Kai Sotto proved that he belongs to the major league when he delivered a promising performance in the Adelaide 36ers' impressive 134-124 victory over the Phoenix Suns in the NBAxNBL Preseason Series Monday morning (Manila time) at the Footprint Center in Arizona.

The 7-foot-3 Filipino rising star tallied 11 points in a little less than 18 minutes of action for the 36ers, who made history when they became the first team to beat a National Basketball Association club in a preseason battle since Fenerbahce shocked the Brooklyn Nets, 101-96, at the Barclays Center on 6 October 2015.

It was also the first visit to the United States by National Basketball League team since the 2019 preseason, which was the third-straight year Australian teams made the trip for pre-season games.

And while other NBL teams had threatened upsets, none of them had successfully prevailed until the 36ers held their nerve — and kept making shots – in Phoenix.

American reinforcements Craig Randall and Robert Franks had 15 triples between them while the rest of their teammates had a field day from the rainbow area, converting 24 of their 43 attempts for a sizzling 55.8 percent shooting.

Randall, who played high school ball at nearby Shadow Mountain, fired 35 points laced with nine three-pointers while Frank, who went undrafted in the 2019 NBA Rookie Draft before launching a journeyman career, chipped in 32 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in 41 minutes of action.

Another American import in Antonious Cleveland tallied 22 points while Daniel Johnson added 15 markers to underscore the 36ers' balanced attack against the Suns, who came in full force with All-Star guards Chris Paul and Devin Booker at the firing end and former No. 1 pick DeAndre Ayton patrolling the shaded lanes.

Paul had a quiet night with six points and 12 assists while Booker fired 13 markers and Ayton finished with 22 points on an impressive 11-of-14 field goal shooting in 22 minutes of play.

Cameron Payne topscored the Suns with 23 followed by Mikal Bridges with 22.