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Kean Baclaan emerges as a reliable backup to Jacob Cortez in DLSU — but their bond goes much more deeper than that.
Without a doubt, Jacob Cortez’s dagger triple will be the defining moment of DLSU’s Game 1 victory over the UP Fighting Maroons in the UAAP Season 88 Men’s Basketball finals.
Cortez, though, wasn’t the only hero in that series opener, with the Archers banking on a collective effort to emerge victorious in a 74-70 slugfest against the Fighting Maroons on Wednesday, December 10.
Riding the bench throughout the Final Four, Doy Dungo made a triumphant return to the rotation, finishing with 15 points off the bench as he allowed DLSU to keep up with UP in the first half.
The likes of captain Mike Phillips and Vhoris Marasigan remained as the energy guys. Luis Pablo, after struggling early on, made crucial defensive stops in the final period, and hit the go-ahead bucket that put the Archers up, 70-68, at the 3:27 mark of the fourth quarter.
Last but not least was Kean Baclaan, whose minutes as a backup guard was instrumental in setting up Cortez’s dagger trey with 27.4 ticks left in regulation.
“Again, [we] talked about Jacob, but I would say the reason Jacob was fresh was because Kian really gave us a good support. We were able to rest Jacob for a long time on the bench because Kian was delivering also what was expected of Kean,” DLSU head coach Topex Robinson said during the post-game press conference on Wednesday.
Playing in his first UAAP finals, Baclaan finished with nine points off the bench, to go along with six assists in nearly 18 minutes of play. The Muntinlupa native linked up with Dungo and Cortez to keep up with UP in the first quarter, and it was his emergency pass that set up Pablo’s go-ahead bucket in the final minutes.
As the reliable backup, Baclaan afforded DLSU the chance to bench Cortez throughout the fourth quarter, with the Cool Cub resting for around five minutes before being re-inserted in the dying seconds of regulation.
“Yun nga, ‘yung game kanina, ready lang ako kasi we need Jacob eh,” Baclaan told The GAME in a follow-up interview. “Kasi Jacob is Jacob, alam natin kung ano ‘yung magagawa niya for the team.”
“So for me, sinabi lang ni Coach Topex na maging ready. Hindi lang naman ako eh. Si Doy, nag-deliver, so malaking factor ‘yun na kami nag-step up sa bench namin. Pero ‘yun nga, number one talaga, para makatulong talaga sa team, ‘yun ‘yung pinakagusto ko mangyari, lalo kay Jacob.”
More than the team dynamics, it’s also the reflection of Cortez and Baclaan’s bond, having undergone residency together in Season 87 along with the mutual understanding as point guards.
“We’re very close, kasi nga we’re both point guards and sa practice, lagi kaming nagkukulitan, pero ‘yun nga, syempre ‘yung nangyari sa akin na ‘yun, masakit din kay Jacob kasi whole year kaming magkasama, two years kami magkasama mag-residency,” Baclaan reflected, recalling to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury he suffered last October.
“So ‘yun lang, very thankful din ako kay Jacob kasi binigyan niya ako kumpyansa, kaya ganon ‘yung nangyari sa akin kanina.”
Cortez said as much when asked about his bond with Baclaan, even pointing out his growth since their high school days with UST and De La Salle-Zobel, respectively.
“I’ve been going against him since I was in high school and now sharing the floor with him, it’s pretty crazy,” Cortez told The GAME. “Now he’s more mature and his decision-making is better.”
“And I know that he really wants to win, and I really want to win it for him as well.”
With DLSU going for the kill this Sunday, December 14, no doubt that Jacob Cortez and Kean Baclaan’s partnership will be crucial if the Archers hope to end UAAP Season 88 on top.
“Sobrang sarap dahil nanalo ng Game 1, first appearance ko ng finals, Pero hindi pa tapos, hindi pa kami nagchachampion, so for me, we need to prepare and watch ‘yung mga nangyari sa game namin nitong Game 1 and kailangan namin pag-aralan ‘yung mga mistakes namin,” concluded Baclaan.
Images courtesy of the UAAP Media Bureau.