AMONG 15 aces fielded by La Salle in its vengeful win over UE, soon-to-be birthday boy Raven Cortez had the lion's share of the Archers' total scoring output with 18 points.
Two days before turning 21, the former Gilas Youth ace relished the quality minutes he was able to put in after sitting out their back-to-back losses to UP and NU.
READ: Why mourning Kevin Quiambao nearly missed game vs UE
"Always ready lang ako kasi Coach (Topex Robinson) is going to make the decision kung sino ipapasok, and it just so happened na ngayon natawag pangalan ko and I played a great game.
"Every game, always focused lang ako and staying ready no matter how many minutes I’ll play," said Cortez.
And apart from the on-court playing time, the 21-year-old playmaker values the immeasurable confidence given to him by Robinson day in and day out.
"Coach (Topex) gives a lot of trust and a lot of confidence in us talaga. Kahit magkaroon ka ng mistakes, it’s okay basta hindi na mangyari ulit. The confidence that he gives to all of us, from the players to his fellow coaches, sobrang laking tulong nu’n para sa’min."
Better than revenge
Winning over the Warriors was a vindicating moment for the Taft side after dropping both games against them last season.
With that in mind, Cortez and Robinson shared how such a motivation fueled them to unleash on their Recto counterparts even after a slow first half start.
"Personal ‘yung laban sa UE because with them, (La Salle) has never won before versus UE (last season). That’s why you’ll notice na medyo gigil ‘yung mga bata," said Robinson.
"Coming into the game, parang promise ko na rin sa sarili ko na if ever I’m gonna play against UE, I’ll give my best talaga and contribute to the team para manalo (after two losses to them last season)," Cortez added.
Depth-defying squad
The Archers close out a shaky first round at 4-3 (win-loss). Moving forward, Robinson looks to extract the maximum from the sheer amount of depth he has at his disposal in Round 2.
"The deeper we are into the season, the more having those able bodies (will be important). EJ Gollena played great this afternoon, he doesn’t really see the floor that much. We had extended minutes for Mark Nonoy, he was solid. JC Macalalag was really a tough nut to crack for (Rey) Remogat," Robinson bared.
"So the deeper we go, the better it is for us. You play against the best teams like UP, NU, Ateneo, you need everybody to be ready. The more you give them the opportunity now, the better it is for us going down in the end of the season."
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