PHOENIX – Drop 32 points on the Washington Wizards, hop on an American Airlines flight to see your sister compete in the NCAA championship game.
It had been an exhilarating 24 hours for Jaime Jaquez Jr. by the time the Miami Heat forward and former UCLA star walked into the Mortgage Matchup Center on Sunday afternoon.
Wearing a UCLA letterman’s sweater in a nod to his college days, Jaquez had come to cheer on Gabriela against South Carolina in the end of an incredible seven-year run of Bruins basketball for the family.
“I hope she really cements the Jaquez legacy here at UCLA with a national championship,” Jaime told the California Post while standing in a concourse before the game. “It’s going to be amazing.”
Miami Heat star Jaime Jaquez, a former Bruin, is in attendance to watch his sister Gabriela and the UCLA Bruins face South Carolina in the national title game on Sunday afternoon.
He didn’t know the half of it.
Gabriela nearly flirted with a triple-double, infusing the Bruins with her relentless spirit during their 79-51 romp that gave them the program’s first NCAA title.
When Gabriela headed to the bench for a breather with 6½ minutes left, UCLA fans serenaded her with “MVP!” chants. She wasn’t done, adding a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock that she celebrated with a roar before earning a hug from coach Cori Close once she finally left for good.
Gabriela finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, those assists mostly coming on post feeds to Lauren Betts and Angela Dugalic.
Afterward, she celebrated with her big brother, who grabbed handfuls of confetti and flung them into the air as he sat next to Gabriela on the court.
“To finish out my career here at UCLA with a national championship really does mean everything,” Gabriela said.
Does Gabriela have bragging rights as the only sibling with a national title?
“Of course I have bragging rights,” Gabriela said with a laugh. “I’m a champion now, so. Yeah, I just really appreciate his support.
“I think the impact he had on me is really inspiring. I think just growing up watching him compete all the time, I guess we kind of played similarly, but that just comes from watching him, always supporting him. I would always go to his game because I just love watching him and supporting him.”
Jaime was coming off one of his best games of the season. His scoring spree came after making 12 of 18 shots during the Heat’s 152-136 victory over the Wizards in Miami.
With a break in the team’s schedule, Jaime received his team’s blessing to go see his sister’s final college game. Having packed his bags before the game on Saturday, he left directly for the airport and was able to get a nonstop flight into Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
“Coach Spo [Erik Spoelstra] and the team, they understood how big of a moment this was,” Jaime said, “they told me go on ahead and support your family. It’s one of those things you can’t miss.”
Jaime is about to finish his third NBA season after four years at UCLA, where he became a beloved Bruin. He helped UCLA reach the 2021 Final Four and was selected the Pac-12 Conference’s Player of the Year as a senior – when he overlapped with Gabriela on campus – before becoming a first-round draft pick of the Heat.
Watching sister Gabriela blossom from a freshman who came off the bench to a projected first-round WNBA draft pick has been particularly gratifying.
“It’s been great,” Jaime said. “She’s grown so much from a freshman to senior year, and this is all her hard work paying off. It’s for this moment right here.”
