Fan chants fall on deaf ears as Kai Sotto benched anew
ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey — Kai Sotto logged his second straight DNP-coach’s decision that left millions of Filipino fans — including a good crowd who trooped to the Thomas Mack & Center in Las Vegas, Nevada — disappointed.
Sotto could not even earn token playing time in the garbage minutes of a lopsided 108-85 Magic loss to the Indiana Pacers on Monday night (Tuesday, Manila time) in the NBA Summer League.
Not even a spirited “We want Sotto” chant from the Filipino fans inside the arena could sway Orlando Magic Summer League coach Dylan Murphy to field the 7-foot-3 Filipino prospect.
The entire crowd here at #NBA2K24SummerLeague just broke out into a “We Want Sotto” chant during a free throw at this Pacers/Magic game.
— Peter Hooley (@PeterHooley12) July 11, 2023
The people want to see Kai Sotto on the floor for @OrlandoMagic. Give the people what they want !! pic.twitter.com/lqZUdxjuSq
For the second straight game, the Magic got outrebounded 47-36 as Murphy rode on the backs of his G League centers DJ Wilson and Robert Baker II.
The pair of former Kentucky Wildcats big men Isaiah Jackson and undrafted rookie Oscar Tshiebwe grabbed a combined 19 boards while 26th overall pick Ben Shepphard added nine.
Orlando, the third-worst rebounding team in the Summer League with a 32.5 average in two games, drew eight rebounds from Wilson, who also had 10 points.
Caleb Houstan paced the Magic with 18 points. Their top rookie, sixth overall pick Anthony Black, struggled on 3-of-12 shooting and finished with only eight points.
The Pacers broke away for good in the second quarter as they built a commanding 57-34 halftime lead. They led by as many as 26 points.
Second-year players Andrew Nembhard (21 points, 7 assists, 3 steals) and Bennedict Mathurin (17 points, 6 assists) and Jackson (13 points, 11 rebounds) led the way for Indiana.
A league source believes Sotto’s chance could come in Orlando’s next game against fellow winless New York Knicks on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila).
“He will [play],” the league source told Philstar.com. “I think next game, a lot of players who haven’t seen the court [would play]. His time will come.”
But it’s getting harder for Filipino fans to hope when their biggest NBA hope could not even see court time in a one-sided rout.
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Alder Almo is a former senior sportswriter for Philstar.com and NBA.com Philippines. He is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey, and writes for the New York-based website Heavy.com.
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