KOBE PARAS GETS A LOT OF ATTENTION IN FIBA SLAM DUNK CONTEST IN HUNGARY
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 04 Jun 2015
Kobe Paras, the son of the only Rookie-Most Valuable Player in the Philippine Basketball Association in 1979, is getting a lot of attention in Debrecen, the second largest city in Hungary which hosts the fourth staging of the FIBA Under 18 World Championships including the highly-anticipated Slam Dunk competition.
FIBA noted that all the future stars of 3x3 basketball are in Debrecen and the local fans cannot help but notice as the iconic Kossuth Square with the city landmark, the Reformed Great Church, has become a vast 3x3 playground.
Like every FIBA 3x3 World Championships, the competition will feature men's events as well as women's events. A total of 48 teams (24 men's and 24 women's) from 34 countries will compete in Hungary for a chance to win one of the five world titles.
The Philippines will be represented by probably the smallest team in the tournament led by Paras, Mike Nieto of Ateneo, Richard Escoto of Far Eastern University and Richard Rivero of La Salle Greenhills.
The Philippines is bracketed with host nation Hungary, Russia, Poland, Uruguay and Kazakhstan and will face Poland in their opening game tonight.
On top of the men's and women's tournaments, the 3x3 players will also feature in three individual contests, such as the Shoot-Out Contest (mixed), the Skills contest (women) and the highly-anticipated Dunk Contest.
FIBA recalled that two years ago in Jakarta, the youngest player in the tournament, Kobe Paras, became a national hero by winning gold for the Philippines. He is back this year and along with Jalek Felton (USA), Killian Tillie (France) or Tai Wynyard (New Zealand) will be among the men to watch in Debrecen.
Paras has said that playing for US NCAA High School squad LA Cathedrals had helped him a lot in preparing for the FIBA Under 18 World Slam Dunk competition.
The men's event will start at 16.30 local time which would be 10:30 p.m. Philippine Time with the hosts Hungary facing Russia. Argentina are the reigning champions but will face a true challenge with 2013 runners-up France, 2012 runners-up USA and 2011 winners New Zealand.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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