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MANILA, Philippines – Filipino center Kai Sotto contributed five points and five rebounds in Team Ignite’s fight against a group of G-League veterans, with the veterans taking the 113-107 victory Tuesday afternoon in Walnut Creek, California.
Sotto made one of his five field goals and added two blocks to his stat line, along with two turnovers.
Team Ignite, a team made up of top prospects looking to make the leap to the NBA, was led by Jonathan Kuminga. The 6-foot-8 Congo striker scored 26 points, hitting 11 of his 15 shots, along with eight rebounds.
Jalen Green, a guard with Filipino heritage who was one of the best recruits in the class of 2020, added 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting along with seven rebounds.
“I was very, very happy with the effort and with what I saw today,” said Brian Shaw, the head coach of Team Ignite. “I was very satisfied with what I saw, in terms of how we matched the physicality, the intensity, with which the other team played.”
“For a group of young guys who are playing some more physically mature adult men, they stood their ground and some,” he added.
Shaw was impressed with Kuminga and Green, who carried the load offensively for the young team, but also praised Sotto for making “some great plays on the defensive end.”
Daishen Nix, another high school prospect who made the jump to the G-League, had nine points and nine assists. Shaw said he stood out after directing the game for Ignite, while Isaiah Todd brought a lot of energy to the game and finished with eight points and six rebounds.
“Obviously, there were some turnovers that we can clean up, which you can expect when you form a group like this,” Shaw added.
In addition to having the best prospects, Team Ignite also featured some NBA veterans, including Amir Johnson and Jeremy Lin, who is practicing with the team but is not an official roster member. The former New York Knick played limited minutes and did not score.
The G-League veterans scored a balanced score across the board, with London Perrantes and DJ Hogg scoring 18 points, while Marcus Graves and Isaiah Briscoe added 16 points each.
