Koshigaya Alphas honor injured Kai Sotto in narrow win over Chiba

The Koshigaya Alphas made sure to dedicate their nail-biting 91-89 win against the higher-ranked Chiba Jets to their injured teammate, Filipino import Kai Sotto.

His teammate, Soichiro Inoue, even wore Sotto's jersey in the post-game interview after lifting the Alphas with 17 points, highlighted by the clutch game-winning triple in the last five seconds, while also grabbing three rebounds and three steals.

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With the win, Koshigaya improved to 9-21 win-loss record and bounced back from a 72-70 loss to the same team the day before.

Koshigaya will have to continue its campaign without the 22-year-old Sotto, who previously confirmed he sustained an ACL injury and is expected to sit out for the coming months.

Sotto will also miss Gilas Pilipinas' campaign in the third window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers next month.

—Bea Micaller/JMB, GMA Integrated News