Mike Cortez

Mike Cortez

Alias	"Cool Cat"
Jersey No.	11
Position	Point Guard/Shooting Guard
Current Team	Barangay Ginebra Kings
Personal Info
Country	United States
Born	November 10, 1980 (1980-11-10) (age 31) San Jose, California, USA
Height	6 ft. 0 in.
Weight	175 lbs.
College	De La Salle University
Career Highlights
Draft	2003, 1st overall by Alaska Aces
Pro Career	2003 – present
Also played for	Alaska Aces (2003–2008) San Miguel Beermen (2008-2010) Air21 Express (2010)
Awards Received
1-Time PBA All-Star (2003) 2005-06 PBA Mythical Second Team 2008-09 PBA Comeback Player of the Year 2000 UAAP Rookie of the Year

Mike Cortez (born November 10, 1980 in San Jose, California) is a professional basketball player for the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the Philippine Basketball Association. Cortez gained prominence in the amateur ranks for the De La Salle Green Archers in the UAAP and the ICTSI Archers in the Philippine Basketball League. In 2003, he was the first overall pick of Alaska Aces in the Annual PBA Rookie Draft.

Amateur career

In 2000, Cortez debuted for the De La Salle Green Archers. With him, veterans Ren-Ren Ritualo and later Mark Cardona, the Green Archers won the UAAP title in the two of the next three seasons from 2000-2002.

He also played in the PBL for the ICTSI Archers, a team composed mostly of DLSU players alongside then University of the East star James Yap. With the two playing together, ICTSI almost won a PBL title in 2001 only to be defeated by the veteran-laiden Shark Energy Drink.

By 2002, Cortez's performance had quickly led to him being considered the top prospect for the PBA.

Professional career

After the 2002 UAAP season, Cortez applied for the PBA Draft and was quickly drafted by the Alaska Aces as the top overall pick. By then, he was considered as the successor to Johnny Abarrientos as the team's next big star at the point guard position.

However, he struggled in his first season in the pros with inconsistent performances due to Tim Cone's triangle offense system, and the emphasis on Ali Peek, Don Allado and fellow rookie Brandon Cablay. Despite this development, he was a member of the 2003 PBA Invitational Champions defeating the Coca-Cola Tigers.

He lost in the Rookie of the Year race to fellow point guard Jimmy Alapag of the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals.

By the 2004-05 PBA season, Cortez was starting to increase his role as Alaska added young players such as Sonny Thoss and veterans Reynel Hugnatan, Jeffrey Cariaso, etc.

The next season, Cortez played probably his best season in the league, playing in a consistent level while forming a two-man tandem with Willie Miller as Alaska almost went to the PBA Philippine Cup finals, but they lost to the eventual champion Purefoods Chunkee Giants 4-3.

Cortez missed most of the 2006-07 PBA Philippine Cup following a season-ending injury in the third game of the conference.

On March 19, 2008, Cortez was traded along with bigman Ken Bono to the Magnolia Beverage Masters now renamed back into San Miguel Beermen for L.A. Tenorio and Larry Fonacier.

Mike Cortez received the Comeback Player of the Year award for his role in the 2009 PBA Fiesta Conference trophy of the San Miguel Beermen.

On June 11, 2010 Cortez played his last game as an Air21 as he was traded after that game for Ginebra's Billy Mamaril.

External links

• AlaskaAces.com.ph Mike Cortez Player Profile
• Mike Cortez Online

Preceded by Leo Avenido

UAAP Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year 2000

Succeeded by Mark Cardona

Persondata
Name	Cortez, Mike
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 10, 1980
Place of birth	San Jose, California, USA
Date of death
Place of death