MANILA, 4 June 2007 — Big sister bailed a king of a brother out this time.

Barangay Ginebra got the job done opposite Air21, and the Gin Kings found themselves in a playoff for an outright semifinal slot in the PBA Fiesta Cup after San Miguel rallied to nip Talk ‘N Text 105-99 at the close of the elimination round last night at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Beermen fell behind early, 0-11, and then erased 13-point third quarter deficits before outsteadying the Phone Pals in the stretch to close out with an 10-8 record like the Express and drag Air21 into a different playoff.

Ginebra held off the Express, 121-116, in the first game to wind up with a 12-6 record like idle Alaska. Both will figure in a one-game playoff on Wednesday to determine who joins idle defending champion Red Bull in the Final Four early.

Red Bull topped the eliminations with a 13-5 card after turning back the Coca-Cola Tigers, 105-103 last week. Part of the incentive of ending up with the top two spots in the eliminations is a break of at least three weeks.

Galen Young was as offensive-minded as he could get against the Phone Pals, finishing with 26 points, including the layup that gave the Beermen the lead for the first time, 90-89, 3:42 left, which San Miguel never lost.

That completed a gallant rally from the last of those 13-point deficits, 49-62, early in the third period, before San Miguel played it smart and choked the Phone Pals with an unforgiving defense to win with a lot of authority. Wesley Gonzales was one of those who turned in a huge game, shooting all of his 12 points in the final two periods, including a completed three-point play off Harvey Carey after that Young basket that bloated San Miguel’s lead to four, 93-89 heading into the final 3:19.

As things stand, Air21 and San Miguel will play on Wednesday to determine who the No. 5 seed will be, the loser will then go down to the wildcard phase to meet the No. 9 squad, which is Sta. Lucia.

Alaska and the Kings, meanwhile, slug it out in another match for the right to join the Bulls in the semis, with the loser earning the No. 3 spot and will see action only when the quarterfinals start.

Talk ‘N Text, on the other hand, will have to settle for the No. 4 spot after coming two wins short of making it to the semifinals outright. The Phone Pals can now look back at a loss to lowly Welcoat some three weeks back which could have made all the difference for them.

Danny Ildefonso was a monster on both ends for San Miguel, chipping in with 22 points and 10 rebounds while Chris Calaguio hit some clutch treys in the fourth to finish with 12. Olsen Racela had 10 points.

Yancy De Ocampo led the Talk ‘N Text charge with 21 points, 16 rebounds and six assists and Mark Cardona was steady with 19.

But the big disappointment was import JJ Sullinger, who scored just 15 markers and had two crucial blunders in the stretch, not counting a technical foul slapped by a referee that made it 102-97 with under 30 seconds left.

Ginebra got 35 points and 13 rebounds from Rod Nealy and Ronald Tubid was solid with 30 and 12 as the Kings nipped the Express in the first game.

Air21 played without Gary David, its leading local scorer who had surgery on Friday night to repair an ACL tear.

But the Express had a lot of fight in them, with Nino Canaleta coming off the bench to score 28 points and grab 10 rebounds and lead three teammates with double-double efforts. Burly Shawn Daniels was good for 22 markers and 15 board, rookie Arwind Santos finished with 21 and 11 and Mark Clemence Telan had 13 and 10 for the Express, who almost erased a 16-point deficit. Relief Air21 guard Aris Dimaunahan, who saw major minutes in the absence of David, hit a triple with 24 seconds left that made it 117-114. But the Express threw away any and all hopes of a rally after Santos was slapped for a technical for delaying the game.

Johnny Abarrientos calmly nailed the free throw to put the game to bed.

“Like I have been saying even before the tournament started, we will take whatever comes our way,” coach Jong Uichico said. “If we make the semifinals (outright) then great, if not, the quarterfinals is not such a bad thing.”