By ANGELO JACINTO
JACOB Cortez is built for the big stage.
And playing under the bright lights of the Mall of Asia Arena for the first time in his collegiate career – with their season on the line no less – he proved just that.
Playing in front of his legendary father Mike Cortez and an adoring sea of proud Bedans who haven’t experienced a championship game since 2019, Cortez kept San Beda alive in the NCAA Season 99 semifinals following its 89-68 win over Lyceum last Tuesday.
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Cortez finished with 28 points on an ultra-efficient 9/11 shooting to go along eight assists, four rebounds and three steals as the Red Lions continued its mastery over the Pirates and forged a sudden-death match this Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I just told the players that we’re not even thinking about the championship, e 'yun 'yung totoo. Itong game lang na ’to. We want to stay in the present and get that first game,” San Beda coach Yuri Escueta said.
“We’ll worry about the next game when we get there. Focus lang kami sa game na ’to. We know what we needed to do, lock in defensively, and focus on it, para di na maraming iniisip.”
They did just that as they limited the top offense team in the league to just 68 points on 33.8 percent shooting.
San Beda clamps down on Pirates
With Lyceum usually reliant on their inside game, the Red Lions forced the Pirates to take 34 attempts from three-pint land, making just five.
With their offense going nowhere and Cortez dissecting them on the defensive end, it was pretty much a lost game for the Pirates.
Yukien Andrade and Nygel Gonzales backed Cortez on his career night as they chipped in 12 points apiece for the Red Lions, who shot an impressive 13-of-28 from downtown behind Cortez’ highly efficient 4-of-6 shooting.
Enoch Valdez paced the Pirates with 14 points and nine boards but got little help as they got clobbered off the glass and struggled to find their rhythm on the way to their second consecutive defeat to the Red Lions.
The scores:
San Beda 89 - Cortez 28, Andrada 12, Gonzales 12, Payosing 9, Puno 7, Visser 6, Tagle 6, Jopia 6, Alfaro 2, Cuntapay 1, Tagala 0, Torres 0
Lyceum 68 - Valdez 14, Guadana 12, Barba 10, Cunanan 9, Umali 8, Villegas 6, Bravo 4, Montano 3, Omandac 2, Penafiel 0, Saure 0, Fuentes 0, Versoza 0
Quarters: 22-16, 52-38, 73-60, 89-68
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