Running out of ways to describe an epic Tuesday night which included a phenomenal scoring duel against NLEX import Al Thornton, San Miguel reinforcement Tyler Wilkerson only managed to say: “Great f–king game.”
Well, let him put it that way if that’s how he feels.
The main storyline of the San Miguel-NLEX affair was already exciting enough, but the battle within the battle proved to be a memorable one as well, as Wilkerson and Thornton engaged in a furious, old-school, fill-the-stat-sheets type of slugfest in an era where high-scoring individual games are a rarity in the PBA.
Wilkerson finished with 58 points on 20-for-35 shooting, 13 rebounds, and seven assists as the Beermen outlasted the Road Warriors in a classic triple-overtime thriller, 131-127. Thornton had a remarkable game of his own, tallying 69 points on 26-for-47 shooting.
San Miguel was leading comfortably by double-digits in the second half before NLEX staged a comeback to cut the deficit bit by bit. The Road Warriors were down three in the final 10.1 seconds of regulation, before Thornton hit an incredible game-tying triple to beat the buzzer and send the game to overtime.
Thornton almost lost possession in that final few seconds but recovered just in time to pick the ball up and hoist a 28-foot turnaround fadeaway jumper with 2.7 seconds remaining. The ridiculous shot hit the bottom of the net and Thornton went running down the other end of the floor after, shouting, “Let’s go!”
The two imports did go at it for another three extensions. It almost felt like the game — or the exchange between the two prolific scorers — was never going to end although Wilkerson had the last laugh in the frenetic duel.
“He played a hell of a game, we are just fortunate we came out on top. We were stronger tonight, we stayed in the third overtime and came up with the win,” Wilkerson said.
Thornton had a chance in the second overtime to hand the win to the Road Warriors, receiving a lob pass from a sideline out-of-bounds play with 1.1 seconds left although his slam dunk fell just a fraction of a second too late to count.
“I thought it counted. The only reason why I dunked it is because I saw (June Mar) Fajardo was coming and he would have blocked it if I laid it up,” Thornton recalled. “(But) I should have laid it up.”
Wilkerson and Thornton are the only players with 50-point games in the tournament, and it was only fitting for them to push each other to the limit as if they were modern-day Michael Hackett, Norman Black, Billy Ray Bates, and Bobby Ray Parks.
“He made every big shot,” Wilkerson said of Thornton. “We were better tonight, but that is a great team over there. Their record may not speak for it but they played hard and they play together. I commend that organization. We played a hell of a game tonight. It was wonderful, (both teams) put on a show.”
Both Wilkerson and Thornton shared it was not the first time the two imports engaged in a back and forth affair. Both had played against each other while in Puerto Rico earlier in the decade.
“It’s always like that. We played in Puerto Rico before, and we’ve always had big scoring nights. We became friends just playing basketball and knowing he can score the ball. He is a good friend of mine,” Wilkerson shared.
Thornton said he would always win the battles against Wilkerson, but he admitted his foe was the victor Tuesday night. He also praised how the San Miguel import has shown significant improvement with his game.
Al Thornton scored 69 points in an epic triple OT loss against SMB (Photo courtesy of PBA Images)
“In Puerto Rico, I got the best him. He got the best of me tonight. He had a wonderful, terrific game. He has improved. I don’t remember him being that good,” Thornton said.
Thornton added he describes the game as “bittersweet” as his team fell short. But at least, Thornton said he is seeing progress from the Road Warriors.
“It’s just not our game. We lost. Kind of scored a couple of points but we lost. That’s my highest (output) in my career. But when you make that number but lose the game, it’s kind of bittersweet,” he said.
“But the intensity is there. It just shows we are improving and that we can be a good defensive team when the focus is there.”
Indeed, it was a memorable one for the league, and another chapter wouldn’t be bad at all. But for now, Wilkerson is savoring the moment.
