Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
With Jayjay Helterbrand hanging his sneakers for good, LA Tenorio knows that coming to Ginebra practices without Helterbrand will not be the same.
“It’s going to be weird to see only Mark (Caguioa) in our practice and not Jayjay. We all know where he is in our practices, and with him gone, that place will feel empty,” Tenorio said.
And with Helterbrand leaving the team, Tenorio will once again be entrusted with a bigger role as he, together with Caguioa, Joe Devance, and Sol Mercado, will all be looked at as the Gin Kings’ elder statesmen.
Still, the Finals MVP of the recently-concluded 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup argued that no one can make up for the hole left by the 2009 PBA MVP.
“It’s hard to replace one Jayjay Helterbrand,” Tenorio said. “I don’t think someone in our team or in the future can replace what Jayjay has done and achieved for Ginebra. We won’t be here if not for him.”
That doesn’t mean that Ginebra will just mope following Helterbrand’s retirement, with the team raring to get back to work for the upcoming season.
Even Tenorio, who is coming off an arthroscopic procedure to remove bone spurs in his right elbow, is excited to get back to the grind as the Gin Kings gun to make up for their runner-up finish last season in the all-Filipino conference.
“We all have mixed emotions with Jayjay gone. But with him retiring, it’s up to us to rebound this Philippine Cup. We’re all ready to continue what we’ve done this past season,” he said.