[ad_1]
Gilas Pilipinas brought a young but talented group to Manama, Bahrain, for the second window of the 2021 FIBA Asian Cup Qualifiers.
However, one thing the team lacked was height. The team only had an average height of 6ft 4in, and only had three legitimate big men in the 6ft8in Isaac Go, 6ft8in Kemark Carino and 6ft7in Justine Baltazar.
So Gilas’ program director Tab Baldwin asked Kobe Paras to make a sacrifice: play away from his post for his country.
Despite being 6 feet 6 inches tall, Paras is a swingman by trade.
Still, he accepted the role.
“He submitted to the environment. I work very hard.
“We played him out of position because we really needed his size and strength around the basket, and he didn’t feel comfortable at all, so it was a burden he carried for us and he never complained once.”Baldwin told Coaches Unfiltered presented by SMART Sports.
“I think at one point in the second game I said, ‘Kobe, go out there and play in the band now. And he said ‘Thank you coach, I’m dying to do that’, and with a smile on his face. We knew we were asking him to make an additional sacrifice by playing out of position, but we never said anything to him about it. He did his job. He did the best he could. “ he continued.
Unlike his stint at UP last season that saw him win team All-UAAP honors, Paras didn’t score as much in the two games played against Thailand.
In the first game, he had seven rebounds and two steals in 21 minutes of play. He followed up with a four-rebound outing, three assists and a block in 18 minutes in the second game.
In general, it was a plus-20 when on the ground.
And Paras had no qualms about it, as it ended in two wins.
“The first time that I am with Kobe to work with him as a player, and you talk about pleasant surprises, Kobe’s attitude is extraordinary.
“He really, really wants to be a great player – hHe has an extremely competitive mindset. And obviously, from an athletic point of view, he’s elite. He’s one of the best athletes I’ve been with, but Kobe has a lot to learn about the game. And I think if you follow Kobe’s development over the years, he’s always been from the ‘come in and be the star’ point of view. So he’s always had a lot of expectations, and when you add that Kobe can dazzle us with highlights, a lot of people get confused between highlights and quality basketball. “ Baldwin opined.
“That’s where Kobe is, his path or his track is longer. He is learning to be a quality basketball player in the context of what the team demands of him and the context of playing with many other elite talents. But all credit to Kobe because his attitude is as good as everyone else’s. “ continued the American-kiwi technician.
In future versions of Gilas, Baldwin wants to continue working with Paras.
“He was frustrated because he didn’t do better performances, but as far as I’m concerned his pros and cons were good, his heart stats were always very good. He was working really hard to do a great job for the team, and Kobe for me is potentially a great player for our program in the long run. “
