New Kobe in town

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MANILA – There’s a new Kobe in town, and of course they are referring to Kobe Paras, the son of retired professional basketball player and MVP Benjie Paras.

The 15-year-old Paras earned his fair share of limelight after performing a dunk against NBA superstar LeBron James.

“They call me as the kid who dunked on LeBron,” shared Paras.

After UCLA Coach Steve Alford showed up to watch Paras, he ended up offering him a scholarship to which Paras accepted.

“Pinoys in LA will go nuts to be Kobe as a Bruin,” noted sports broadcaster TJ Manotoc.

Paras, who stands at 6’6”, played guard during the summer camp for a team in Southern California. Aside from UCLA, he received scholarship offers from other schools including UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara, among others.

“While all of this is new to me, I realize that I can only go to one college, so I felt it was not necessary to continue the recruitment process with so many very good schools and coachers already at the table,” said Paras.

Cathedral Coach William Middlebrooks said that Paras has more to offer than his dunking skills.

“Most know him for his dunking, but he can shoot the three, dribbles and passes,” said Middlebrooks. “He’s highly skilled and is adapting to the style of play in America.”

Indeed, Paras’ ability to dunk will make him a crown favorite. But for Paras, he wants the people to show his skills and what he can do on the court.