Cortez answers call, seals Game 1 upset with dagger triple
It looked like it was going to be Harold Alarcon’s night. Until Jacob Cortez intervened.
Cortez came in cold in the last 48 seconds after spending most of the fourth quarter on the bench, and he hit an even colder shot: A stepback dagger of a triple against one of the toughest defenders that completely changed the makeup of the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament.
La Salle is suddenly within a win of a title that seemed so distant in the middle of the elimination phase. And if University of the Philippines wants to retain its crown, it is suddenly the one that will have to punch its way out of a corner.
“I work on those shots every day,” Cortez said on Wednesday, just moments after his three-pointer iced a 74-70 victory for the Archers in Game 1 of the best-of-three championship series.
“To me, it’s fun working on that shot and practicing it. I guess that’s how you can describe how we play. We play fun,” Cortez added.
Cortez’s heroics not only stunned the Maroons, but it also spoiled a huge game by Alarcon, the senior guard who looked oh-so-ready to put the reigning champions closer to a second straight title.
Alarcon finished with a career-best 34 points, 20 in the first half when UP went ahead by three.
Surviving Alarcon
“I’m glad and fortunate that we were able to [survive] the onslaught of Harold Alarcon. He really took over,” coach Topex Robinson said. “He’s really clutch for that team.”
Alarcon’s last two points came off a transition play that trimmed the deficit the Maroons were facing to a point, 71-70.
That was when Robinson sued for time and tapped Cortez, who was on the bench for most of the fourth due to a solid performance by Kean Baclaan, La Salle’s other star playmaker.
Fittingly, Cortez’s signature celebration is the “call me” gesture. On Wednesday night, he answered that call, isolating UP defender Reyland Torres before hitting the stepback three.
La Salle, which braved must-win games at the tail end of the elimination round—including an important one against UP—before surviving No. 1 National U’s twice-to-beat advantage, now has that same luxury in its hands.
The Archers can close it out in Game 2 with less pressure because they have another game waiting if they miss out on that.
