Kobe Paras, the former La Salle Greenhills standout in the NCAA Juniors is now making his own name in the United States playing with the Los Angeles Cathedral in California. During the last games of Kobe Paras’ team against Long Beach Poly, his name “Kobe” was chanted by his school’s fans.
Photo Credit: Eric Sondheimer of the LA Times
The 16-year-old Kobe Paras scored an impressive 22 points in a 50-57 loss to Long Beach Poly in the DeMar DeRozan tournament in California. The achievement made by Kobe Paras for LA Cathedral, he got the attention of LA Times reporter Eric Sondheimer who wrote an article about Kobe Paras.
According to LA Times report, Kobe Paras sat out the previous season, but the wait was worth it based on his latest performance with his team. Kobe Paras scored a total of three 3-pointers during the team’s losing effort before he was fouled out with just 48 seconds in the fourth quarter.
Kobe Paras was able to impress his coach in LA Cathedral, coach William Middlebrooks who noted that he is okay and has a lot to learn on his team. According to Kobe Paras coach, the Filipino junior high school player has already grown three inches since arriving at Cathedral.
The father of Kobe Paras, the PBA”s “Tower of Power,” Benjie Paras, is the lone professional player in the Philippines who was recognized as the PBA’s only Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player, a record never been broken in the 39th season of the PBA.
Kobe Paras was also recognized as the winner of the FIBA U-18 3X3 Slam Dunk contest held in Jakarta, Indonesia. He was also credited for dunking over NBA MVP LeBron James during the star’s visit to Manila last year.
