By Ivan Saldajeno
QUEZON CITY--For the second straight conference, Purefoods lost a PBA title it won during its grand slam season the last time out.
Talk 'n Text dethroned the erstwhile PBA Commissioner's Cup winner with a 79-66 win in Game 4 of their semifinal series on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Tropang Texters forced the Hotshots to squander their early double-digit lead and made the game-turning 20-7 run in the last 6:25 of the game.
Talk 'n Text won the best-of-five series, 3-1, and will next face Rain Or Shine in the conference finals beginning on Wednesday.
Jayson Castro sizzled for the Tropang Texters with 33 points on 7-of-11 shooting from long range and two steals.
After getting high-scoring nights, the Hotshots' Denzel Bowles was limited to only 14 points on Saturday.
Box Scores:
Talk 'n Text 79-Castro 33, Johnson 15, Washington 12, De Ocampo 12, Fonacier 4, Rosser 2, Alas 1, Williams 0, Aban 0
Purefoods 66 - Bowles 14, Barroca 12, Devance 10, Pingris 8, Simon 6, Melton 5, Mallari 5, Reavis 2, Yap 2, Maliksi 2, Pennisi 0
Quarterscores: 18-16, 28-38, 45-48, 79-66
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