Helterbrand's vintage night sparks Ginebra comeback

MANILA, Philippines – The legion of die-hard fans were wishing Mark Caguioa could get on the floor when their team Ginebra San Miguel stared at a huge 15-point deficit early in the second half against Rain or Shine last night.  

Caguioa could only watch from the bench and cheer on his teammates to continue fighting back.

The Mall of Asia Arena fell to eerie silence as the fans of the most popular PBA ballclub were starting to lose hope because the second seed Elasto Painters appeared headed on their way to the semifinals for the third straight conference.

But not so fast. 

After all, Ginebra isn’t called never-say-die team for nothing.  

With their conference on the line, a forgotten man, the better half of Caguioa in “The Fast and The Furious” chose the moment to step up for his injured partner.

Jayjay Helterbrand earlier misfired a couple of shots in the first half but at crunchtime, he was clutch.

The 36-year old guard found a way to turn back the hands of time. Suddenly, it was 2008-09 all over again. Mr. Fast, the MVP version, came in and knocked in 13 all in the fourth as the Kings essayed another classic comeback, pulling off a 90-83 victory to live to fight another day.

“Glory be to God,” were the first words that came out of Helterbrand’s mouth after the game.  â€œWe pulled off a miraculous victory because of Him.”

Helterbrand, a devout Christian, was a perfect three-for-three from beyond the arc in this vintage night. His biggest triple of the game stretched Ginebra’s lead to seven, 86-79, to kill any Rain or Shine momentum to steal the game back with just a minute to go.

“Coach [Al Chua] told us in the locker room that if we want to have a practice tomorrow, we got to come out there and play like there’s no tomorrow,” Helterbrand added. “And that’s exactly what happened. Thank God, our whole team was able to step up and play.”

It wasn’t only Helterbrand as there was also Kerby Raymundo, who muscled his way to 14 points that kept the Kings within striking distance in the third period to set up the stage for Mr. Fast’s heroics. 

There was also LA Tenorio, who banged in 19 shifting to shooting guard in lieu of Caguioa leaving his point guard duties to new recruit Josh Urbiztondo.

And the newest King also had his own moments of brilliance as Urbiztondo ran the show with boundless energy in his debut with the squad finishing with five assists on top of five boards despite scoring only four points and missing all his six attempts from the three-point land. Their import Vernon Macklin also starred in this game bouncing back from his lackluster play the last time out, this time pacing the team with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field mostly from ferocious dunks and his patented semi-hook shots.

But clearly, the night belonged to Helterbrand.  

The 36-year old guard, who is the only other MVP in the squad aside from Caguioa, bought some time for his ailing partner to join him and the Kings as they try to write a Cinderella story this conference.