It really takes a lot to make Talk ‘N Text coach Jong Uichico smile.

The multi-titled mentor wore a long face when he came to the Press Room on Sunday night, just minutes after posting a 95-85 victory over Rain or Shine that boosted the Tropang Texters’ playoff position in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

“We just didn’t play hard enough,” Uichico said after allowing the Elasto Painters to finish with a flurry and make the final outcome seem somewhat respectable. “We just didn’t have the killer’s instinct tonight.”

Talk ‘N Text opened up with 17 unanswered points and led by as many as 25 in the first half before eventually improving to 5-3 to stay in the upper half of the bracket.

Rain or Shine, which came into the game averaging a league-best 103 points, was held to just 27 in the first half and went on to lose for just the second time in eight games.

The Elasto Painters’ loss gave idle defending champion San Miguel Beer and Alaska some kind of a headstart in their close race for a top two finish. The Beermen and the Aces have 7-1 records with all three teams having three assignments left each.

“They (Texters) relaxed in the end,” Uichico went on. “If we didn’t have that big lead, Rain or Shine could have caught up with us easily. We played hard for just 3-1/2 quarters tonight.”

During a hot start where the Texters played hard, their defense forced Rain or Shine to miss its first 21 three-point attempts.

Talk ‘N Text finished with a 48% clip from the field, going 30-for-57 from two-point zone.

The 27 points that the Texters allowed the Painters in the first two periods were the second lowest in a half this season, a testament to the defense of the Texters.

“We gained our confidence with that hot start. We were making our shots and they (Painters) were missing theirs,” Uichico continued.

Talk ‘N Text remained mathematically in the hunt for a top two finish, but Uichico ruled that out as a goal, saying: “We just want to win every game we play and see where that takes us.”

Finishing in the top two carries a lot of importance since it would mean an automatic berth in the Final Four. The next eight teams will then advance to a double-phase quarterfinals, with the first round giving those who finish from Nos. 3-6 a twice-to-beat advantage over lower-ranked foes.

JR Quinahan scored 21 points to pace the Painters.

Talk ‘N Text will wind up its elimination round schedule against formidable teams GlobalPort, Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel Beer.

In the curtain-raiser, Star snapped a four-game losing streak, but not after getting a huge scare from Mahindra, 104-96, to also give its playoff run a shot in the arm.

The Hotshots rose to 3-6 with the win and are within another victory of formally making it to the quarterfinals. They would need to sweep their remaining two games to have a shot at a twice-to-beat advantage.

Mark Barroca scored 26 on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond three-point zone, and Alex Mallari was big in the fourth quarter with nine points that helped seal the win for the Hotshots.

Barroca also scored nine points in the fourth with two-time MVP James Yap finishing with 15.

The loss, Mahindra’s seventh in nine games, spoiled the career games of Aldrech Ramos and Karl Dehasa, who dropped 26 and 24, respectively.