By MARK REY MONTEJO
Two years ago, Jacob Cortez put on a Finals masterclass in leading San Beda over Mapua in the NCAA Season 99 Finals.
A year later, he found his way to a familiar and sentimental stop after transferring to La Salle, the very same campus where his father Mike etched his legacy with two titles more than 20 years ago.
And now it is his time to replicate his father’s glory after leading the Green Archers back to the UAAP Finals against the school’s modern rival in reigning champion University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons.
The trilogy will begin on Wednesday, Dec. 10 at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
“Super big,” said Jacob when he asked how special it would be for him if he gets his first championship, like Mike, with the Taft-based squad.
“I was looking for him earlier, but I forgot he had a PBA game to go to. Dad, if you’re watching this, love you. Shout out to you,” he added.
The 5-foot-11 cat-quick guard stood out in La Salle’s 78-73 semifinal ouster of National University at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last weekend, where he took over in the fourth and posted a career-high scoring of 29 points with four rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
According to Jacob, he once called his father Mike, who currently works as an assistant coach for the Blackwater Bossing in the PBA, after struggling in a couple of games.
“Coach Topex mentioned when people started talking about all this stuff on social media. I’m always on social media. It doesn’t really affect me,” he continued.
“I called him and he got mad at me. He was like, now you want to talk to me? Like I said, sorry… and I want to win it for him,” he added.
Jacob has been a pivotal piece for rebuilding La Salle, which struggled early that somehow jeopardized its title redemption bid after multiple woes arose including injuries and suspensions.
“It means a lot to me. I’ve said in a lot of interviews that this is my dream to play for La Salle. I’ve been watching them since I was a kid. I actually watched them when they won the championship,” said Cortez.
“And now I’m in that spot where I’m in the finals with them, with Mike, Coach Topex and like I said earlier, I’m not going to win alone and I have 100% trust in these guys that they’ll do whatever it takes to win,” he added
But that wasn’t enough to dampen the highly spirited Archers who clawed their way back atop after completing an upset by disarming the twice-to-beat bonus of the league-leading Bulldogs.
And their faith remained as their biggest weapon they can use to conquer the obstacles throughout the season.
“And I think the biggest win for us is that we let our faith guide us in this really challenging season. What a way to end the eliminations and also, we have to give credit to NU for really not giving up until that final buzzer,” said La Salle head coach Topex Robinson.
“Again, it’s going to be a broken record, but it’s always holding on to our faith,” he added.
