WATCH: Kobe recaps Day 3 of FIBA 3x3

The Philippines has bowed out of the FIBA 3x3 Under-18 World Championships after finishing with a 2-3 record in Pool A, but Kobe Paras partly made up for the disappointment by advancing to the finals of the Slam Dunk contest.

The Philippines defeated Hungary and Kazakhstan, but lost to Russia, Poland, and Uruguay to finish in fifth place in the six team group, where only the top four will advance to the next round.

"Sadly, we lost to Russia and Uruguay, so I just hope that next year, we may get it because the Philippines doesn't stop, we just have heart," said Paras, who was named as one of the "men to watch" ahead of the competition.

Paras will still be defending his Slam Dunk title and vows to put on a show in the Finals.

"The dunks I did were just to qualify because I wanted to do all the crazy stuff in the Finals, which will be a secret," said Paras.



Paras performed an off-the-bounce 360 slam and then dunked over his teammates to advance to the Finals of the competition.

He will defend his title against Jalek Felton of Team USA, Agustin de Costa of Argentina, and Boros Mark of Hungary.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Kobe wants to be more than 'kid who dunked on LeBron'

MANILA, Philippines – He first became famous for throwing a slam dunk past NBA superstar LeBron James, but Filipino teenager Kobe Paras insists he is more than just the kid who dunked on "The King."


James was visiting Manila for his "Witness History" tour last June when Paras – who was part of a group of standouts who shared the court with the NBA star – sailed past him for a dunk. The Cleveland Cavalier forward was able to throw his arm up to contest, but Paras was able to complete the throwdown.

"Everyone knew that LeBron James was like, the King," Paras said in an interview with the LA Times. "He's mostly known for his ability to dominate in the court."

"He was my idol since I was a kid, so getting to do that on him, or with him, is like something changed in me big time, because people never expected anything (like that) would happen," he said.

The dunk drew the attention of Yahoo! Sports and ESPN.

"(I was) like a normal Filipino, but now they're calling me the kid who dunked on LeBron," said Paras.

Since he dunked on James, Paras also won a Slam Dunk contest in the FIBA 3x3 Under-18 tournament, moved to Los Angeles to play for Cathedral High School, and has now verbally committed to play collegiate basketball for UCLA.

"It makes me happy, knowing that I did that, but I just want to be known for something else instead of that," Paras said of the fame he gained from dunking on James.

"I want to do better in my education and in basketball here," said Paras, who also stressed that he is "not all about dunks."

"In basketball, you just don't watch a person because of how he dribbles, how he passes. You watch everything he does. I want to show everybody that it's not all about the dunks or the highlights," he said. "It's what you do on the court."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com