A national championship trophy isn’t the only accomplishment Gabriela Jaquez earned in UCLA’s 79-51 win on Sunday — she secured a leg up on sibling bragging rights as well.
In addition to sharing a last name and an impressive basketball genealogy, Gabriela and her brother, current Miami Heat guard and former UCLA men’s basketball star Jaime Jaquez Jr., are bonded as Bruins as well.
While his sister competed in Sunday’s title game, Jaime made an appearance on ESPN’s “Courtside” altcast and discussed watching Gabriela make her championship mark in UCLA history.
“I can’t say how proud I am of her. This has been a dream of hers for so long, ever since the third grade,” Jaime said on the altcast. “She wrote down on her ‘what does she want to be when [she grows up],’ she’s like, ‘UCLA basketball player,’ and now she’s here living her dream.”
“I remember all her attitude that she had when she was a little girl,” he added before the game. “She’s been great, she was always a great younger sister. She used to annoy the hell out of me, but as we got older, we started to understand each other a lot more. And I’m just really, really proud of her.”
Her older brother’s praise didn’t stop Gabriela from acknowledging some sibling rivalry points had been earned after the win.
“Of course I have bragging rights, I’m a champion now,” Gabriela, who led all scorers in the championship with 21 points, said postgame. Jaime made his own Final Four run as a Bruin, averaging 12.3 points per game as a sophomore on UCLA’s 2020-21 team that was on the other end of Jalen Suggs’ iconic overtime buzzer-beater that sent Gonzaga to the national championship game.
Bragging rights aside, Gabriela also made sure to give her brother flowers for his role in her basketball journey.
“Really appreciate his support. The impact he had on me is just really inspiring,” she continued. “I think just growing up watching him compete all the time, I guess we kind of play similarly, but that just comes from watching him, always supporting him … I really appreciate his support.”
The Jaquezes aren’t the only sibling story on UCLA’s roster. Center Lauren Betts lifted Sunday’s championship alongside her sister Sienna Betts, a freshman forward for the Bruins.
