MANILA: The atmosphere inside the KIA Motors locker room was nothing short of a championship celebration.

No one can blame the Carnival, for they just chopped down another powerhouse team with a lot of championship pedigree on Wednesday night.

Lightweight point guard LA Revilla stood tallest in the stretch for the Carnival, who played so well at the crunch that they carved out a 95-84 triumph over defending champion Purefoods in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup eliminations at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

The 5-foot-7 sentinel finished with 18 points, seven assists and six rebounds and was biggest in the endgame, finding the open man if he wasn’t hitting the big shots as the Carnival rose to 2-4 counting its other victory that came at the expense of reigning Philippine Cup champion San Miguel Beer.

“We can’t lose them all,” playing coach Manny Pacquiao, the boxing legend trying his hand at professional caging, said in Filipino as his huge entourage and a number of fans followed him all the way to the press room.

“The Lord is gracious,” added Pacquiao, whose night became extra special with the win. He scored his first PBA point in the second quarter, a free throw coming off a foul called on Alex Mallari.

Man mountain PJ Ramos scored 32 points and had 26 rebounds and was the beneficiary of at least two Revilla feeds in the fourth period that helped keep the Hotshots at bay.

The loss was the second for Purefoods, which won its first four games.

Purefoods has now gone 1-2 with new import Daniel Orton, the NBA veteran who fared badly in his matchup with Ramos, leaving the game with still 1:31 left because of six fouls. He contributed just six points and three rebounds in 20 minutes.

Marc Barroca paced Purefoods with 18 points. The Hotshots also missed former two-time MVP James Yap because of a bruised knee suffered in a 71-78 loss to the Elasto Painters last Saturday.

In the first game, Globalport bounced back from a stinging loss over the weekend in a big way, dropping Barako Bull like a bad habit in the fourth quarter for a 99-81 victory.

Terrence Romeo scored 24 points and import Calvin Warner had 23 and 20 boards for the Batang Pier, who pieced together runs one after the other in the fourth to turn what had been a see-saw game into a blowout.

The victory raised Globalport’s record to a level 3-3. The Batang Pier also won for the first time in two games since releasing the prolific CJ Leslie more than a week ago.

Barako Bull, since opening up with three straight victories to hold a piece of the lead for the first two weeks of the tournament, took a second straight loss flush on the kisser despite getting 37 points and conference highs in rebounds with 28 with 19 coming off the offensive glass.

Romeo hit 15 of his total in the second period, while Warner tossed in 14 in the fourth as the Batang Pier dropped a total of 33 in the final frame to break free from a 66-62 game after three quarters.

Rookie Stanley Pringle scattered 14 points like Mark Isip for the Batang Pier, who are looking to make a Final Four series for the first time in the three-year history of their franchise.

Alabi didn’t get much local support, with only Carlo Lastimosa and Chico Lanete shooting in twin digits, combining for just 23 markers.

JC Intal, the veteran for the Energy, accounted for just four points after coming into the game tossing an average of over 13 a contest.

Meanwhile, perennial powerhouses Alaska, Talk ‘N Text and San Miguel Beer have asked the office of the commissioner to measure their new imports for the 6-foot-9 height limit.

The Aces, who are at 2-2, have brought in Damion James to take the place of former VMI Keydet DJ Covington, while the winless Beermen, the reigning Philippine Cup champions, will be reinforced by Arizona Reid when they play Meralco on Saturday in Cagayan de Oro City.

Reid was released by old team Rain or Shine and will be the smallest import in the tournament at under 6-foot-5. The Elasto Painters, meanwhile, have released Roick Jackson and recalled Wayne Chism, who will also play his first game Friday against the Aces.

Ivan Johnson will be the new Talk ‘N Text import vice Richard Howell, the winner of the Best Import award last season.