Photo courtesy of Steve Angeles.By Norman Riego via ABSCBN Sports
The California Interscholastic Federation, or CIF, is the governing body for California’s high school athletics. Paras and the Phantoms are the top-seed in the CIF Southern Division and only needed to win their match-up against the Gladiators to move on to the regional semifinals.
LA Cathedral trailed in the middle of the second quarter until the recruit from the Philippines took over despite a swollen right eye for a 45-39 lead at halftime. However, the Gladiators were able to reclaim a 69-67 advantage with less than three minutes remaining.
Fortunately, the Phantoms had the answer in the endgame by blasting five unanswered points punctuated by a successful and-one from Paras and then limiting their opponents to five points until the final buzzer.
Paras and the Phantoms will now battle the Alemany Warriors for a spot in the regional finals. Whoever wins there will move on to the state finals for the title of Boys Basketball Kings of California.
The son of Philippine basketball legend Benjie Paras is ranked by ESPN as the 25th best player in California and 44th top small forward in the high school class of 2016. The three-star recruit from the Philippines will suit up in 2016 for University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins, a college basketball powerhouse in the US.
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