UAAP: La Salle’s Jacob Cortez allays injury fears after awkward fall

De La Salle University‘s Jacob Cortez against University of the East in UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball. UAAP Media.MANILA — Jacob Cortez’s premature exit due to an apparent knee injury put a dampener on De La Salle University’s 97-88 overtime victory over University of the East on Wednesday, but the guard quickly allayed fears about his situation.

“I could have played, but coach [Topex Robinson] didn’t want to risk anything,” said Cortez, who exited the match at the 3:27 mark of the third quarter after an awkward fall. “We’re just gonna get it checked just to be sure, but I’m good.”

What concerned Cortez more, however, was La Salle’s defense, which allowed the Red Warriors to erase a 13-point deficit and force overtime.

“UE is a very dangerous team, as you could tell from earlier,” said Cortez, as the Green Archers had to weather another stellar performance from Toper Lagat. “But we still need to work on our defense for the whole game.”

The sentiment was echoed by La Salle deputy coach Oliver Bunyi, especially as the defending champions continue to navigate mounting challenges midway through the season.

“We are really struggling, so we don’t want to lose our patience,” said the former Emilio Aguinaldo College head coach as the Green Archers finally returned to the win column after notching their fourth win in eight games, and snapping a two-game skid. “So we just told the players to stay focused and don’t give up.”

Things could become even tougher for La Salle, however, as Vhoris Marasigan was also taken to the hospital after a late-game collision with Lagat.

For Bunyi, that means other players must be ready to take on bigger responsibilities moving forward.

“The injured players, we’re gonna make sure that they’re taken care of. In fact, some of them will go straight to the hospital,” he said. “Thankfully, there’s resilience among our players. They never gave up.”