Ryan Reyes, three nights after losing his younger brother to a horrid car accident in the United States, was big on both ends in the fourth quarter Saturday night and lifted Talk ‘N Text to a 91-82 win over San Miguel for a 1-0 lead in their best-of-seven series for the PBA Philippine Cup championship.

The heady 6-foot-1 guard scored six of his 13 points in the payoff frame while shutting down his man on the other end as the Tropang Texters broke away to take the series opener in convincing manner at the Victorias City Sports and Cultural Center in Negros Occidental.

Talk ‘N Text spilled San Miguel with a no-nonsense defense all night, as the Beermen finally gave way in the fourth by going scoreless in the period’s first 3:30 to trail by nine and finally getting the fight snuffed out of them.

But Talk ‘N Text coach Chot Reyes was quick to dismiss the win as just one of the many that his Tropang Texters have picked up along the way to get here, making sure that this latest victory does not in any way get into the heads of his wards.

“All this (win) means is a 1-0 lead,” Reyes said at center court shortly after the fans came storming onto the floor. “This (series) is far from over and we are ready to play as many games as necessary to wrap this thing up.” Reyes felt that the Beermen folded up during the game’s most critical stages, and that fatigue set in on San Miguel and helped the Texters to the win.

Jay Washington, the San Miguel forward who holds a huge grudge against his former team, limped off the court late in the third period because of cramps on both legs and the Beermen were never the same after that.

And Washington looked like he had more than cramps, as team physicians attended to him in the locker room and on the bench when he returned, though San Miguel coaching staff refused to confirm this at press time.

“It’s part of the game,” Reyes said when asked to comment if he saw Washington to be nursing more than cramps. “It’s an unfortunate thing (if the San Miguel forward is indeed injured). But we have to capitalize on it.” Game 2 is set Wednesday night at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay with all the momentum on the side of the Texters, who are very aware that, like them, the Beermen have not lost back-to-back games the entire tournament.

“We will approach Game 2 with nothing on our minds but Game 2,” Reyes said. “We won’t even be thinking of their (Beermen’s) record as far as consecutive losses are concerned. We will come out thinking that we just want to beat them for the first time.” Down 67-68 at the end of the third, the Texters came out firing in the fourth, scoring 10 unanswered points for a nine-point edge before the Beermen finally tasted their first bucket almost 3:30 into the period.

The best that San Miguel could do was cut down that deficit to three, 76-79, off a Washington triple with 5:13 left, before the Texters wheeled away for good with a 7-2 spurt that left the Beermen eating their dust, 86-78 with 2:13 left that sent a huge chunk of the big crowd heading for the exits.

Ryan Reyes hit a triple before running down a looseball on the other end that led to a Jared Dillinger free throw for four unanswered points that touched off that telling burst. He also kept Dondon Hontiveros out of his sweet spot as the deadly San Miguel gunner finished with just nine points.

The game was low-scoring but it didn’t lack the action and excitement needed in making a championship series encounter a classic as Jason Castro led the Texters with 16 points with Reyes finishing with four rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Washington still went on to lead the Beermen with 14 points with Arwind Santos chipping in 13 that went with 15 rebounds.