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MANILA, Philippines – “Jayjay! Jayjay! Jayjay!”
Loud chants laced with years of nostalgia and childhood memories echoed inside the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, April 3, as Barangay Ginebra San Miguel cruised to a blowout victory over the San Miguel Beermen in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
From the 4:44 mark of the 4th period, with the Gin Kings comfortably on top 100-72, fans barely relented calling the name of veteran guard Jayjay Helterbrand, who at that point had yet to play in the game. They wanted to see the 39-year-old in action anew as a bonus to the impending 110-84 win.
Helterbrand, sitting beside his longtime teammate 36-year-old Mark Caguioa, was suppressing grins as Caguioa teased and egged on the 2009 PBA MVP.
With 2:17 left in the game, head coach Tim Cone walked the length of his bench right in front of the pair and spoke to them.
“I asked Jayjay if he wanted to go in because, you know, he’s a veteran and you have to respect his wishes. I’m not gonna throw him out there after being an MVP and all that. I’m not gonna say, ‘Hey, you go out there and you play garbage time,’” Cone shared the exchange.
“I turned around and I asked him, ‘Jay, you want to go in?’ And he said yes, so I told Mark to go in with him so he could support him and the two of them could go out there.”
Helterbrand, who, up until that point, was happily jumping up and cheering for his teammates’ made baskets throughout the game, quickly leaped to his feet, removed his warmer, and marched to the announcer’s table – both arms raised in response to the excited crowd.
Helterbrand and Caguioa entered the game with 1:55 remaining.
‘It always feels good, that’s how we started our careers and hopefully we can always end on that note, and I’ll be missing playing with that guy.’
– Jayjay Helterbrand on playing with Mark Caguioa
“It always feels good, that’s how we started our careers and hopefully we can always end on that note, and I’ll be missing playing with that guy, our competitions together,” a giddy Helterbrand spoke after the game.
“It doesn’t matter how old we get, we always wanna go out there and compete. We just wanna be a part of the team and contribute even if just a little bit, and go out there and have fun.”
“It’s just fun being out there with him,” said Caguioa, also former MVP. “I wanna thank coach Tim, even that little two minutes that me and him played together, it was big for us. For me and him, parang (it’s like) I just miss playing with him.”
Caguioa and Helterbrand first joined forces in Ginebra in 2001, with the former winning the Rookie of the Year award that season. They have since been speeding up and down the court to fans’ delight – first under the moniker “Bandana Brothers” and eventually to “The Fast and The Furious.”
The pair, known as one of the PBA’s best and most formidable backcourt tandems, have won 4 championships together – their last coming in the 2008 Fiesta conference.
Caguioa left the game with 49.6 ticks left, but Helterbrand, who missed a floater in the lane, remained on the floor until the final buzzer, tallying a single assist. He did, however, go for a dish to Caguioa that led to two made free throws for the Furious’ 9-point haul.
Helterbrand is seeing very limited minutes this conference at an average of 5.8 playing in 6 of Ginebra’s 10 games. Retirement is drawing near for the two-time Best Player of the Conference and 7-time All-Star.
“We’ll see what happens after the conference,” Helterbrand said. “Just take it conference after conference. I’m not gonna say I will play for two years.”
As two of the Ginebra franchise’s most revered players approach the end of their respective playing careers, young guys such as rookie Scottie Thompson with veterans LA Tenorio and Sol Mercado are next men up.
“We’re leaving Ginebra in good hands and hopefully these guys can learn from this and build on and gain confidence and keep moving forward and getting better each game,” said Helterbrand, who also thanked the fans for their unwavering support.
“The fans are awesome, they have always been awesome, so I just wanna get to the fans and say we love you guys, thanks for the never-say-die support each game, you guys are our 6th man and we can’t do it without you.”
– Rappler.com
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