off the win-hungry 36ers.

Sotto's jump shot with 4:02 left in the contest kickstarted an 11-2 run that was punctuated by Cleveland's dunk.

Sotto finished with 15 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting clip to go along with seven boards and a block in the losing effort.

Robert Franks finished with 24 markers, 10 rebounds, six assists, one steal, and three blocks to lead Adelaide who fell to 11-14.

Chris Goulding topscored for Melbourne with 28 markers and two rebounds while Tucker finished with a double-double of 25 points, 10 boards, and three assists.

Melbourne have won five straight games and improve to 14-12 for the year.