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Philippines, 15 Feb 2026 |
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BENJIE PARAS IN LA, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED IN SON KOBE'S CASE AT UCLA By Ronnie Nathanielsz PhilBoxing.com Fri, 01 Jul 2016  Paras dunks. Former Philippine Basketball Association two-time Most Valuable Player and the only player to win the ?Rookie of the Year? award and MVP accolade on the same year Benjie ?Tower of Power? Paras is now in Los Angeles ?trying to figure out what happened? in the case of his son Kobe Paras who was suddenly forced to quit UCLA and look to play for another US NCAA Division 1 school with many looking to sign him up. Paras told The Standard ?They accepted Kobe?s SAT. He was there for one week for his summer school and practices. Then suddenly they release that news.? ABS-CBN?s Steve Angeles reported from LA that ?There's been a change of plans for Kobe Paras, one of college basketball?s most high profile, highly anticipated recruits: He will no longer be a UCLA Bruin.? Angeles reported that the University of California in Los Angeles announced the withdrawal of the 18-year-old Filipino on Wednesday morning. In a statement, the school said: ?Incoming freshman guard Kobe Paras, admitted upon condition to UCLA, has withdrawn from the university due to academic conditions of his admission not being met." But his coaches at Middlebrooks Academy said he is academically eligible to play for an NCAA Division 1 program. The Los Angeles Times quoted Cathedral High School officials as saying that ?there was an issue with Paras's Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) score, despite being a consistent honor student.? Paras had verbally committed to UCLA in the fall of 2014 as a high school junior. He went on to have a phenomenal junior season attracting fandom at many of his games as a player for Cathedral High School. He went on to participate in several high-profile camps. Angeles said ?Due to an issue in his transfer and credit this past school year, Paras suited up for the Middlebrooks Academy, a basketball prep program that is also run by Cathedral's coach William Middlebrooks. Last February, Cathedral High School announced that Paras had scored 1750 on his SAT, which is regarded as a high score.? However, the average incoming UCLA freshman supposedly has a score of 2064. The withdrawal comes just weeks after Paras checked in on campus with the school, tweeting his visits and his locker room nameplate. He even had a chance to meet his fellow class of 2016 recruits during his visit. ?The issue apparently is SAT. Based on UCLA?s standards and his announced score, he fell below the UCLA average,? coach William Middlebrooks said. Although Paras is no longer UCLA-bound, his coaches said he will still play college basketball at a Division 1 level. According to reports, some schools have already contacted his coaches. Just as when he first arrived in LA, they expect a number of suitors lining up to bring in the 6-foot-5 wing player. Paras himself has been silent throughout the ordeal with Middlebrooks basketball requesting for privacy. The program said they will clarify the issues and details surrounding the young athlete's withdrawal soon. Angeles notes that ?No matter where Paras will eventually play, that school will have a well-conditioned athlete. The hoops phenom has been in tip top basketball shape, spending most of his time in the gym and getting ready for the next phase of his basketball life.? One of the highpoints of Paras? career was when he won the FIBA 3x3 World Championships Slam Dunk contest beating USA?s Demonte Flannigan and Spain?s towering Antonio Morales in the finals. Paras hammered home one spectacular slam dunk after another at the Merdeka Square in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 29. Kobe scored a perfect 30 points on his first three dunks in the championship round winding up with a total of 117 points. Paras set the standard for a colorful performance when he parked a motorcycle on the court with teammate Kiefer Ravena, UAAP Juniors MVP seated on the bike as Kobe went baseline for a thunderous finish. Reports from Jakarta said Paras? second dunk was even more spectacular, jumping off two players -- Ravena and a cager from Spain -- and finishing with a one-handed tomahawk. Paras amassed 30 points each on both dunks. Demonte Flannigan failed to convert on his between-the-legs slam which left Paras and Morales in the one-on-one finale. Morales, however, ran out of creative tricks even as Paras continued to soar in the finals with an off-the-glass windmill to take home the slam dunk title with a score of 57 to Morales' 51. Paras was already a crowd favorite when he attempted a ?tribute to Lebron James?. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.  |
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