THAT San Beda – Benilde semifinal classic in NCAA Season 98 woke up a beast inside Jacob Cortez.
It was the cornerstone moment that transformed the once-hungry Red Lion into the lean, mean Green Archer driving La Salle’s title chase today.
Cortez recalled to SPIN.ph how he wasn’t always the confident playmaker fans now see in Taft.
READ: In season full of questions, Cortez has been La Salle's answer
But as he navigated his young college career in Mendiola, one loss changed everything for good.
“It's been a long time but that last game in [NCAA] Season 98, I think we lost to Benilde but I played a good game. And then, the next season turned out to be my breakout season,” he said.
That game was San Beda’s heartbreaking 61–62 loss to Benilde, one that sent the Blazers to their first NCAA Finals in 20 years.
Off the bench, Cortez was relentless. In just 16 minutes, he shot 5-of-10 from the field, including three triples, and produced a team-high 13 points, two assists, two rebounds, and a steal.
His performance ultimately went for naught, but the following year, the story flipped.
In Season 99, Cortez became part of a fierce Red Lions core that claimed San Beda’s 23rd basketball title, its first in five seasons.
Now 22 and on the cusp of his first UAAP championship with La Salle, Cortez carries with him the lessons and scars from his red-and-white days.
The confidence he rediscovered in Mendiola remains his greatest asset as he tries to lift Taft back on top.
“I was taught early on that confidence is really key. I’d say in my early college years in basketball, I really lost that because I wasn’t playing that much,” he said.
“Then I put the work in, and it started translating into games, started playing good. I just kept working hard, working harder than everyone, and that just built my confidence.”
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