As he flew to the United States to train anew joining East West Private (EWP), Paras bared the weight he carried in his early development bearing heavy expectations from those who caught his attention.

Paras talked about the generated expectations he got as a teen in the comments section of an Instagram post of Hoopjunkie showing a video clip of him playing alongside Lonzo Ball six years back.

“Ever since I was 14, I was pressured by people who don’t even know me to be someone I’m not? People who don’t even know me gave me so much expectations for no reason,” he said.

The 6-foot-6 forward had left the country at age 13 to train in the US and to knock on doors on opportunities overseas chasing his NBA dreams.

After high school, he was recruited by the University of California, Los Angeles but later transferred to Creighton University.

After one year with Creighton, he suited up for Cal State Northridge before returning to the Philippines to be part of the University of the Philippines Men’s Basketball Team for a season.

Paras have practically grown up under the microscope of demanding Filipino fans and were followed by lofty expectations and undeserved criticisms.

“Imagine being depressed at 20 because every time you mess up, you think you let your country down,” Paras shared.

Now being in a redemption campaign in the US to train with Ohio-based EWP, which also manages young Filipino talents like Kai Sotto, Paras is ready for one more go.

“At the end of the day, I’m just a human being like all of y’all. If you got nothing nice to say, keep it to yourself,” Paras reminded.