Fruitas, Café France eye crucial wins

FRUITAS and Café France shoot for crucial wins against separate opponents today as the race to the quarterfinals tightens in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup.

The Shakers, hoping to shake off the rust after the long holiday break, vie for a third straight victory against winless Informatics at 2 p.m. at JCSGO Gym in Cubao, Quezon City.

“Hopefully we get our form back in four practices,” said Fruitas coach Nash Racela, noting that the Shakers resumed practice only last Friday.

The Bakers, also admitting they have had little time to prepare, tackle unpredictable Jose Rizal University-Air21 at 4 p.m.

But unlike the Shakers (3-3) who are aiming to build on their huge wins, the Bakers (4-3) hope to rebound from a beating from Blackwater Sports, 60-81, over two weeks ago.

Only the top two teams at the end of the eliminations will go straight to the semifinals, while the next four tangle in the quarterfinals.

Defending champion NLEX (9-2) has already secured the top spot and the first semifinal berth, while Blackwater Sports (5-2) and Big Chill (5-2) are contesting the No. 2 seat.

“What’s important is we still have a good chance of making it to the playoffs,” said Racela, who has the league’s top two scorers at his disposal.

Carlo Lastimosa averages a league-best 21.5 points while Nigerian center Ola Adeogun, who sat out the last three games due to an ankle injury, has a second-best 19.3 ppg.