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Kobe Paras and the rest of Gilas Pilipinas go to battle against Thailand on Friday in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers in Manama, Bahrain.
The game kicks off at 9pm Philippine time, with this young iteration of the men’s national basketball team looking to improve from 1-0 (win-loss) in the second window of the playoffs.
Paras, the son of former PBA Rookie of the Year MVP Benjie Paras, says that as good as making standout plays is, he just wants to do whatever he can to help the Gilas get victories in this set of two games. against a 10-man team from Thailand.
“I don’t want to be just the standout player. I want to be the player who makes the pass to the climax,” shared the standout from the University of the Philippines in a chat on SportsPage. “I want to be the player who rebounds, who cheers from the bench. I want to be a versatile player.”
The 23-year-old has certainly become electrified in his previous stints with the national team, but this time around, he’s only interested in doing his part to help the Gilas and hopefully bring hope to a country ravaged by Covid-19 and recent natural disasters.
“I don’t care if people notice me or not. I just want to play the right way,” the 6-foot-6 jumper relayed. “I just want to help the country improve as a whole, and basketball is a sport that unites.”
“When they see us, they enjoy the game. When we win, it’s not just us who win, it’s the whole country,” Paras added. “We just want to do our best, not just for ourselves, but for those on the front lines, for all the people who sacrifice.” (JNP)
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