Ni JEROME LAGUNZAD
Sa taglay na taas at galing, walang hirap na ginabayan ni Sotto ang Blue Eagles sa impresibong 87-63 panalo kontra La Salle-Zobel Junior Archers para makumpleto ang seven-game sweep sa first round of eliminations ng liga.
Tangan ng anak ng dating pro league stalwart Ervin ang kamangha-manghang statistics na game-highs 16 rebounds at apat na blocks at 11 puntos.
Akari Sports wala pang balak pasukin ang PBA
Naitala niya ang averaged 12.9 puntos, 12.7 rebounds at league-best 4.9 blocks.
“His presence makes it easy for everyone to do their jobs on both ends,” pahayag ni Ateneo coach Joe Silva.
“Defensively, he makes it difficult for other teams to penetrate inside the shaded area. Offensively, his presence opens up a lot of opportunities for his teammates,” aniya.
Habang liyamado na ang Ateneo na maibalik ang titulo na huli nilang nakamit noong 2015, humihirit din ang National University na may 6-1 marka matapos gapiin ang University of the Philippines-Integrated School, 103-79.
Pangatlo ang standings ang University of Santo Tomas (5-2) kasunod ang Far Eastern University (4-3), Adamson (3-4) kasunod ang Junior Archers (2-5) at Junior Maroons (1-6). Bokya ang University of the East’s Juniors Warriors (0-7).
“Sweeping the first round means nothing to us,” pahayag ni Sotto. “We’re just taking it one game at a time. We’re trying to have that focus each and every game. Our main concern is how to lessen our turnovers and the fastbreak points that we’re allowing.”
