Kobe Paras

Paras committed to play in the United States at the University of California, Los Angeles, but withdrew after the university's admissions department determined he did not meet their academic requirements. Instead, he played his freshman year for the Creighton University in 2016–17 before transferring to Cal State Northridge where he redshirted. However, he left Cal State Northridge to play college basketball for the UP Fighting Maroons of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). He is the son of Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) legend Benjie Paras. Paras entered Cathedral High School in Los Angeles in the middle of the 2013–14 school year where he played for the school's basketball team, the Phantoms. Prior to entering Cathedral, Paras attended La Salle Greenhills in Mandaluyong where he also played for the institution's basketball team. However, Paras decided against playing for the Phantoms for the 2015–16 school year.