Cliff Brown scattered 24 points and cleared 16 boards as Derby Ace drubbed Barangay Ginebra, 101-83, to gain a second place tie and give the Llamados a solid shot at making the Final Four automatically.

Ginebra labored hard with import Denham Brown struggling to score just 15 points in the Gin Kings' biggest game of the tournament that they were actually never into at the Araneta Coliseum.

Derby Ace notched a fifth straight win and drew level with San Miguel at 12-5 and exposed the Kings to the possibility of being relegated to the wildcard phase.

The Kings closed out with a 9-9 record, within reach of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (7-9) and the Coca-Cola Tigers (7-9).

“It took a while for us to get going but I think we’ve got in at the right moment,” said Cliff Brown.

“The best thing about our situation is the reality that we’re in control of our fate,” said coach Ryan Gregorio for his part.

“We’ve primed ourselves to figure prominently in the elimination round. We’ll not relax and be complacent in our last game against Barako,” added Gregorio.

San Miguel and Alaska Milk (11-6) are the other teams still in pursuit of the No. 2 spot. The two teams clash in a pivotal tiff this Saturday in a road game scheduled in Dumaguete.

Derby Ace dominated Ginebra every quarter to steadily break away and score a repeat of their 95-82 ripping of the Kings in their previous match on May 9.

Tournament top seed Talk ‘N  Text earlier ripped Barako   Coffee apart, 112-101, to end its elimination round stint on   a devastating note that put the Coffee Masters on cliff’s  edge.

It didn’t take long for the Tropang Texters to impose  their will on the Coffee Masters, building double digit   leads early before closing out the half with a 20-point   bubble and allowing their second stringers to do the mop-up  job.

“Talk ‘N Text has been assured of top ranking since two   weeks ago, and closing out the first phase with a 15-3 slate  actually doesn’t matter anymore, what’s more important  for coach Chot Reyes is the fact that he was able to give   his bench the exposure.

“It's important for us to play the other guys,” explained Reyes. “I can't complain, we finished 15-3.”

Reyes and the Texters now have close to three weeks – at  least – of break from competitive PBA action, and his main  problem right now is how to keep his wards sharp for the  playoffs where the level of play will be several notches   higher.

“All our focus now will be on the playoffs,” he   stated.

Talk ‘N Text and Barangay Ginebra,  though, will be seeing   action in the four-day Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas   Invitational as guest teams set to start Thursday at the Ninoy  Aquino Stadium.

“We'll be playing in the invitational  series, then we'll   take a short break, then try and find some tuneup games,” Reyes said.

“Our goal now is that we get good quality practices and  good quality break  rest and recovery. “The objective  is   to balance the recovery and regeneration with sharpness. No  matter how hard you practice, being in game situations is   different.”

The Coffee Masters, after dropping to 3-14, now need to see   a loss by Air21 to Rain or Shine tomorrow and for them to   upset Derby Ace at the close of the elims on Sunday for them > to tie the Express for a playoff for the final wildcard   spot.

The winner in that scenario will advance opposite the No.   team with the loser going on an early vacation.

There was no hope of a Barako Coffee upset last night as  the Texters stepped up their running game right out of the   gates with Mac Cardona firing 28 that went with five   rebounds and five assists.

Shawn Daniels added 17 points and Aaron Aban 16, also a   personal best for the season-ending tourney. Leo Najorda's   19 points led the way for Barako, which  drew only 11 points   from import Sammy Monroe.