THE FRUITAS Shakers proved that they are more than just an Ola Adeogun-powered squad as they beat the Erase XFoliant behind the 30 points of Carlo Lastimosa yesterday in the PBA D-League Aspirants Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Meanwhile, the reigning champions NLEX Road Warriors remained undefeated as they routed the Big Chill Superchargers, 91-67, in the second game.
NLEX won its sixth straight game this season and extended its winning streak to 23 games dating back to last season.
Ian Sangalang paced the Road Warriors with 20 points and five rebounds.
The Shakers, meanwhile, struggled on both ends without Adeogun, their 6-foot-8 Nigerian center, and needed to grind it out in the stretch to nail their second win in five games.
Adeaogun missed his second straight game with a sprained right ankle he sustained in their 64-69 loss against Blackwater Sports last week.
Pong Escobal turned in 18 points, including a three pointer with 2:51 remaining that tied the game 71-71 and touched off the closing 10-2 run that clinched the game for the Shakers.
Marlon Gomez tallied 20 points on 9 of 15 shooting for the Erasers, which tied the Shakers with a 2-3 record. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio