MANILA, 20 September — Red Bull struck hard in the final five minutes of the match, rolled out of the game’s final deadlock and came out with an 86-76 victory last night in the Philippine Basketball Association Samsung Commissioner’s Cup at the Phil Sports Arena.

"To me, this is the key game. I always felt the winner of the series will be the team that wins two straight because of the way wins have alternated so far," said Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao, whose team hopes to retain its title when Game Seven kicks off today at the Araneta Coliseum.

Superiority was in full display last night as he scattered 12 of his 28 points in the fourth period, including six in a pivotal 12-1 run that plucked the Thunder from a 70-72 bind and gave them an unassailable 82-73 lead with only 1:21 left.

"Our big men won the game for us. Julius Nwosu stepped up for us, both offensively and defensively. He has been back and forth to the country four times now and he hasn’t won a title here. I know he badly wants one," said Guiao.

By tying the series at 33, the Thunder renewed their hopes of keeping the championship. This they will try at 6:30 pm tomorrow when they meet the Phone Pals in a no-tomorrow game at the Araneta Coliseum.

"This will be a real treat to all PBA fans,’ Guiao guaranteed. "Emotions will be high, adrenaline will be flowing."

But he stopped himself from guaranteeing a Game Seven win despite having hinted at it when he said the championship will be won by the team that wins two straight. Red Bull is the only team in the position to win back-to-back in this seesaw series. "No guarantees," Guiao said, smiling.

Until a late three-pointer in the dying seconds, the Phone Pals were limited to without a field goal under the last five minutes of the match, a dry spell Red Bull pounced on to take control of a match fought on even terms for three-and-a-half quarters.

Mark Telan completed a three-point play for the Phone Pals while Davonn Harp dunked on a transition play for the Thunder as both teams were tied at the 4:33 mark of the fourth, 72-all.

That was when Red Bull took charge, uncorking a killer 14-0 run that ended with Willie Miller hitting his final two points for an 86-73 lead in the last 11 seconds.

"We didn’t give up. We kept our composure. Game Seven will be like that. The last team to give up will be the one to win," explained Guiao, who guaranteed a Game Seven after losing heavily in Game Five.

The game had its share of controversy when Talk ‘N’Text coach Bill Bayno exchanged a few words with finance and technical director Ricky Palou at the end of the game. Bayno will be summoned yesterday and faces yet another financial sanction from the league.

Harp finished with 16 points and five rebounds while Miller chipped in 14 to make up for the 13-point output of Sean Lampley, who continues to struggle with jet lag.

Pete Mickeal led Talk ‘N’Text with 20 points and seven rebounds but shot just 6-of-16. Honeycutt, the conference’s best import, had 18 points, seven boards and two airball three-point attempts. Both imports, however, managed just a combined four points in the final period, where Nwosu managed 12 points, just four shy of the entire Talk ‘N’Text output.

The score see-sawed in the first two quarters that ended with Talk ‘N Text ahead, 43-39, following back-to-back treys by Ibet Demape and Donbel Belano.

The scores: Red Bull 86 — Nwosu 28, Harp 16, Miller 14, Lampley 13, Torion 6, Reyes 4, Valenzuela 3, Tugade 2, Villoria 0. Talk ‘N’Text 78 — Mickeal 20, Honeycutt 18, Belano 12, Telan 12, Evans 7, Demape 5, Pablo 2, Fran 2, Crisano 0. Quarterscores: 16-13, 39-43, 62-62, 86-78.

PBA Commissioners’ Cup

Best-of-7 finals series tied 3-3

GAME 1: Talk ‘N’Text 102, Red Bull 100

GAME 2: Red Bull 96, Talk ‘N’Text 86

GAME 3: Talk ‘N’Text 80, Red Bull 71

GAME 4: Red Bull 89, Talk ‘N’Text 81

GAME 5: Talk ‘N’Text 77, Red Bull 55

GAME 6: Red Bull 86-, Talk ‘N’Text 76.