MANILA---With the game essentially over, coach Jorge Gallent called for one last timeout to gather his troops.

No, he didn’t ask for a miracle with his team down deep in the trench and make an improbable rally with only 24 ticks left and neither would he design a play.

Gallent knew that his team had done more than enough.

“I just told the boys that they still did a good job and asked them to hold their heads high,” said Gallent, a multi-titled mentor in the PBL. “It was a great conference for us.”

B-Meg Derby Ace started its defense of the Philippine Cup flat with an unflattering 1-5 mark marred by injuries to its key players.

First it was versatile forward Kerby Raymundo, who sat out the whole conference after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery before the tournament.

Not to mention a couple of their frontliners, Marc Pingris and Raffy Reavies only joined the team in the latter part of the eliminations that had Derby Ace leaning heavily on its lanky sophomore forward Rico Maierhofer to fill the void.

Adding to that already long list, the Llamados’ offensive anchors James Yap and PJ Simon also had their fair share of injuries--the two-time MVP had to wear a mask in the first several games to protect his injured nose while Simon, who emerged as the team’s leading scorer, played through back spasms in the semifinals.

But starting point guard Roger Yap, known for his physical play, didn’t want to put Derby Ace’s injury woes as an excuse after absorbing a game 6 beatdown from number one seed Talk ‘N Text, 72-89.

“We suffered injuries but that’s no excuse, maybe it’s not our time to play in the finals,” said Roger Yap, who also caught Derby Ace’s injury bug and missed game one of the semis.

Amid the dismal start, B-Meg clawed its way up the standings—going from dead last to fourth with a 7-7 record to end its elimination campaign--a winning momentum that was carried through the playoffs until it was stopped on its tracks by the fancied Tropang Texters.

“Nothing to frown about, it was really a bad, bad start but we still made it to the top four,” added Gallent, whose squad swept the Meralco Bolts in the best-of-three quarterfinals.

Riddled with injuries, least was expected from the defending champions but the Llamados’ rose to the challenge.

And despite falling short, no eyebrows were raised when it came down to their efforts but rather just a matter of the wear and tear, taking its toll on the banged up Llamados.

As the time ticked away last Friday, it marked the 26th straight time that no team has repeated as Philippine Cup champions.

“We lost but this is still an achievement for us because nobody expected that we’ll make it this far,” said James Yap.

“It’s just not for us,” Yap concluded.

Mark Simon Vincent Giongco, Phil. Daily Inquirer