The Talk N Text Tropang Texters thumped the Alaska Aces for the second straight time, 100-98, Wednesday night to level the best-of-seven Finals of the KFC PBA Philippine Cup to 2-2. The win was a fitting follow-up to TNT's 92-73 win against Alaska in Game 3. Down by four points, 65-69, midway in the third quarter, the Texters unleashed a 13-2 run to take 78-71 lead with 2:28 left before the final quarter. In that pivotal third-quarter run, Jimmy Alapag scored 11 straight points. The TNT guard nicknamed “The Mighty Mouse” spearheaded TNT's offense, scoring 20 points, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. He also grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists. The Texters kept the Aces at bay throughout the fourth quarter. A three-point shot by Jeffrey Cariaso pushed Alaska to within one, 89-88, 6:52 left in the game. But the Texters employed stingy defense once again as they held the Aces scoreless for a long stretch in the fourth period. Alaska went 0-of-5 from the field and committed two turnovers, practically allowing the Texters to post a 95-87 spread. “Our defense is really keying our victories,” said Texters head coach Chot Reyes. “In the last two games we were able to play defense. I think that was the key. Now we've gotten it (series) to where we want it, making it a series again.” Alaska head coach Tim Cone blamed his team's inability to make shots from the outside for their second straight defeat. “We didn't knock down our perimeter shots,” said Cone. Alaska made only four of 25 shots from beyond the arc while TNT converted 11-of-27. The last time the Aces threatened was when Sonny Thoss completed a three-point play off a foul from Jason Castro, 98-96, with eight seconds left. But rookie TNT forward Jared Dillinger secured the win for the Texters' with a pair of free throws at the other end. Willie Miller finished with 21 points and eight assists for Alaska. Earlier, Miller bagged the all-Filipino Cup's best player of the conference award, his second such award. Miller, 31, ran away with the award as he humbled four topnotch rivals in TNT's Macmac Cardona, Coca-Cola's Asi Taulava, Sta. Lucia's Kelly Williams and Barangay Ginebra's Jayjay Helterbrand. Miller, who previously won the award in the 2005 Fiesta Conference while still with Talk ‘N Text, amassed 1,443 points as against Cardona's 870, Taulava's 470, Williams' 439 and Helterbrand's 359. For winning the award, Miller automatically became a candidate for the season's MVP plum. Four of the last five best player of the conference winners in the Philippine Cup went on to win season MVP honors and nine of 13 overall. Miller, the league's top player in 2002 and 2007, thus set a league record as one of only seven players who have won the MVP award more than once. The others are Ramon Fernandez, Alvin Patrimonio, Bogs Adornado, Abet Guidaben, Benjie Paras and Danny Ildefonso. On top of his two MVP and Best Player of the Conference citations, Miller has also been named in the league's Mythical Selection four times. In the exhibition game that preceded Game 4 of the Finals at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, the Philippine youth basketball team fought the Burger King Fighters, formerly the Air21 Express, to a 95-95 draw. The scores: Talk N Text 100 – Alapag 20, Cardona 18, Carey 17, de Ocampo R. 13, Dillinger 12, Castro 10, Peek 8, de Ocampo Y. 2, Aljamal 0, Lao 0, Ritualo 0. Alaska 98 – Devance 24, Miller 21, Hugnatan 11, dela Cruz 11, Thoss 11, Cariaso 9, Tenorio 8, Fonacier 2, Ferriols 2. Quarters: 30-28, 56-54, 80-75, 100
