Kobe Paras hits 18 but LA Cathedral loses 2nd straight game

MANILA, Philippines -- LA Cathedral drew big games from Milan Acquaah and Kobe Paras but they fell silent in the last 53.3 seconds as Bishop Montgomery swept the Phantoms in their season head-to-head with a hard-earned 76-69 win on Wednesday (Thursday Manila time) at the Knights' homecourt. 

The Knights leaned on their star shooting guard Stephen Thompson, Jr., to improve to 24-1 win-loss record. 

The game saw a riveting showdown between high school stars Thompson and Acquaah who finished with almost identical numbers. The 6-foot-4 Thompson came up with 25 points, six rebounds and four assists while the 6-foot-2 Acquaah wound up with 25-7-5 statsline but the former won the showdown scoring six straight points in the final minute that shattered a 69-all deadlock. 

Paras added 18 points while Brazilian forward Lucas Siewert had 14 for the Phantoms, who also lost their home game against the Knights, 76-80, last Jan. 16. 

The Phantoms looked poised to score a big upset and recover from their 59-68 loss to Morgan Park High School last week when Siewert gave the Phantoms the lead with a big triple, 62-60, with 3:38 to play. It proved to be their last lead of the game. Both teams traded basket for basket until Thompson took over and presided over the Knights' 7-0 finishing run. 

Bishop Montgomery threatened to break the game wide open in the first half when the Knights established a 29-16 lead. But Paras capped off a 10-0 run by LA Cathedral with a huge slam then Acquaah gave Phantoms the lead with a triple, 30-29. The Knights settled with a slim 33-32 lead at the half as Paras and Acquaah led the Phantoms' comeback with 11 and 10 points, respectively. 

Thompson had a quiet six points in the first half. The Phantoms, however, failed to contain the prolific shooter with a 19-point explosion in the second half.  

LA Cathedral lost for the second straight game and dropped to 17-5 win-loss record. They will look to bounce back when they host Cantrell-Sacred Heart Cardinals on Friday (Saturday Manila time). The Phantoms have beaten the Cardinals, 57-50, in their first meeting last month.