After months of pondering, Kobe Paras has decided that home is where the heart is.
Following the footsteps of his father Benjie Paras, the 20-year-old has joined the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons.
“The University of the Philippines is the most respected educational institution in the country. The attraction of UP is not just its basketball program, which just gets better each year, but the world-class education it is known for,” said Kobe, whose father Benjie led the Fighting Maroons to a Men’s Basketball Championship back in Season 49, to Ikot.ph.
The 6-foot-6 cager did admit that he’d had a tough time deciding on where he will go. But the education that will be given by the state university proved to be the kicker.
“I look forward to the challenge of helping make the Fighting Maroons a better basketball team, and the challenge of helping myself become a better student.” he added.
A four-star recruit back in 2014, Paras committed to UCLA a year later but had to decommit and transfer to Creighton.
In Creighton, Paras only played in 15 games, posting norms of 1.3 points per game.
Paras withdrew from Creighton after one season and enroll in Cal State Northridge. During his redshirt year, head coach Reggie Theus was fired, resulting in him leaving the institution as well.
Last April, he eventually returned to the Philippines and join the 23 for 2023 Gilas Cadets in the 2018 Filoil Flying V Preseason Cup, presented by Chooks-to-Go.
He will be eligible for the 82nd Season of the UAAP together with Ricci Rivero. Contrary to reports, the second generation cager has to sit out one year as he is a transferee from Cal State Northridge. Even if he was a redshirt one year back in 2017, he is still seen as a transferee by the UAAP.
Come Season 82, the Fighting Maroons will have a strong lineup that will feature four cadets, namely Kobe Paras, Ricci Rivero, Juan Gomez de Liano, and Will Gozum.
