Reyes’ Tropang Texters took a 2-0 lead on the Beermen in their best-of-seven series for the PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday night after a 110-102 victory borne out from nothing but hard work on both ends and San Miguel’s lack of fighting heart at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Jason Castro scored 15 points off the bench, and Jared Dillinger found just the right game to shine by tossing in a season-high tying 20 points on a near-perfect 25-minute stint as the Texters went 2-0 for the first time in franchise history.

It was also the first time that the Beermen lost consecutive games this season, and this one could be particularly hard to come back from considering that they are playing such a talented squad that has come out of the first two games with hunger San Miguel cannot match.

“They (Beermen) really fought hard and extended us. But I guess our will to defend and clutch points bailed us out,” Reyes told reporters as he tried to downplay how convincing his squad’s first two victories have been.

Castro hit six of his total in the fourth period and has continued to be Agustin’s biggest headache by providing match-up problems at the off-guard spot that San Miguel could not solve.

“The guy next to me is the best up-and-coming guard in the league and nobody was hearing me before,” Talk ‘N Text skipper Jimmy Alapag said of Castro, who sealed the game by shaking off Alex Cabagnot on the dribble for a layup that made it 107-100 with 47 seconds to go.

“I’m just lucky that he’s on our team,” added Alapag, who has found life easier with Castro around.

The Texters used a 10-0 run to open up the fourth quarter and gain control before holding off San Miguel the rest of the way with fluid ball movement and a no-nonsense defense that didn’t let up until the final buzzer.

Talk ‘N Text, up by just two at the half, built leads of as many as 13 points in the second half and the best that San Miguel could do was come within three points with under two minutes left only to be scuttled again.

Jay Washington tossed in 20 markers to pace the Beermen, whom Agustin challenged in the dugout because of their lack of heart in playing what was a very important game for them.

“They made a commitment that they will play harder and more rugged (in Game 3),” Agustin told reporters in Filipino. “They (Texters) were making round-robin layups out there tonight.

“We had a good start, but it clearly showed in the stats that we didn’t play defense,” added a dejected Agustin. “It’s not yet over. They still need four wins (to wrap up the series). We still have a chance but we have to bounce back on Friday.”

Alex Cabagnot added 18 points and Arwind Santos 14, but Agustin repeatedly pointed out to the fact that the Texters were making easy shots, shots that the 1992 MVP said shouldn’t be allowed to be made in a championship series.

“We need to regroup and play hard defense,” Agustin said. “On a scale of 1-10 as far as playing defense was concerned, we were a six tonight. It’s not enough that we play with effort, we need to play with extra effort.”

Game 3 is Friday at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, and the Texters will not have Ryan Reyes for that game with the Talk ‘N Text guard leaving for the United States to attend the burial of younger brother Allan Raymond.