Who says Petron, undermanned and perhaps dejected after the blowout loss in Game 3, couldn’t bounce back in a big way? The Boosters retaliated with what’s left of their depleted lineup and shockingly got away with it so easily, flattening the Tropang Texters in a 105-83 triumph in Game 4 Sunday night that and leveled the PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-seven championship series at two games apiece at the Araneta Coliseum.

After back-to-back defeats where the margin of difference was 22.5 points, Petron caught Talk ‘N Text at its worst form in the third quarter this time. The Tropang Texters were held to a conference-low 12 points in the period on 4-of-14 shooting (28.6 percent), and the Boosters capitalized on the rare instance by scoring 33 in the same stretch.

So, after leading by only 53-50 at halftime, Petron suddenly stormed to an 86-62 lead going into the final quarter, and Talk ‘N Text couldn’t muster enough strength to mount something it’s not used to — a comeback.

The series now stands at 2-2, far from what many had projected to be a sweep for the Grand Slam-seeking Talk ‘N Text. Interestingly, the showdown has now been reduced to a best-of-three affair, with the crucial Game Five and the 3-2 lead set on Wednesday.

“We played smart. We were able to control their guards, especially Jayson Castro and (Jimmy) Alapag. We’ll just have to continue to play good defense, stop their transition, and force them to play the half court,” said rookie coach Ato Agustin of Petron, which is missing four key players to injuries – Jay Washington, Lordy Tugade, Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Joseph Yeo.

Two nights after going 0-of-8 from the field for three points, Arwind Santos fought back by scoring 20 points and pulling down 14 rebounds, Dennis Miranda came off the bench to contribute 19 points, and import Anthony Grundy had 16 points and eight assists. Alex Cabagnot collected 16 points and seven assists.

It was a defeat that negated what was supposed to be a night that belonged to Alapag, who before the start of the game was adjudged as the season’s Most Valuable Player.

But Alapag just shot 3-of-9 from the floor and finished with eight points, and reliable reserve Larry Fonacier was limited to five points this time after There is one man, though, TNT coach Chot Reyes would like to seek out.

“I would like to send out a missing person bulletin to Ali Peek,” Reyes said. “Laki-laking mama (man) hindi ko mahanap.” Peek, who was named to the second Mythical Team, only played for three minutes and obviously didn’t impress Reyes. He was immediately pulled with nothing across his name but just one offensive rebound and one turnover.

Still, it was a result Reyes saw as something Petron deserved.

“The other team wanted it more,” Reyes said. “They came out with the adjustments. They allowed us to play their pace. I’m very disappointed that we didn’t want it more.

“My team really looked tired. We’ve been playing for 10 months now in 70-plus games. The physical, emotional, and mental strain and drain are manifesting right now.” Castro led the Texters with 17 points, while Ryan Reyes contributed 16. Scottie Reynolds had 12 points but just went 3-of-15 from the field.

Alapag captured the MVP award he never thought of winning from the day he began playing the sport, becoming only the fifth point guard to win the highest individual honor during the simple but suspense-filled Leo Prieto Awards.

“Ever  since I’ve been playing basketball, I’ve never gone before the start of the season working hard to win an MVP,” said Alapag. “It’s always about winning championships. If I ever was blessed, it was a huge honor.

“It’s been a special year. The journey isn’t quite done yet.” Holding back tears and refusing to even smile, Alapag accepted the award from Commissioner Chito Salud and Board Chairman Rene Pardo prior to the start of Game Four, opening his remarks in Filipino, acknowledging the importance of his coaching staff and teammates, and thanking his actress-wife LJ and even those he competed with in the MVP race.

The man everyone knows by the moniker ‘Mighty Mouse’ ended up as the beast of the night, compiling 1,888 points to beat Santos, the Governors’ Cup’s best player, and Mark Caguioa of Ginebra.

Santos wound up a close second with 1,687 points while Caguioa had 1,317.

Rabeh Al-Hussaini was the runaway choice in the Rookie of the Year race.

Alapag thus followed the footsteps of Robert Jaworski  Sr., Ricky Brown, Johnny Abarrientos, and Jay-Jay Helterbrand as point guards to win the coveted honor. Including off guards, the Talk ’N Text playmaker became the eighth to win the MVP counting Fortunato ‘Atoy’ Co Jr., Ato Agustin and Willie Miller.

With Alapag in the First Mythical Team were Santos, Caguioa, teammate Kelly Williams and Alaska’s Sonny Thoss. The second Mythical Team was comprised of Castro and Peek, B-Meg’s James Yap and Joe Devance, and Jay Washington, the Best Player of the Conference in the Philippine Cup, of San Miguel Beer.

Santos again was voted into the All-Defensive unit along with Marc Pingris of B-Meg and Ryan Reyes of Talk ‘N Text. The team, however, got plenty of surprises when William Wilson and John Wilson of Ginebra were included, missing out Williams and Thoss.

To make it more intriguing, John Wilson wasn’t a valid Rookie of the Year candidate since the Ginebra guard failed to make the cut of having to play 70 percent of the PBA’s total games for the season.

Thoss, meantime, won the Sportsmanship award while Castro was named the Most Improved Player.

Truly, the 2010-11 season has been a special one for Alapag, who broke into the PBA scene in 2003 and won Rookie of the Year honors, a season when Talk ‘N Text won its first championship in the league after beating Coca-Cola in six games in the Philippine Cup.

He was a side-kick then to big man Asi Taulava. Now, there’s no doubt that he’s the leader.

Alapag was eighth and last among the official candidates in the statistical points’ race for the MVP. He was included in the list for winning the Best Player of the Conference in the Commissioner’s Cup.

Alapag also was co-Finals MVP in the Philippine Cup and in the Commissioner’s Cup along with Castro.