Mixers get Painters all mixed up, lead 3-1

Game tomorrow (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

4 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs San Mig Coffee

MANILA, Philippines - Another gut-wrenching battle, and another escape act for San Mig Coffee.

In another thriller coming down to execution at the finish, the San Mig Coffee Mixers beat out the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 93-90, to move within a win of the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup championship last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Marc Pingris left the game ahead of the rest with a badly poked right eye but the Mixers stayed together and played with great composure in a pressure-packed endgame, thus taking the commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven finale.

The Mixers made it three in a row in the series as Mark Barroca capped his solid 17-point showing with two important charities with 12.4 ticks left then Paul Lee missed a potential game-tying three-pointer at the buzzer.

“I thought Paul Lee’s shot would go in and we would go into overtime. We’re fortunate again to win the match that came down to the wire,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone.

“We won the battle today and hopefully not lose the war. Ping is badly injured. We don’t know what exactly happened to his eye, but obviously it’s a huge blow for us,” Cone also said.

Cone said they’re not about to celebrate with the 3-1 lead.

“There are lots of talk about a few teams able to come back from a 1-3 hole, but I was one of those who blew away a 3-1 lead,” said Cone, recalling his Alaska team’s loss to Purefoods in the 2006 Philippine Cup semis.

Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, meanwhile, stressed it’s not yet over, promising to come back stronger in Game Five.

“It’s another close game and it’s a tough loss. We just didn’t get the breaks at endgame,” rued Guiao.

Actually, muffed open shots by Jervy Cruz and JR Quiñahan hastened Rain or Shine’s downfall.

And for San Mig, Ian Sangalang was among those who provided a big push while taking up the minutes of Pingris in the fourth quarter.

Pingris was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital as he injured his right eye after being accidentally hit by Quiñahan with 4:59 left in the third.

Sangalang, Barroca and James Yap all finished with 17 points each while Joe Devance and PJ Simon added 12 apiece.

Lee led all scorers with 28 points but failed to get much support from his teammates.

The Mixers made six of their 11 three-point tries and converted 57.6 percent of their overall field attempts as they took the half at 52-42.

Rain or Shine scored all the first three baskets of the contest but San Mig Coffee accounted for the next 11 markers and set the pace in the opening half as the Mixers outscored the E-Painters, 7-2, on fastbreaks and, 10-6, on points off turnovers.

The Mixers also struck hard on halfcourt offense with Yap, Simon and Justin Melton combining for 6-of-8 three-pointers in the first 24 minutes of play.

From a 37-50 down, the E-Painters worked on a crucial turnaround in the third period and carried a 76-70 lead over into the payoff quarter.

Paul Lee closed out the third quarter by scoring off Alex Mallari on a clear-out play in the closing seconds.

The Mixers, however, quickly regained the upperhand, 82-78, in the fourth and hung tough to the finish.

NOTES: Petron sophomore center Junmar Fajardo won the 2014 PBA Philippine Cup Best Player of the Conference award in runaway fashion. “This is a big achievement but I still feel disappointed we’re not playing in the finals,” said the 6-foot-10 Cebuano behemoth. Commissioner’s Cup titleholder Alaska Milk begins its title defense in the second conference versus Talk n Text on March 5. The other game in the tournament inaugurals pits Air21 against Globalport.

The scores:

San Mig Coffee 93 – Barroca 17, Sangalang 17, Yap 17, Devance 12, Simon 12, Melton 7, Pingris 6, Mallari 3, Reavis 2, Gaco 0.

Rain or Shine 90 – Lee 28, Quiñahan 11, Belga 10, Norwood 10, Cruz 8, Almazan 6, Chan 6, Tiu 4, Ibañes 4, Araña 3, Tang 0, Nuyles 0, Teng 0, Rodriguez 0.

Quarterscores: 26-27, 52-42, 70-76, 93-90