Cone praises Helterbrand: ‘He played really well’
Jayjay Helterbrand’s numbers in Barangay Ginebra’s win over Meralco on Saturday read only two points, three rebounds and an assist.
Not a fair reference as to how the veteran playmaker impacted the Gin Kings’ second straight victory and his head coach Tim Cone can attest to it.
“We played a tough game under tough conditions and I thought Jayjay and Mark (Caguioa) came out with a lot of energy in the third quarter and that changed the tempo for us and gave us a big lift,” Cone said after Ginebra’s 107-93 win in Lucena. “I thought that was a real key moment of the game.”
“Jayjay especially played really, really well. He hasn’t been playing a lot so for him to come in that well and that quickly and adjust, not feel bad about not playing, is really a high character thing for Jay, so I’m really proud of him,” Cone said of Helterbrand, who didn’t even play in Ginebra’s victory over NLEX last Wednesday.
The 39-year-old Helterbrand ran the point late in the third quarter, where the Kings ended the pivotal period on a 13-3 run that broke a 68-deadlock.
Caguioa, meanwhile, showed his vintage form as he was seemingly challenged with a taller and younger Mohammad Jamshidi guarding him.
He had his best game of the conference with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field after averaging only 4.7 points on 33% shooting from the field in the first three outings.
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