Helterbrand, Reyes to sit out Jones Cup?
The possibility that Jayjay Helterbrand and Ryan Reyes, the top point guards of Powerade-Team Pilipinas, would sit out the William Jones Cup tournament in Taipei next week loomed after an old hamstring injury sidelined the Barangay Ginebra superstar in the closing minutes of a Game 4 loss in the PBA Fiesta Cup Finals Wednesday.
Helterbrand saw limited action in the final quarter against San Miguel Beer and was clearly favoring the back of his left thigh when he was pulled out with four minutes remaining.
Kings coach Jong Uichico later confirmed that Helterbrand, named 2009 PBA Most Valuable Player during the Leo Awards before the game, had felt soreness and stiffness on his back thigh muscle.
“Parang naninigas daw,” said Uichico of Helterbrand, who nonetheless led Ginebra with 22 points, four rebounds and six assists in 40 minutes.
Reyes, the Sta. Lucia Realty rookie, similarly pulled a hamstring in the game against Malaysia at the start of the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) Men’s Championship in Medan, Indonesia last April and has not joined RP team practice since.
In an apparent effort to go around the dilemma, Guiao has hinted Reyes might skip the Taipei tournament to give his injury more time to heal in preparation for the August 25th FIBA Asia Men’s Championship in Tianjin, China – the regional qualifier for the 16th World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey next year.
“Mas mahirap kasi pag sa Jones Cup pa siya ma-injure uli,” Guiao said. “I would hate to cut him because of that.”
Helterbrand, who joined the SEABA tourney but didn’t suit up, along with Alaska’s Sonny Thoss (strained knee) and eventually Reyes, suffered the injury during Ginebra practice before the RP left for Medan. Now he and Reyes seem to be on the same boat.
The Philippines opens its campaign in the 9-team, single round-robin tournament – held in honor of the founding secretary-general of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) – against Jordan on July 18 at the Hsinchuang Gymnasium.
Up next is Chinese-Taipei A on the 19th, Kazakhstan on the 20th, Japan (21st), Lebanon (22nd), South Korea (23rd), Chinese-Taipei B (25th), and Iran (26th).
All games will be aired live on ESPN.
With Helterbrand hobbled by what appears to be a recurring hamstring injury, Guiao might again be forced to hand playmaking responsibilities in the Jones Cup to Willie Miller and Gabe Norwood, both more comfortable at the off-guard spot but who did a remarkable job in the SEABA in lieu of their ailing teammates.
Guiao has hoped to use the first few games in Taipei as a final tryout before he prunes down the 14-man RP roster to a final 12.
July 22 has been set as the deadline for the submission of lineups to the World qualifier in Tianjin.
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