Petron Blaze continued to flaunt fearsome form, and this time, it wasn’t an upstart like Globalport that the Boosters brought down — and brought down hard.

The Boosters established control against Talk ‘N Text early, leading by as many as 27 points at one stage Saturday night before posting a comfortable 77-63 win over the defending PBA Philippine Cup champions at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

Petron erected a 22-12 lead after one quarter, was ahead, 55-32 at the half and never looked back as the under-manned Tropang Texters never came closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

The win was the second straight for Petron, which also dealt sophomore squad Globalport a thorough beating last Wednesday. It gave the Boosters a momentary tie for the lead with Rain or Shine, which plunges back to action Sunday afternoon.

Rain or Shine slugs it out with crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra and 7-foot rookie Greg Slaughter at 5:15 p.m. Sunday, with the Elasto Painters seeking to remain perfect.

Slaughter debuted respectably with 10 points and 12 rebounds in season-opening win against San Mig Coffee last Sunday. But he will be up against a tough-defending Rain or Shine squad that hopes to get more out of No. 3 choice Raymond Almazan.

Almazan, who ended his collegiate career with Letran while winning the MVP in the recently-concluded NCAA season, was scoreless in 14 minutes in his debut on Friday.

But coach Yeng Guiao vowed that his rookies — counting Jeric Teng and Alex Nuyles — will bounce back hard against the Gin Kings, who looked like legitimate title threats in that conquest of the Mixers on opening day.

Barako Bull is also undefeated and the Energy hope to stay that way and hold off Alaska in the other game at 3 p.m. The Aces will be taking the momentum of an impressive triumph over San Mig Coffee as they shoot for a second straight victory after a season-opening loss to the Painters.

Talk ‘N Text played a second straight game without prime big man Ranidel de Ocampo and the reliable Ryan Reyes, who are both out with injuries.

And the Texters showed a lot of vacuum in their game with the absence of the two, unlike the Boosters, who were able to plug the holes created by the injured all-star Alex Cabagnot.

Globalport, meanwhile, bounced back from the debacle to the Boosters with a 114-100 ripping of Air21 earlier in the day.

Rookie Terrence Romeo, the fifth choice overall in the last Draft, fired a season-high 34 points built around a 6-of-9 clip from beyond three-point range as the Batang Pier posted leads of as many as 19 points to also win with plenty to spare.

Romeo waxed hot in the third period, pumping in 14 of his total to key a Globalport breakaway and eventually deal the Express a second straight loss. Air21 dropped into a tie at the bottom with the powerhouse Mixers.

“We all know what Terrence can do because we have seen him so many times in the UAAP doing his thing for FEU,” interim Globalport coach Richie Ticzon, who also won his first PBA career game as a coach, said.

“He’s really special,” Ticzon said. “I do hope that we will be able to win some more games. As for me, the monkey is off my back. This win only motivates me to strive to work harder.”

Jay Washington added 19 points and had 12 rebounds for the Batang Pier, who won just one game in this tournament last season – their first conference in the league – before winning two in the Commissioner’s Cup.

But with a lineup that was completely revamped during the off-season, things are indeed looking up for the Batang Pier, who showed a lot of depth against the Express.

Joseph Yeo, the former La Salle gunner in the UAAP, paced the Express with 24 markers. But Air21 simply couldn’t withstand the onslaught presided upon by Romeo in the third period.