What transpired was one of those bail-out performances by Alex Cabagnot once more.

Cabagnot again was at his lethal form when Petron met a dangerous situation, draining three straight three-point shots in igniting the run that finally tore Barako Bull to pieces in the fourth quarter in a 95-83 victory Friday night in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

Petron seized the solo lead with its second straight win this early in the season-opening conference, and Cabagnot again was the reason why the Boosters went out of the playing court triumphant after ending up as the hero similar to the franchise’s 73-69 win against powerhouse B-Meg Wednesday night.

The No. 2 pick in the 2005 Draft knocked in three triples in a row when the Energy Boosters came to within 75-70, and that display of offensive brilliance sparked an 18-4 blast to virtually seal the outcome as the reigning Governors’ Cup champions took a 93-74 lead with 3:17 left to play.

Cabagnot, who scored seven of Petron’s last nine points in the win against B-Meg, finished with 22 points to go with four assists, an effort that truly was needed for a franchise that only played with 10 men due to injuries.

Jay Washington, Lordy Tugade and Rabeh Al-Hussaini are still recuperating from respective injuries while Dondon Hontiveros dressed but failed to see action because of an hurting foot he suffered against the Llamados.

“At first I didn’t expect we would be 2-0 (win-loss) in the tournament,” said Petron coach Ato Agustin. “It was really team effort. We had five players scoring in double figures and we were able to adjust in the fourth quarter which I think was the difference.” Indeed.

Arwind Santos was his usual dominant form with 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, rookie Chris Lutz added 17 points and six steals, Carlo Sharma contributed 15 points and Danny Ildefonso had 11 points, 13 rebounds and six assists for Petron, which now takes a week’s break before taking on the lowly Shopinas.com on Oct. 16.

Barako Bull played its first game with expectations that it could contend with Petron, and Agustin was the first to admit during the post-game interview Wednesday that the Energy Boosters are a ball club that should not be taken for granted.

The reason is quite obvious. Although ageing, the Energy Boosters are loaded with talent, especially with the entry of Willie Miller from Ginebra.

But Miller was far from the form that made him a two-time MVP. He only scored eight points on 2-of-8 shooting from the floor and committed three turnovers in 30 minutes of action.

Danny Seigle, too, struggled. The player also known as ‘Dynamite Danny’ wasn’t close to being explosive, merely finishing with five points and also having three turnovers.

Yet with Miller and Seigle out of sorts, Barako Bull still gave Petron a scare. It even led, 56-54 at one point in the third quarter, but was never able to sustain it after the Boosters closed out the period claiming a 73-64 advantage.

Again, the Energy Boosters came to within 75-70, but that was the final time Barako Bull would threaten Petron.

Talk ‘N Text began its bid of becoming the first repeat Philippine Cup champion in 26 years with a bang later in the night, crushing sister-team Meralco, 98-80.

Playing without Jimmy Alapag, Ranidel de Ocampo, and Kelly Williams who all requested for a three-game respite after reinforcing Smart-Gilas in the FIBA-Asia Championships last month, the Tropang Texters held the Bolts to only six points (one field goal) in the second period, breaking the game wide open with a 47-28 lead at halftime from a 22-22 first-quarter deadloack.

Japeth Aguilar, hardly used by coach Rajko Toroman over at Smart-Gilas, had an impressive debut for the Texters, scoring 27 points. He highlighted his output with a slam dunk against Jason Ballesteros after coming through with an interception late in the second quarter.

“Japeth fits our style. We love to run, and Japeth loves to run,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes. “I expect him to be more dominant defensively when he learns to pick his spots. It’s my job as a coach to harness him. Not many Filipinos have that combination of height and speed.” Meralco, already missing the services of Sol Mercado and Reynel Hugnatan because of knee injuries, compounded its woes when Mark Cardona suffered a sprained ankle in the first quarter. He ended up with only two points.

Jason Castro added 14 points and Harvey Carey and Jared Dillinger each had 11 points for Talk ‘N Text, denied of a Grand Slam last season by Petron after losing the Governors’ Cup championship in seven games.

Great Taste was the last ball club that repeated as Philippine Cup champion in 1984-85.