AFTER winning the series? first two games, Tim Cone and his Alaska Aces may be in trouble, no thanks to a reenergized Talk N Text side.

The Tropang Texters of Talk N Text fought for survival and emerged with a convincing 92-73 victory in Game 3 of the KFC-Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup best-of-seven finals Sunday night.

Now, the Aces? lead is reduced to 2-1 approaching the halfway mark of the race-to-four series. The two squads square off anew in tonight?s Game 4 at the Araneta Coliseum.

Cone, the PBA?s winningest mentor among active coaches, is no stranger seeing his Alaska squad squandering a 2-0 lead. Twice, Alaska bungled a 2-0 lead in the finals and ended up losing it all?both of them against Purefoods in the 1990 Third Conference and the 2002 Governors Cup.

?A 2-0 lead is not the safest lead in a championship series,? said Cone. ?We?ve seen leads wiped out quickly and the next thing you know, you?ll find your team dragged in a do-or-die encounter. We were a victim of that several times and the most painful part is seeing your team losing the lead and eventually losing the series.?

?In my 20 years of coaching and being in the finals 20 times, a lot of things can still happen and that include losing a 2-0 lead or a 3-1 lead, but that didn?t affect me at all,? he added.

For Cone, the quest for championship no. 13 will have to start by winning a Game 4 that could either put them closer to the coveted crown, or shift the momentum on the side of the rampaging Tropang Texters of coach Chot Reyes.

In short, Game 4 could be the most pivotal match of the series.

Like Cone, Reyes has had his share of misfortunes of losing a 2-0 lead. It happened when he coached the Coca-Cola Tigers in the 2003 All-Filipino, where he won the first two games, but lost the next four?against?ironically Talk N Text.

These forgettable yet valuable learning experiences from both coaches will serve as a perfect backdrop to the interesting match-up among the players.

Two-time Most Valuable Player Willie Miller of Alaska and front-running Best Player of the Conference candidate Mac Mac Cardona are now put in a position where they are expected to deliver in the series? unlikeliest situations. Rey Joble