CHICAGO - It's time to put one wicked conspiracy theory to rest.
For several days, the "luto na" heckle turned into an earworm that was leaking with poison, convincing me that TNT will make the Philippine Cup Finals with a little nudge from the referees.
Today, it was the eyes that did the talking. And it was highly convincing, infinitely more believable.
Alas, the Tropang Giga did make the championship round, but they got there purely on their own merit and spectacular talent.
In the cauldron of a Game Five , with their season on the line and one foot perilously sticking out of the PBA bubble, TNT had five players score in double figures to extinguish the threatening flame of the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 91-81.
Depth has long been a feared weapon of Tropang Giga but it's the star power that makes them a hybrid.
Just as he did in Game Four where he lit up for 36 points, Bobby Ray Parks proved to be in a universe of his own, dishing out a nearly flawless Game Five masterpiece with 26 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
In the two games after TNT fell in a 2-3 hole of their best-of-5 semifinals, this is what Parks produced to stymie Phoenix in Games Four and Five - 62 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists.
If this glorious son of an immortal PBA legend still doesn't have a moniker, maybe he should consider 'The Fireman' because he did save the day for a team that was barely clinging to life just a few days ago.
Have no illusions, though.
While Parks was singularly brilliant, he was also rolling with some serious firepower.
Roger Pogoy and the luminescent Jayson Castro finished with 11 points each and they combined for seven boards and eight dimes. Jay Washington and Simon Ensico also pooled together 23 points to help TNT survive a do-or-die battle where sniper Troy Rosario fired mostly blanks, 1-for-8 from the field.
Calvin Abueva almost willed Phoenix to a historic finals berth with a 23-point, 13-rebound effort that came four assists shy of a triple double.
But Mathhew Wright, who previously couldn't miss shots even if he tried, sadly, finally ran out of magic.
Whether it was a bum ankle, TNT's pestering defense, or both, Wright fell on the wrong side of Game Five, making only 5-of-19 shots including 2-of-6 from 3.
Even in defeat, Phoenix had won over a wave of new fans who fell in love with the grit and tenacity that Wright and Abueva epitomized.
Midnight has struck on their Cinderella run and here's hoping that these Fuel Masters won't turn out to be just the flavor of the bubble and come back stronger and better in conferences to come.
Here's also wishing the Tropang Giga will give Ginebra a championship series to die for.
With the "luto na" earworm gone, I expect a fun title run with no whistle crisis.
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