The coaching staff and players of Talk ’N Text head to their dugout after forfeiting their game against crowd-favorite Ginebra in Game 4 of their quarterfinal series in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Araneta Coliseum. (Photo by BOB DUNGO JR.

An explosive match-up wrapped in fire-and-brimstone, the Talk ‘N Text-Barangay Ginebra quarterfinal series in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup erupted with volcanic force Friday at the Araneta Coliseum after the Tropang Texters walked out of Game 4 with a minute left in the first quarter, throwing the best-of-five playoffs in smoldering chaos.

The Kings trail the series, 2-1, but were ahead, 27-20, when swingman Ronald Tubid drove from the left and was hacked by Texters forward Ranidel de Ocampo.

Tubid took a tumble as the referees called a flagrant foul on De Ocampo, whose elbow appeared to have come into contact with Tubid’s face.

Chief umpire Throngy Aldaba, after a lengthy review of the tape, ruled that the contact was a Flagrant 2 foul and banished De Ocampo from the playing court to the utter shock of the Talk ‘N Text bench.

A period of eerie silence prevailed before Talk ‘N Text team owner Manny V. Pangilinan and PBA governor Ricky Vargas broke the impasse by rising from their seats in indignation and leading a walkout of the ballclub.

The Texters remained locked up in their dugout for 20 minutes before Vargas, team manager Virgil Villavicencio and Smart Sports head Patrick Gregorio emerged for an emergency conference with PBA Commissioner Sonny Barrios and Ginebra’s Robert Non and league vice chairman Rene Pardo of Purefoods.

Non said Villavicencio had sought a reversal of the call which the San Miguel officials objected to, apparently triggering the ultimate decision to forfeit the game, with the announcement of the public address man greeted with a mixture of applause and jeers.

The flurry of statements that followed weighed tons in anger, accusations, recriminations and disgust.

Most of the charges were obliquely made, but some were painfully pointed as when Ginebra coach Jong Uichico labeled the walkout “a mind game.”

“They're trying to influence the Commissioner’s Office and the referees for Game 5, and they think they can get away with it,” said the usually reticent Kings coach.

Game 5 is on Sunday, but even that is uncertain at this point.

“No decision has been made on that at the moment,” said an emotional Vargas.

The former PBA chairman struggled to keep his quivering voice in check as he spoke of fairness and acceptance.

“How far can you push a team or a company to accept what is wrong or what isn’t fair. Me hangganan ‘yon,” he said. “We couldn’t accept that this insult is happening.”

Chot Reyes, the volatile Talk ‘N Text coach, came to the press room armed with copies of the statistics of the first three games of the series, noting the “discrepancy” in free throws awarded both teams and the number of three-point shots which the Kings had taken.

“It wouldn’t take a basketball expert, a rocket scientist, to figure out what’s happening,” said Reyes, directly laying a conspiracy-theory-like blame on the referees. “If they cannot be 100 percent fair, huwag naman ganoong kagarapal.”

Non, in charge of San Miguel’s basketball operations, lashed out at Reyes, who coached Coca-Cola before when the softdrinks company was still under the SMC corporate umbrella.

“Chot’s known for that kind of antics lalo na pag natatalo team niya,” Non said. “He keeps on blaming the refs. Maybe it’s time he chooses what career he wants – a coach or a referee. But he cannot have both.”

Even Henry Cojuangco, the low-key Ginebra top executive, expressed lament over the incident.

“We waited more than five minutes for them to come back. Even the PBA gave them a break for the sake of the public,” Cojuangco said. “But the rules have to be applied as much as we don’t want this to happen."

Two decades after Añejo Rum, then coached by Robert Jaworski, walked out at the 2:52 mark in the second quarter of Game 6 of the First Conference Finals, forfeiting the championship to Shell, the Tropang Texters stand to be fined at least P500,000 – the basic penalty for the act.

Red Bull, back in Game 4 of the 2006 Philippine Cup semifinal series against San Miguel – then coached by Uichico – also stormed out of the playing court with 2:06 left in the second period.

But unlike Añejo and Talk ‘N Text, Red Bull and coach Yeng Guiao returned to the game and eventually won the championship on Junthy Valenzuela’s buzzer-beater in Game 7.

Nonetheless, Red Bull paid the price for their action, getting fined a total of P507,000.

Barrios, who showed sportswriters frame-by-frame video footage of the disputed play, said he had asked for a meeting Villavicencio at 2 p.m. this Saturday at the PBA office.