UAAP: Topex Robinson, Jacob Cortez 'blessed' to be part of historic 100th Ateneo-La Salle game

Every season, both Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University fans look forward to watching their teams duke it out for school pride.

While this fabled rivalry turned another page, with the Green Archers coming out on top in the 100th UAAP game, Green Archers head coach Topex Robinson was nothing but grateful to be part of this historic event.

“We always remind ourselves this Ateneo-La Salle rivalry never changes, [it] never gets old. You’re always going to feel the excitement, the fear. [I’m] just so blessed and fortunate to be part of this rivalry and to be part of that 100th game,” acclaimed Robinson.

“That’s something we could pass on to future La Salle players and coaches–it’s always just a surreal feeling playing and being in this crowd with so much love and respect for the game of basketball,” the tactician added.

Ateneo versus La Salle also brings the best out of players. That even though they struggled in past games, stars come out to play on rivalry day.

Showcasing his clutch play ever since stepping foot on a UAAP court, Jacob Cortez shined anew, hitting a crucial three down the stretch to put the game out of Ateneo’s reach.

Chasing this opportunity all his life, Cortez said that every game against the Blue Eagles is a chance for him to live out his childhood dreams.

“I’ve been wanting this since I was a kid. My dad, he used to play for La Salle and then growing up, I used to watch games like this,” admitted Cortez.

“I used to be that kid in the crowd wanting to play. So now I’m embracing the moment, and I tell myself not to overthink because that’s when stuff goes wrong for our team. So yeah, just embracing the moment, embracing the rivalry.”

—JKC, GMA News