With KQ gone and Phillips graduating, Cortez takes over as King Archer
La Salle’s first year of life after Kevin Quiambao was a roller-coaster ride, to say the least. An up-and-down, winding journey that ultimately still ended to the Promised Land.
Only because the captain of the ship steered the Green Archers right by instilling in the players the mentality that wins it all.
“When everybody was doubting us or pushing us away, that gave us the motivation to show that we’re capable,” coach Topex Robinson said. “As long as we stick together and as long as we keep on thinking about staying together, we’ll be fine.”
The Archers were more than fine, as they overcame all odds—and that’s saying it lightly—and dethroned the gallant University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons for the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball title.
Robinson pressed all the right buttons. First when new recruits Kean Baclaan and Mason Amos got injured, Robinson plotted a path for the Archers to be able to welcome them back.
“We need to make the Final Four, and they (Baclaan and Amos) can help us from there,” Robinson had told the Inquirer sometime in the elimination round.
Taking it another notch
Of course, Robinson would need people to step up for them to advance to the semifinals. Mike Phillips was steady as usual, but Jacob Cortez took the phrase ‘stepping up’ to another level.
And La Salle now has a new King Archer.
Cortez first helped La Salle trounce top-seeded National U, which held a twice-to-beat advantage, in the Final Four. Then, he made the Finals the Jacob Cortez show by making the game-winning shot in Game 1 of the title series.
“There’s the thought that I have to make those shots,” Cortez said. “I work on those shots every day. 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.”
La Salle went on to lose Game 2, and when the stakes were highest, Phillips also worked his magic and made sure that he will leave Taft a champion.
“We just wanted to give our best. Hopefully, we inspire people with the story that we have,” Phillips said after his last game in the UAAP.
In the end, La Salle ended 2025 quite differently from it ended 2024.
When 2024 ended, the Green Archers were left to ponder on what could have been after losing to the Maroons—even with Quiambao around.
Coming into 2026, the Archers know they have a new man to depend on and a team that’s willing to do all the hard work so that they can add to the 11th UAAP title they just won.
