Mixers survive Painters anew, take 3-1 lead

MANILA, Philippines -- San Mig Super Coffee Mixers survived without Marc Pingris for most of the second half to hack out a thrilling 93-90 win in Game Four Friday night in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Rookie Ian Sangalang played big while Mark Barroca sealed the victory with two pressure-packed free throws as the Mixers zoomed to a commanding 3-1 series advantage.

The Mixers lost a 10-point halftime deficit and Pingris to an eye injury when the Painters stormed back in huge third quarter run to trail by six, 70-76, at the start of the fourth canto.

But the Mixers outworked and outhustled the Painters in the last 12 minutes.

Sangalang finished with a career-high 17 points and grabbed eight boards while Barroca and James Yap also fired 17 each to bring the Mixers within a game from winning back-to-back championships.

The Painters, however, did not go down without a fight.

Paul Lee strung up five straight points sandwiching a split charity by Sangalang in the closing seconds to cut Mixers' lead to a one-point lead, 91-90. But Barroca drained the insurance free throws as Lee's game-tying attempt at the buzzer rimmed out.

The Mixers will look to close out the series on Sunday 4:30 pm in the same venue.

Lee led the Painters with a conference-high 28 points.