Benjie Paras says son Kobe more mature, independent in US

By: 10 years ago

Screengrab from Kobe Paras’ Twitter account

As basketball phenomenon Kobe Paras continues to make his mark in the US basketball scene, his father, PBA legend and actor Benjie Paras, said that he had changed a lot since he decided to continue his basketball career overseas.

In an interview with ABS-CBN which aired on Monday, Benjie said Kobe had become more mature and independent since he started playing for the Los Angeles Cathedral High School Phantoms.

“Kobe as a player, he excels a lot… doing well in basketball. (Even) outside the court, he’s really different now, and he’s more mature and very much independent,” the basketball icon said of his son.

Benjie, who is visiting the US, has been spending time with Kobe and dropping by his son’s practice sessions.

The PBA legend said that since Kobe and his brother Andre started playing basketball, he left the development of his sons to the hands of their coaches.

“When they started learning basketball, okay, I will teach them some things and when they started playing for the school, I told them: ‘You’re on your own. You have a coach. Listen to your coach, whatever they say just do it’,” he said.

Off court, Benjie said Kobe was excelling in academics, saying that the 6-foot-6 forward was on the honor list.

For his part, the younger Paras said he was missing his “Papa Bear” but had learned to become more self-reliant.

“It’s cool. I miss him a lot. It’s been hard without him but I’ve learned to be dependent on myself. So it’s been a pretty cool experience,” Kobe said.

The 17-year-old Paras is headed to UCLA (University of California-Los Angeles) for college. He previously played for the La Salle Greenhills. AJH/CB