Despite the death of his younger brother, Reyes showed energy, focus and determination as he helped the Tropang Texters beat San Miguel Beer in their best-of-seven Finals showdown.

Nearly a week after burying his younger brother Allan Raymond, the 6-foot-1 Reyes led TNT’s balanced attack with 17 points and eight rebounds in a 95-82 win in Game 6 Friday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

“When the tragedy befell Ryan and his family, we refused to make it a rallying point,” TNT coach Chot Reyes said. “We refused to make it anything that what it really was, a very personal tragedy.”

“We just kept his courage. He came back and it inspired us no end. Our motto really was: Our brother lost a brother, let’s not let him lose again,” added Reyes.

The 26-year-old Allan Raymond and his fiancée Vanessa Cease died in a car accident last Jan. 19 in the United States, three days before TNT began its championship series with San Miguel Beer.

Talk ’N Text took a 2-0 lead after victories in Games 1 (91-82) and 2 (110-102). After the second game, Reyes, 27, quickly went to the airport for a late flight to the US together with his agent Charlie Dy.

After missing Game 3, which SMB won (103-82), he returned in Game 4 but suffered cramps late in the game as TNT lost, 91-87, that tied the series at 2-2.

The Texters came back with an impressive win in Game 5 (99-77).

“I played hard for him, I just want to win the series for him,” said Reyes, who averaged 12.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals in the series. “He’s always in my mind, in my heart.”

“It’s just all focus. My motivation was my brother. Honestly I felt his presence, helping me out, giving me the strength,” Reyes added.

The championship was Talk ’N Text’s third for the Manny V. Pangilinan owned team – all in the all-Filipino conference. It was the team’s second title with Reyes, who steered the squad to the same conference in 2009.

It was the sixth championship for Reyes, 48, as he became the first coach in history of the pro league to win two titles each with three different teams, having won two each with Purefoods and Coca-Cola.

“That’s pretty special. But that means I get fired so much that I kept moving from team to team,” Reyes said in jest.

“San Miguel is a great team. But I felt they wasted too much effort trying to come back (in Game 6). We really didn’t want it to be close. We made sure we put pressure on them,” he added.

Down 57-55 early in the third quarter, Jimmy Alapag starred in a 12-0 run that gave TNT a 67-57 advantage with 2:27 left in the period.

Although San Miguel Beer came within five points, 71-76, after Jay Washington buried a three-pointer, Alapag again sparked another 12-0 blast by Talk ’N Text with a triple to make it a 17-point lead, 88-71, with 5:52 to play.

Alapag and Jason Castro were named Rain or Shine co-Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP).

With the return of the three-conference format in the PBA this season, TNT will be shooting for a rare ‘‘grand slam’’ which was accomplished by three teams in the history of the PBA.

Waylon Galvez, Manila Bulletin