Four months ago, San Mig Coffee was a powerhouse team that played like the greatest underachiever in the PBA Philippine Cup.

On Wednesday night – that long after a 0-3 start and qualifying to the playoffs with a .500 card – the Mixers achieved a first for the franchise by writing an end to an epic championship playoff series against hard-fighting Rain or Shine.

In front of more than 20,000 screaming fans at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, the Mixers blew a 17-point second quarter lead, bucked the loss of focus after Rain or Shine nearly walked out, and outsteadied the Elasto Painters for a 97-86 Game 6 win and a 4-2 victory in the series.

Mark Barroca scored 14 of his 24 points in the final quarter, standing out in a wild endgame to earn the PBA Press Corps’ Finals MVP citation for the first time in his career and etch his name forever in the annals of league history.

It was the sixth all-Filipino championship for San Mig, which won the first back-to-back titles for the franchise that started out as the glamorous Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs more than two decades ago.

And, coach Tim Cone became a league immortal by eclipsing one of the PBA’s longest standing records after overtaking the legendary Baby Dalupan as the winningest coach of all time with his 16th title.

Barroca was at the forefront of it all, winning his duel with Rain or Shine counterpart Paul Lee in one of the most enthralling Finals duels in league history as the Mixers reclaimed an old throne and denied the Painters their first all-Filipino title.

Rain or Shine can hold its head high despite this latest all-Filipino debacle after nearly forcing a Game 7 by wiping out a 17-point deficit and taking several three-point leads early in the fourth period.

“This is all surreal,” Cone said moments after the win. “Look at this series, four or five games could have gone either way. It’s awesome to win this because the players worked really hard for this.

“Many times (early in the tournament), these players could have quit, we could have folded camp,” Cone continued. “But they didn’t. That’s why it’s really awesome to win this.”

There was a lot of drama in the title-clinching game starting with the attempted walkout of the Painters at the start of the second quarter after what Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao felt was spotty officiating.

The game was stopped for about 10 minutes only for league commissioner Chito Salud to successfully persuade Guiao and team owner Raymund Yu to ask their players to return and resume play.

But the team still faces heavy sanctions that could amount to something like P2 million if proven guilty of an aborted walkout.

San Mig held a 30-17 lead at the end of the first period before the walk out.

When play resumed, the Mixers bloated that lead to 17 several times, only for the Painters to mount a blitzkrieg to end the first half that had them trailing by just six.

Rain or Shine played without letup in the third and seized several three-point leads only for the Mixers to regroup and pull it out in the end, which ignited a raucous celebration in the stands.

There were only three walkouts in league history, with the first one happening in 1990 with Anejo Rum and Robert Jaworski. That team was later on fined P550,000 for refusing to return to the floor.

In 2010, Talk ‘N Text, which was under Chot Reyes, also staged a similar walkout and did not return as the Tropang Texters were fined P1 million for their act.

In 2006, a Red Bull team also under Guiao walked out only to be spared of a fine after returning within the 15-minute grace period.

In a related development, Ali Peek, a 16-year veteran who last saw action for Talk ‘N Text, announced his retirement in his twitter account, leaving the Texters one big man short again.

The import-flavored second conference, the Commissioner’s Cup, opens on March 5.