PETRON wasted one chance to put Talk ‘N Text away. The Boosters now hope they don’t blow another.

Petron once again tries to dethrone the defending champion, aiming to capitalize on the probability that Talk ‘N Text would be without two of its key players when Game Six of their PBA Philippine Cup semi-finals series is played tonight at the Araneta Coliseum.

Powerade also shoots for its first-ever championship berth since bolting from the San Miguel Corp. group in 2004, eyeing to write off Rain or Shine and hoping to continue fanning the flames of a Cinderella finish.

The Boosters were so close advancing to the championships the other night, but the end-game poise that has bailed them out in three games in the series was not around in Game Five, allowing the Tropang Texters to escape with a 93-91 victory to keep alive their hopes.

Jimmy Alapag hit a cold-blooded three-point shot with 24 seconds remaining, before Arwind Santos bungled on his own attempt beyond the arc as Talk ‘N Text slashed the series deficit to 3-2.

But the telecom franchise might see action without Kelly Williams, the 2006-07 MVP, and Ryan Reyes due to injuries.

Williams pulled a hamstring in the second half of Game Five while Reyes injured his right wrist after a bad fall.

“Tinatago namin ‘yung injury ni Kelly,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes.

“He pulled his hamstring two days before the start of the series.

Ginamot lang ‘yon, and we were hoping that it would be 50 to 55 percent fit. Pero bumigay din.

“We’ve been battling on pure guts. As long as we continue to play hard and don’t quit, it’s fine with us. Sabi nga nila, habang may buhay, may pag-asa.”

The news that Williams and Reyes wouldn’t be around certainly brings a lot of openings for Petron to finally end the series they have dominated even though all games have been decided by a single shot or a single play.

Ato Agustin now wishes that the Boosters have been awakened.

“Mahirap pag lamang ka, medyo may tendency ka na mag-relax,” he said. “Dapat hindi na namin isipin na lamang kami. We missed a lot of easy shots in Game Five, and dapat hindi na mangyari ‘yun.”

Agustin was particularly upset in the fourth quarter when Petron gave away a 13-3 advantage in free throws. Overall, Talk ‘N Text attempted at the free throw line 37 times and converted 25, while the Boosters had a 13-of-20 clip at the stripe.

Petron likewise had 10 more turnovers than Talk ‘N Text, 18-8.

“We have to continue finding ways,” said Reyes. “All we wanted was to play again on Sunday. This is a battle between two teams with great pride.”

Powerade, on the other hand, pulled off another come-from-behind victory the other night to move to within a victory of clinching a Finals berth.

The Tigers were down, 106-100, when they unleashed a 10-2 closing run. Gary David, JV Casio, and Marcio Lassiter all scored in the end-game brilliance, stunning the Elasto Painters who, for the second time in the series, blew a golden opportunity to win.

In Game Three, Rain or Shine likewise had a six-point lead with 1:57 left to play. But Powerade fought back, sent the game into overtime when David hit three free throws to tie the game before outplaying the Painters in the extra period.

Bo Perasol, however, says the series is far from over.

“This is not yet over, we need one more win to make it to the championship. We have to forget of this game now and prepare hard for the next one. We know Rain or Shine will be back,” Perasol said.

Had Rain or Shine taken good care of things down the stretch, this series could have been over in their favour. Instead, the Painters are the ones fighting fort their lives.

“The series is far from over,” said Painters’ coach Yeng Guiao. “We were outworked the last game. We can’t let that happen again. We have always played well with our backs against the wall. I’m confident we can extend the series to Wednesday.”