As it turned out, it was B-Meg which traveled bent on fulfilling a mission.

B-Meg overcame the worries that come with parading a new import, and the Llamados overwhelmed speed with height in rallying to beat Grand Slam-aiming Talk ‘N Text, 111-105, in the first of the PBA Governors’ Cup’s two-game series here at the Al Shabab Sports Club.

Darnel Hinson provided the key blows in the third quarter, James Yap was at his scoring element, and Joe Devance once more produced a double-double for B-Meg, regarded, on paper, as the best team that could deny the Tropang Texters from completing a sweep of the season’s three championships.

“He played well,” said Llamados’ coach Jorge Gallent of Hinson, a familiar face in Latin basketball leagues. “I’m sure he will still get better once he has settled down with the team. He’s exactly the right fit for us.” Hinson, who last played for team Isabela in Puerto Rico, wound up with 26 points and 12 rebounds even though he only shot 9-of-25 from the floor. His biggest contribution in the game was in the third quarter, when he knocked in back-to-back three-point shots that sparked a 21-1 blast as B-Meg recovered from an 11-point first-half deficit to take full control of the game.

“We played bad particularly in the first quarter partly because we couldn’t run our plays the way we’re supposed to. The guys also sort of lost their poise,” Gallent said. “But the good thing is we picked our game when we had to.”

Two-time MVP Yap had a game-high 32 points on 12-of-21 shooting, and Devance collected 17 rebounds and 16 points as the Llamados brought a basic aspect of the game – rebounding — into another level Talk ‘N Text failed to address.

So mighty were the Llamados off the boards that they had a 68-52 advantage from it, and was, more or less, the key to B-Meg’s third victory in five games in the season-ending tournament. More than anything else, B-Meg earned the bragging rights for being the first team to deal the Texters their first defeat in the tournament.

Jason Castro led the Texters with 24 points, while Ranidel de Ocampo, Harvey Carey and import Maurice Baker each contributed 20. The sad thing about it all was that none of them came through to sustain Talk ‘N Text’s drive when the franchise came to within 91-89 with 7:03 remaining in the contest.

Talk ‘N Text, which led 29-21 after the opening period and was still ahead 56-53 at halftime, likewise missed the numbers Jimmy Alapag could contribute whenever healthy. Alapag, one of the leading candidates for this season’s most valuable player award, only produced 2 points, bothered still by the twisted right foot he suffered a few games back.

The Texters also shot a slightly lower from the field, converting 42 of 102 attempts (41.1 percent) compared to the Llamados, who took fewer shots (82) but knocked in 42 also for a 48.7 percent clip.

The Texters will now face Ginebra (2-1) in the final phase of their series here, weary but still mentally armed to at least earn a split.

The Kings are coming off a 97-81 victory over Meralco last June 24, drawing a spectacular performance from its import Curtis Stinson, who registered the tournament’s first triple double with 18 points, 16 assists and 13 rebounds.

Sunday, action in the PBA returns to the Araneta Coliseum, with Rain or Shine seeking to at least claim a piece of the lead when it clashes with stumbling Powerade.

The Elasto Painters possess a 3-1 (win-loss) record, and a victory against the Tigers, non-quarter-finalists for the past seven conferences, will push them to with a victory of a berth in the next round, the carry-over semifinals.

Alaska, on the other hand, tackles Petron and its spectacular import Jeremy Wise in the first game, each team trying to break off from a 2-2 tie and move in upper half of the nine-team standings.