MANILA, 26 December 2006 — This one wasn’t like the Christmas of the last two years for Barangay Ginebra.

And more than the Gin Kings and the close to 18,000 screaming fans feeling the hurt last night, two teams that did not even play will bear the brunt of it all.

Playing with so much desire, Talk ‘N Text broke away near the end of the third period last night and dealt the Kings a royal 115-104 beating, securing the second quarterfinal slot in the process while necessitating a playoff for the third seat in the PBA Philippine Cup.

An SRO crowd was in attendance at the Araneta Coliseum, most of them rooting for the crowd-darlings that took the court not really needing to win.

From a close game until the final four minutes of the third, the Phone Pals methodically tore the Kings apart with baskets coming from all angles to deal Ginebra its first loss on Christmas dating back to 2004 when, ironically, the Kings defeated Talk ‘N Text.

“This (day) is indeed merry for us,” Talk ‘N Text coach Derrick Pumaren later said. “We knew that Ginebra was going to come out strong, that’s why we needed to match their energy and it worked for us.”

Ren-Ren Ritualo, the former La Salle ace who was acquired from Air21 last year, came off the bench in the final four minutes of the third quarter and spewed fire like only he can, leading the Phone Pals to their 10th victory in 18 games.

It was the same mark held by defending champion Purefoods and Sta. Lucia, which eagerly awaited a Ginebra victory for both of them to make the quarterfinals outright.

Instead, both willl do battle on Jan. 3 next year for the No. 5 seed, with the loser dropping to the wildcard phase and with the spectre of not advancing to the playoffs at all.

Ritualo was ineffective in the first two periods that he was used sporadically, hitting only a free throw before Pumaren gambled on him in the third when the game was at its tightest.

The 6-foot-2 gunslinger rattled off seven straight points after being back on the floor for less than a minute as the Phone Pals broke from a 71-69 game to take an 85-78 lead heading into the fourth period.

And Talk ‘N Text opened up the fourth the way they closed the third, again with Ritualo on the firing end as the Phone Pals opened up a 104-83 lead with just inside seven minutes to play that silenced the predominantly Ginebra gallery.

“That was a big factor for us, being able to take away the crowd support which has worked like a sixth man for them (Kings),” Pumaren added. “We played so well tonight that we won a game we had to win for the first time in the tournament.”

While Ritualo provided the firepower from the outside in the critical stages, Asi Taulava and Harvey Carey found the lanes comfortable enough to operate in as both contributed heavily. Ritualo went on to finish with 20 points in 26 minutes despite missing 9-of-13 three-point attempts. All four of those triple attempts he made came in that stretch, three in the fourth period when a 19-5 run gave the Phone Pals that 21-point cushion.

Eric Menk, the anchor of the Ginebra defense inside, was hobbled by foul trouble all game and was hardly a factor, finishing with just six points.

The Kings managed to keep the game close up until that point in the third because of Jay-Jay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa.

The dynamic guard duo finished with a combined 45 points, while Rafi Reavis had 17 and Sunday Salvacion 16 for the Kings, who saw a seven-game winning streak come to a halt but nevertheless qualified as the top team to the semifinals.

Sister team San Miguel, meanwhile, got 19 points from Lordy Tugade and twin digit points from five others in a 108-104 decision of the Air21 Express in the first game.

The Beermen closed out their elimination round assignment with a 13-5 record, the same as the Kings’, but will take No. 2 seeding into the Final Four.

Air21 fell behind by as many as 27 points in the second period before coming up with their trademark second half-rally. But the Express fell short this time, even after getting 28 points in the second half from energetic Gary David, who finished with a night-high 34.

The Express will take a 7-11 record into the wildcard, which will be a single round affair with the topnotcher advancing to the quarterfinals in the company of Red Bull, the Phone Pals and the winner of the Purefoods-Sta. Lucia game on Jan. 3.