Martin Antonio (dark/fruitas) vs Chris Cayabyab (behind) PBA IMAGE / Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines – Fruitas head coach Nash Racela said his players thought that their game against Hog’s Breath, currently the second-worst team in the league, would just be “a walk in the park.”
The Shakers took the Razorbacks lightly to start and needed a big fourth quarter push to win 70-53 Monday in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup at the Blue Eagle Gym.
“We had an easy time against Informatics the last time so they thought this one will be another walk in the park,” said Fruitas head coach Nash Racela, whose squad dominated Informatics 106-75 last Thursday. “But the good thing is everybody picked up the pace when we needed a push.”
Fruitas, which even trailed, 14-20, at the end of the first quarter, had trouble in putting away Hog’s Breath.
But not until the fourth quarter where the Shakers seemingly flipped the switch to break the game wide open as they outscored their opponents 21-8 in the final 10 minutes.
Fruitas drew solid efforts from its backcourt players with Carlo Lastimosa leading the way with 15 points. Pong Escobal shot 13 points while Anjo Caram had 12 to help their team improve to 6-3.
The Shakers, who are currently in third place just half a game behind NLEX and a full game short of top team Blackwater, still have a shot at finishing in the top two.
But in case Fruitas falls short of nailing an outright semifinals berth, Racela said that settling for a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals is also a good position to be in.
The scores:
Fruitas 70 – Lastimosa 15, Escobal 13, Caram 12, Escoto 9, Tolomia 5, Cruz 5, Pogoy 5, Antonio 4, Colina 2, Mendoza 0.
Hog’s Breath 53 – Lima 11, Malinao 9, Morillo 9, Roy 7, Robles 6, Armecin 3, Pacquiao 3, Cayabyab 3, Belorio 2, Eman 0, Alguno 0, Pangilinan 0, Macasaet 0.
Quarters: 14-20; 37-35; 49-45; 70-53