Kobe Paras, Phantoms fall short vs 4th ranked Knights

MANILA, Philippines -- Kobe Paras and the LA Cathedral Phantoms suffered their second straight setback losing a tough game at their homecourt, 76-80, at the hands of the fourth-ranked Bishop Montgomery Knights on Saturday (Manila time).

Looking for a big upset win in their first home game of the season, the Phantoms felt the pressure after three impressive tournaments that saw then win one championship, a semifinal stint and a runner-up finish.

The Phantoms got off to a slow start as they fell behind early, 9-17, in the first quarter. The hole got deeper to as much as 22 points early in the third quarter but Paras finally hit his strides after a scoreless first half to help LA Cathedral get back into the game.

The junior wingman punctuated a huge third quarter run by the Phantoms hitting back-to-back treys before the buzzer. The UCLA-bound Paras' explosion capped off a telling 14-3 run that cut the deficit to just eight, 45-53, entering the fourth quarter.

Paras was hampered by three fouls before he caught fire at the tailend of the third period.

The Knights though established another double-digit lead, 60-48, in the fourth quarter until the 17-year old son of PBA Rookie-MVP Benjie Paras hit a tough shot with 6:22 left to spark a 9-3 run as the Phantoms came within six, 57-63.

Brazilian 6-9 forward Lucas Siewart hit a big 3 with 41 seconds left to give the Phantoms one last chance at upset as they came within four, 70-74.

The Knights, however, showed poise down the stretch to improve to 3-0 on the road and 19-1 overall win-loss record.

Siewart had 27 points while Paras poured in all of his nine points in the second half but their efforts were not enough to lift the Phantoms who slid to 12-3 overall win-loss record.

Christian Oshita had 24 points while Stephen Thompson Jr. added 22 for  Bishop Montgomery.