Former PBA MVP Jayjay Helterbrand and Mark Cruz, two players who found new homes in the MPBL, took center stage late Thursday night and guided their new squads to contrasting victories in the third season of the fastest growing regional amateur basketball league.
Helterbrand played his first competitive game in two years and helped the Imus Bandera to a tense 78-75 win over the Caloocan Supremos.
A former PBA MVP, Helterbrand put on solid numbers of 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in between huffing and puffing.
“I never had much time practicing with the team and I don’t know the system yet,” Helterbrand said. “It’s a long season, but I really need to get back in basketball shape.”
James Martinez finished with 26 points built around seven treys. It was the second most three-point shots made in the young history of the league after Val Acuna of the Batangas City Athletics tallied eight during the inaugural Rajah Cup.
Nearly overshadowed by Imus’ win was Pampanga’s impressive 94-85 triumph over General Santos City.
Cruz, the smallest man in the league at 5'6”, stood out for the Giant Lanterns as he dished out a triple-double performance of 16 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds to lead the revamped squad owned by Congressman Dong Gonzales and coached by former PBA mentor Bong Ramos.
The cerebral guard has been knocking on the Giant Lanterns’ door as early as last season and his excitement was seen in his debut game as he performed the biggest game of his career.
Pampanga and Imus joined opening day winners Davao Occidental and Basilan in the win column.
Michael Juico, another ex-pro, led the way for the Giant Lanterns with 21 markers, while Fil-Am Travis Thompson and Levi Hernandez had 11 apiece as Pampanga endured an explosive performance from Fi-foreign standout Mike Williams of the Gen San Warriors.
Williams, a US NCAA Division 1 player, who also played in the NBA D-League and the ABL, came away with 27 points on 6-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc. He also pulled down 10 rebounds to quickly register a double-double showing in his debut game.