INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines - NO NEED TO PANIC. NOT YET, ANYWAY.

National team coach Yeng Guiao is taking that approach at the moment, or until the injured Jayjay Helterbrand and Ryan Reyes declare that they won’t be able to play for the country in the Fiba-Asia Qualifying in Tianjin, China, early next month.

“Right now, what we would need to know is a medical diagnosis and after that, personal assessments from [Helterbrand and Reyes],” Guiao told the Inquirer yesterday as the possibility that both star point guards might miss the Fiba-Asia event became stronger.

Just hours after being named the PBA season’s MVP Wednesday night, Helterbrand watched helplessly from the bench in the dying minutes as the San Miguel Beermen proceeded to nip his fellow Gin Kings, 104-106, to tie the Motolite PBA Fiesta Cup title series at 2-all.

That Helterbrand sat out the final four minutes or so of that crucial game shows how serious his injury could be.

“If we can’t have either one of them for China, then that’s the time that we will find talent from the outside (other PBA teams),” Guiao said.

“I won’t even pressure them [to play in] the Jones Cup,” Guiao added. “The real mission is China, and that’s where we need them.”

The National team leaves for Taipei on July 16 for the Jones Cup, the tournament that serves as the squad’s final preparation for the Fiba-Asia event.

If Helterbrand fails to play in Taipei, the RP squad will miss two point guards as Sta. Lucia’s Reyes is also on the injured list. Their absence would leave Willie Miller of Alaska and PBA Rookie of the Year Gabe Norwood as the squad’s only quarterbacks.

Though Norwood and Miller played the point in the Philippines’ final three games at the Southeast Asian Basketball Association championship in Indonesia last month, the value of a Helterbrand or a Reyes manning that slot against tougher foes is unquantifiable.

Both Norwood and Miller are not natural point guards.

The country opens its campaign in the nine-team, single round-robin Jones Cup against Jordan on July 18.

The Nationals will take on Chinese Taipei A next day, Kazakhstan on July 20, Japan on July 21, Lebanon on July 22 and South Korea on July 23, Chinese Taipei B on July 25 and Iran on July 26.