WHILE Jacob Cortez once again proved that the apple does not fall far from the tree, his champion father Mike saw it from a completely different lens.
For the Cortez patriarch, the goal was never for Jacob to carry his surname, his game, or his shadow — or in other words, to ‘be like Mike.’
Instead, he wanted his son to step out of it.
And through the doubts and uncertainties that came with Jacob’s move last year from Mendiola to Taft, Mike believes that’s exactly how it played out.
“I’ve been saying he’s got to step out of my shadow, and he did that,” Mike told SPIN.ph amid La Salle’s UAAP Season 88 title celebrations on Wednesday.
“He did it for San Beda. People doubted if he could do it again for La Salle. He came to the UAAP and proved that he’s the cream of the crop.”
READ: NCAA and UAAP champion Jacob Cortez: 'I just don't like losing'
In the process, the Cortez duo accomplished something few father–son tandems ever have in delivering championships to the same school, decades apart.
And for Mike, the comparisons end there.
“Comparing him to me is apples to oranges,” he said. “Totally different game. But the bottom line is, we both brought championships to La Salle.”
Game ball to dad Mike
Watching his son carve out his own legacy was, by all accounts, a proud and emotional moment that even caught Jacob by surprise.
“I don’t know if you saw earlier, I passed the game ball to him,” he said.
“I don’t know why he was all the way up there, but it was good to see him happy and proud. It was a big moment for me.
“Everyone knows him as the cool guy, no emotion. So to see that from my dad, it was amazing.”
A proven winner himself. having led La Salle to back-to-back UAAP titles in Seasons 63 and 64. Mike made sure the message to his son was clear: celebrate now, then get back to work.
“As a father, he can enjoy tonight,” he said. “But tomorrow, we work on the back-to-back and keep the crown in Taft.”
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