MANILA: In a game that seemingly didn’t want to see an end, San Miguel Beer executed just a tad better to survive NLEX and the best offensive game by any man in the PBA in more than a decade.

Tyler Wilkerson and June Mar Fajardo hit the shots that stung the Road Warriors in the third extension on Tuesday night, leading San Miguel to a 131-127 victory that kept the Beermen in the running for a top two ranking in the Commissioner’s Cup playoffs at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

The duo hit 11 of San Miguel’s 13 points in that stretch as the Beermen finally put away the Road Warriors, who rode the shoulders of former NBA star Al Thornton and almost pulled out the upset.

San Miguel rose to 6-3 and gained a tie with idle Alaska for second place that kept the race for twice-to-beat privileges in the first round of the playoffs hanging.

NLEX took its fifth defeat in 10 games and would need to win its last game in order to avoid qualifying seventh or eighth, slots that carry twice-to-win disadvantages against top two teams.

Rain or Shine got another big game from Jeff Chan in a 116-94 win over ousted GlobalPort to rise to 6-4 later in the night.

Chan hit four triples and shared team scoring honors wIth Mo Charlo with 18 points as the Elasto Painters remained in the upper half of the standings while dealing the Batang Pier their eighth defeat in 10 games.

“We still need one more win just to be sure of not landing in seventh or eighth,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said.

It was, by far, the best game played in the tournament as both squads refused to budge an inch, with the Road Warriors rallying from 16 points down in the second quarter before eventually forging the first overtime at 99 when Thornton picked himself up from a stumble to nail a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Thornton, a member of the 2006 NBA All-Rookie Team together with superstar Kevin Durant, would go on to finish with 69 points, the most by any player since Jay Edwards dropped the same in a Governors’ Cup game for disbanded Swift in 1994.

“Players from both teams know the importance of this game, and no one wanted to lose,” San Miguel coach Leo Austria told reporters later. “I just want to give credit to my players for their all-out effort.”

Wilkerson finished with 58 points in losing his one-on-one match-up with Thornton and the duo’s combined output was the most in the league since Mitchell Wiggins of Tondena 65 and Lambert Shell of Sta. Lucia scored 78 and 57, respectively, in the 1994 Commissioner’s Cup.

“We still need to win our last two games,” Austria said as his Beermen wind up their elimination round schedule with matches against Phoenix Petroleum on Sunday and against defending champion Tropang TNT on April 15.

As things stand, Meralco is still in the lead with a 7-2 card, and the Bolts can move closer a top two berth with a win over Alaska, which is also at 6-3, on Friday.

An Alaska victory would muddle things up and would create a huge opening for San Miguel, which can win tiebreaks with the Aces and the Bolts after beating them both in the elimination round.

Nos. 1 and 2 after the single round elimination will earn twice-to-beat advantages in the quarterfinals against Nos. 8 and 7, respectively, with those who qualify from third to sixth spots advancing to play in separate best-of-three series.

Thornton displayed the talent that made him a first-round pick in the 2006 NBA Draft and a star for several years before a right knee injury cut short what was a very promising career.

He, however, had a dunk that was nullified which could have won the game at the end of the second overtime for the Road Warriors, who had possession with 1.1 seconds left for 118-all.

Fajardo then scored seven straight points to open up the third overtime for the Beermen, who were threatened for the last time at 129-127 when Sean Anthony hit a very difficult reverse layup off Wilkerson with 23.6 seconds remaining.

Alex Cabagnot finished with 20 points highlighted by a four-point play off Anthony in the second extension. Fajardo wound up with 18 and Arwind Santos 15 before fouling out late in the first overtime.

Anthony contributed 24 for the Road Warriors, who also drew 13 points from Asi Taulava. Thornton also had 18 rebounds.