Kai Sotto powers Batang Gilas over Egypt for 1st Fiba U17 win

Photo from Fiba.com

Kai Sotto turned in a dominant performance to will the Philippines over Egypt, 70-69, in the classification stage of the Fiba Under 17 Basketball World Cup at Technological University Stadium in Santa Fe, Argentina Sunday (Manila time).

The 7-foot-1 Sotto put up 28 points, 17 rebounds, and three blocks to lead the Batang Gilas to their first win in the tournament.

Batang Gilas will go up against New Zealand on Monday for a shot at the 13th spot in the tournament, the highest possible seeding they can get.

Raven Cortez scored a clutch putback layup off of Gerry Abadiano’s miss to give the Philippines a 67-64 lead then it came down to Sotto making his free throws to hold off the Egyptians.

The Philippines’ last three points all came off Sotto’s charity shots.

Abadiano had 15 points to help the Philippines’ cause while Forthsky Padrigao and Cortez each had 10 points.

Aly Abdelrahman Khalifa had 17 points and eight boards to lead Egypt while Youssef Osama Elmadawy had a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double.