Yankees ace Gerrit Cole paid tribute to the victims of the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash Tuesday by attending the season opener for the Orange Coast College baseball program.

The college’s longtime coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and their teenage daughter Alyssa, who was a teammate of Bryant’s late daughter Gianna, were among the nine killed when the chopper went down Sunday northwest of Los Angeles on its way to the girls’ game at Bryant’s basketball facility.

Altobelli was entering his 24th season as baseball coach at the school in Costa Mesa, Calif., about 70 miles southeast of Calabasas, where the accident occurred.

Orange Coast players voted to play the game, which assistant coach Ron La Ruffa told reporters is what John would have wanted.

The team honored Altobelli’s memory by wearing his No. 14 and winning, 8-1. Altobelli led the program to more than 700 wins and four state championships during his career.

“John meant so much to not only Orange Coast College, but to baseball,” said Jason Kehler, the school’s athletic director. “He truly personified what it means to be a baseball coach. The passion that he put into the game, but more importantly his athletes, was second to none — he treated them like family. Our deepest condolences go out to the Altobelli family during this time of tragedy.”

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Cole, sporting a light beard he’ll soon have to shave in accordance with the Yankees’ grooming policy, was spotted at the game by Twitter user @randi_radcliffe, who also was at the game.

Though it is unclear whether Cole, who grew up an hour drive away from the college in Newport Beach, knew Altobelli, the 56-year-old Altobelli coached Mets and Yankees stars Jeff McNeil and Aaron Judge during his three-year stint in the Cape Cod League from 2012-14.

“He took a chance on me (in 2012), kept me the whole summer. Him taking that chance on me, having me on his team, got me drafted,” McNeil told ESPN the day of the accident.

McNeil was drafted by the Mets in 2013, and became one of the club’s best players last season.

Cole, widely considered the best pitcher in baseball, signed a nine-year, $324 million contract with the Yankees this offseason.

Altobelli is survived by his son J.J., a scout for the Red Sox, and daughter Lexi.