The Talk 'N Text and Dongguan New Century match only served as an appetizer for the championship game but the battle for third in the 2010 Smart Philippine Invitational Challenge nearly turned into a brawl at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. The Tropang Texters cruised to a lopsided 85-73 win against the Chinese club team but TNT guard Mac Cardona and Leopards' American import Ronald Allen made it more interesting. The near free-for-all took place in the 4:31 mark of the final period when Cardona was fouled hard by Allen after attempting to complete a fastbreak layup off a Jimmy Alapag pass. Cardona landed hard on the floor then went face-to-face with Allen. Suddenly, the former PBA best player of the conference award winner threw a punch that landed on Allen’s face. Cardona and Allen were pacified by their teammates. Both players were also immediately ejected and Allen, obviously furious about that punch, was sent back to the dressing room. But just when everyone thought that the game would continue, Allen suddenly came out from another dugout exit hoping for a last ditch effort to get back at Cardona.
Scores: Talk 'N Text 85 – Yee 15, Alapag 14, de Ocampo 13, Daniels 10, Cardona 10, Reyes 6, Castro 6, Quinahan 6, Aban 5, Dillinger 0, Waters 0. Dongguan 73 – Kruger 24, Zhang 21, Allen 11, Sun 4, Li 4, Feng 4, Gu 3, Chen 2, Chang 0. Quarter scores: 26-15; 47-34; 70-55; 85-73.
However, his efforts proved to be a waste as the Smart Gilas-Pilipinas, waiting for their championship game against Jordan, were able to restrain Allen with Marcus Douthit trying to calm his compatriot. Talk 'N Text saw Allen wanted to run towards their bench with even Texters coach Chot Reyes gesturing him to come over before security and tournament organizers were able to control the incident. "He lost his cool (Allen) and he was outsmarted by Macmac," said Reyes. "But it's just a very normal circumstance in games like this which for me is good because it shows that we took this game seriously." The Tropang Texters, who is using this as one of their preparations for the semifinals of the PBA Fiesta Conference, led by 28 points with Jimmy Alapag making four triples. Mark Yee topscored with 15 points while Alapag added 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists. It was the second straight win by Talk 'N Text over Dongguan, a team that placed 11th in the recent Chinese Basketball Association season. Kevin Kruger finished with 24 points while lanky Zhang Kai added 21 points and four boards. Allen registered 11 points and eight rebounds but shot just 2-of-18 from the field which obviously added to his frustration.
– JVP, GMANews.TV 
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