The dynamic duo of Mark Caguioa and JayJay Helterbrand—better known in the PBA as The Fast and The Furious—are long retired. And yet they still helped Justin Brownlee and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel notch a critical win in Game 4 of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals against the TNT Tropang Giga.
But no, they didn’t come out of retirement and suit up for one last ride. Instead, the example they set many years ago inspired Brownlee to power through a dislocated thumb to help Ginebra to a strong start in Game 4—and an even stronger finish for a 95-78 rout of TNT and the series equalizer.
“I got to understand the never-say-die mentality through JayJay [Helterbrand] and Mark [Caguioa],” Brownlee told reporters after Game 4 as he talked about embodying Ginebra’s famous mantra. “My first stint here in 2016, it was a moment in the finals. We were playing Meralco [Bolts] and Coach Tim [Cone], I’m sure you remember.”
Throw Back to 2016: The Mark and JayJay Game
Brownlee, of course, was referring to Game 4 of the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals between Ginebra and Meralco—JB’s first in Asia’s first pay-for-play league.
Ginebra won that classic series in Game 6 thanks to Brownlee’s memorable game-winning buzzer-beating triple, but was at one point in danger of falling into a 3-1 hole after falling behind by 16 going into the fourth quarter of Game 4 with Meralco already up 2-1.
But Caguioa and Helterbrand, fielded in together in the payoff period, simply refused to lose. They infused Ginebra with a bolt of energy and combined for 17 of the team’s 30 fourth quarter points—with The Fast going 3-for-3 from three on his 40th birthday. Ginebra went on to win 88-86 to tie the series, before winning Games 5 and 6 to clinch the title.
“I think we were down in that series. We were down in the series, I think 2-1. And Mark and JJ got on the floor and just brought us back in a brilliant, brilliant performance by the two of them,” Cone recalled of that spectacular comeback. “They weren’t playing all that much at that time. You know, they were coming off the bench and they just turned that game around. I think that’s when he [Justin Brownlee] and even me really felt it [Ginebra’s never-say-die spirit] down to my core…”
Justin Brownlee Gives His Own Never-Say-Die Moment
Eight years later, it was Justin Brownlee’s turn to show that never-say-die spirit. JB dislocated his thumb in Ginebra’s Game 3 loss, and the injury cast doubt on his availability not only for Game 4, but for the rest of the series as well.
But Brownlee showed up at the Ynares Center on Friday, his right hand heavily bandaged to secure his dislocated thumb in place. He also played, hit his first two jumpers, and finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists. And, like Caguioa and Helterbrand before him, Brownlee embodied NSD and helped Ginebra avoid a 3-1 series hole.
The two Game 4s may have happened eight years apart, but they both had one thing in common: that famed never-say-die spirit of Ginebra.
Evidently, Justin Brownlee learned it from Mark Caguioa and JayJay Helterbrand.
