The Tropang Texters, used the first chance of nailing a title series slot in the PBA Philippine Cup by blasting the Derby Ace Llamados Friday night, 89-72, to close out their Final Four series, 4-2, at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

And that happened before San Miguel bungled the first of three that it had as the Beermen went down in flames against a buoyed-up Barangay Ginebra side which pounded out a 102-76 Game 5 victory to make it a 3-2 score in their separate series.

Talk 'N Text played hard-nosed defense and a very efficient offense to break away in the second half and post the most lopsided victory in their series for a crack at a third crown for the franchise.

"It wasn't as easy as the final score indicated. They've got great spirit and they got great heart," Talk 'N Text coach Chot Reyes told reporters. "When we retooled the team at the start of the season, we made special emphasis to focus on defense,.

"Hopefully, we could sustain it against any of the San Miguel teams (in the Finals)." Ali Peek scored 19 points and collared 11 rebounds, and Jason Castro had 16 of his 18 points in the middle two quarters to spark the Talk 'N Text breakaway and snuff the fight out of the game Llamados.

After closing out the half sitting on a seven-point advantage, Castro and Peek scored eight points each in the third period as Talk 'N Text bloated this to 73-53 entering the final frame which the Llamados never came close to overhauling.

And the Texters never let up despite getting the comfortable lead, as they never gave the Llamados a chance to mount even a semblance of a rally as they bottled up Derby Ace's big guns all the way to the final buzzer.

"From Day 1 (of the season), this team hasn't forgotten what happened last conference," starting Talk 'N Text guard Jimmy Alapag said, referring to their Final Four loss to eventual champion Alaska in the Fiesta Conference.

"People have been talking how we have fallen short," Alapag explained. "Our goal is not only to get back in the Finals, but to finish it. Our job's not done. As great as it feels to be back in the Finals, the job isn't done yet." Yap led the Llamados with 16 points but scored only seven in the final three periods. Peter June Simon finished with 15 like Rico Maierhofer but was effectively taken out of the Derby Ace rotation when the Texters were breaking away.

While half of the projected Finals protagonists in the Texters safely made it into the best-of-seven championship series, the Beermen were stalled in their bid after playing listless and encountering a rock-solid Ginebra side in the nightcap.

Mike Cortez had 16 points and led four others in twin digits for the Kings, who can gun for the equalizer Sunday also at the Big Dome.

"We just tried to do our best today," Ginebra coach Jong Uichico said. "It helped that Alex (Cabagnot) was not in the game and the players still came out to play hard despite being 1-3 down.

"We just extended the series," continued Uichico. "This is just another game. If we can get another one on Sunday, it would be better." The Beermen played without point guard Alex Cabagnot, who was sent home by coach Ato Agustin moments before tip-off because of a slight fever caused by tonsillitis.

And the San Miguel team that came out was a far cry from the one that won a double overtime classic two nights ago. And it was that same game which Agustin put the blame on.

"Of course (we're in trouble for the rest of the series)," Agustin said in Filipino. "The way we played today, we were very listless. We only played well in the first five minutes and then our intensity level went down.

"I think my players were really fatigued (coming from the double overtime win). Their legs simply weren't there," he added.

Joseph Yeo scored 14 points for the Beermen, who trailed by 30 several times in the third period and were never really in it after that.

Dondon Hontiveros was good for only eight points and Jay Washington, who played 54 hard minutes on Wednesday to shoot 19 points and grab a career-high 20 rebounds in a 108-104 win, had just five markers and was utilized only for 24 minutes this time.