HELTERBRAND -- Mr. MVP

Barring any surprises that may arise from the voting among players, media and the Commissioner’s Office, expect the Philippine Basketball Association most valuable player award to go to Barangay Ginebra Kings guard Jayjay Helterbrand. Consistently among the top players in the individual statistical category all season long, backed by team success, "Mr. Fast" is all set to become the second Ginebra MVP after Eric Menk.

In ceremonies to be held today before the start of Game Four of the Fiesta Conference (FC) finals between Ginebra and the San Miguel Beermen, the league will hand out the Leo Awards. The awards are given in recognition of players who have excelled in the different facets of the game in the current season, foremost of which is the MVP award.

The battle for the most prestigious individual award was a very close one with at least seven players having the inside track, namely Coca-Cola’s Asi Taulava, Sta. Lucia’s Kelly Williams, Burger King’s Arwind Santos, Helterbrand, Talk ’N Text’s Mark Cardona, San Miguel’s Dondon Hontiveros and Alaska’s Willie Miller. However, for reasons ranging from their teams not advancing further to lagging in the necessary statistical points (SPs), the MVP race was reduced between Helterbrand and Santos. Santos actually had an edge in SPs over Helterbrand. Unfortunately for him though, with Burger King’s campaign stopped by San Miguel in the semifinals of the FC and Helterbrand’s Ginebra right in the finals’ thick of things, national player Helterbrand’s chances became bigger. He was earlier named the best player of the conference which further boosted his stock for the MVP plum.

In the event that Mr. Fast does move on to bag a first-ever MVP award, I think hardly anyone would raise a howl. Ask anybody who has followed the league all season long, and it will be a consensus that Helterbrand has been a picture of consistency and all-around brilliance amid the many injuries Ginebra has to endure.

Helterbrand certainly has gone a long way from being one of a wave of Fil-Ams that invaded the league in the late ’90s. From riding the bench, he has steadily improved his game. He has formed a fruitful and exciting on-court partnership with Mark Caguioa, known as "The Fast and The Furious," which has done wonders for the Ginebra squad and benefited his career.

But this season has been extra special for the 5-11 Kentucky State-Lexington product in the US. With Caguioa and Menk injured for the most part, he was thrust into the leadership role which he has embraced to much success.

In the previous Philippine Cup, he led the depleted Kings to a quarterfinal finish that saw him pile up impressive numbers of 18.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists and 36% from beyond the arc. In the current conference, Helterbrand is norming 17.21 markers, four boards and 5.08 assists and 41% from three-point territory. But more important than the numbers, he has been a true leader and a big reason why Ginebra is now in a strong position to repeat as champion with his heads-up play on both ends of the court.

So for all he has done this season, Helterbrand is every bit deserving of the MVP. Santos and the other fellas did an outstanding job from their end, but by and large Helterbrand just had it better this year.

Game Four of the finals is today at the Araneta Coliseum at 7 p.m. Ginebra leads the series, 2-1.

I got this from a Google Alert. Can't seem to find the link, sorry.