Texters message: We are champs

MANILA, Philippines –  Mighty Talk n Text ended a two-year title drought last night, reclaiming the PBA Philippine Cup championship with a 95-82 conquest of a befuddled San Miguel Beer side before a mammoth crowd at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Tropang Texters dished out another solid 48-minute job, clobbering the Beermen for a second straight game for a 4-2 win in their dream best-of-seven title showdown.

Each member of Talk n Text’s core group played big, helping the team end frustrating and disappointing finishes in the last two years.

The Texters lost a knockout wildcard-round battle with the Purefoods Giants in the 2009 Fiesta Conference, squandered a 2-0 lead over the Ginebra Kings in their 2010 all-Filipino best-of-five quarters matchup and blew away a 3-2 lead over the Alaska Milk Aces in their 2010 Fiesta Confab best-of-seven semis duel.

“We only had the word ‘BEST’ on the board in our locker room for this game. We wanted to give our best effort and best game. We’re able to achieve that,” said Talk n Text coach Chot Reyes.

“It’s the first time in the series that we led in the first quarter. We knew they would make a comeback but if we can stick with them, we’ll win in the end,” Reyes added. “We didn’t want to play them in a close game. So we kept on pressuring them and they gave way in the end.”

Jason Castro, Talk n Text’s main man in the first two games, and Jimmy Alapag, standing tall in Games Six and Five, shared the Rain or Shine Finals MVP award.

For the team, Ryan Reyes was the biggest source of inspiration.

“We didn’t make it public but our motto in the series was ‘our brother lost a brother, and we don’t want him to lose again,’” said the Talk n Text coach.

“We actually refused to make the tragedy in his family a rallying point. But the way he played inspired us no end,” he added.

In last night’s game, Ryan Reyes even paced the Texters with 17 points that went with eight rebounds and three assists. 

“We lost Game Three because he’s not there. We could have won Game Four too. We had a chance but he suffered cramps at endgame,” said Reyes (the coach) of Reyes (the player).

Ryan averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals.

“My brother was my inspiration. He’s my source of strength. It’s (the championship) for him,” said Ryan whose younger brother Allan Raymond died in a car mishap in the US before the series started.

Talk n Text pummeled San Miguel at the start and at the finish, going on to notch a third all-Filipino crown after the team’s victories in 2002 and 2009.

Denying San Miguel rookie coach Ato Agustin a Cinderella finish, the Texters instead gifted their coach his sixth PBA championship.

Reyes became the first coach in league history to win at least two titles each with three different teams. He won two titles each earlier with Purefoods and Coca-Cola.

After a long chase, San Miguel caught up then had its first taste of the lead at 53-51 on a 6-0 start in the final half.