Jayjay Helterbrand, Ginebra beat rival Purefoods in PBA Legends game

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Jayjay Helterbrand played as if he could still make a PBA team today to lead Ginebra San Miguel over longtime rival Purefoods, 97-89, to cap off the PBA Legends: Return of the Rivals event Sunday night at Araneta Coliseum.

Helterbrand, who retired just two years ago, posted a triple-double with 21 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists with four steals to boot.

“It feels good. It’s really an honor to play on the court with all the legends and getting a chance to be coached by the legend himself and play for a good cause,” said Helterbrand.

“I didn’t really plan on playing that hard but I don’t wanna let them down.”

The 42-year-old Helterbrand, one-half of Ginebra’s Fast and Furious tandem that ran havoc in the league in the 2000s, shared the best player of the game honors with Vince Hizon.

Hizon fired 19 points and looked like his old deadly self from downtown in the third quarter where he caught fire with 16 points to spearhead Ginebra’s breakaway. He also grabbed nine rebounds.

Roger Yap scored a game-high 27 points for Purefoods, which also had trouble containing Ginebra’s towering frontcourt of Marlou Aguino and EJ Feihl.