Playing in honor of a departed, Talk n Text nurtured the very life of its final aspiration.

Jason Castro drove past Joe De Vance for the go-ahead basket then Talk n Text made a huge defensive stop in the closing seconds as the Texters pulled off an 82-81 nail-biter over the Alaska Milk Aces to move in the threshold of the PBA Fiesta Conference finals at the Araneta Coliseum Friday night.

Ryan Gregorio is not looking past Game 6. But the B-Meg Derby Ace head coach thinks there’s a purpose why the Llamados are still alive.

Import Tony Washam scored 14 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter as B-Meg Derby Ace staved off elimination with an 88-82 victory against San Miguel Beer in Game 5 of their PBA Fiesta Conference semifinal series Friday at the Araneta Coliseum.

B-MEG Derby Ace coach Ryan Gregorio is not one to perfunctorily panic, even when his team is faced with a daunting deficit. But this time, his finger is sure close to the button.

“At this point we’re really just being outplayed, outhustled and those are the things that are dictating the way the games are played,” he said.

ALASKA team owner and former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) chairman Wilfred Steven Uytengsu will be at the forefront of the first ever running event for charity the league is staging this weekend at the SM Mall of Asia.

Mighty San Miguel Beer is a game away from gaining a shot at back-to-back PBA Fiesta Conference championships.

The Beermen, the reigning champs with fresher legs, wore down the B-MEG Derby Ace Llamados, 83-75, to move in the doorstep of the finals Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Under the threat of being replaced, Shawn Daniels asserted himself in Game 4 as Talk ‘N Text bowled over Alaska, 83-62 Wednesday to even their PBA Fiesta Conference semifinal series at two games apiece at the Cuneta Astrodome.

The portly import scored 13 points to share scoring honors with teammate Jason Castro and grabbed 14 rebounds in a game that may decide his fate with the team.