Parks’ son future Fil-Am star

Seven-time PBA Best Import awardee Bobby Parks’ Fil-Am son Rey-Rey looks like he’s headed for a stellar basketball career as a chip off the old block.

Rey-Rey, 14, is a Grade 8 student in Memphis where his father and Filipina stepmother Jasmine live. His Filipina mother Shane was Parks’ first wife.

According to former Ateneo varsity star and import recruiter Bobby Rius, Rey-Rey was the youngest kid invited to play at the recent three-day, 17-and-under Las Vegas Easter Classic. Rius, who lives in Las Vegas, watched Parks’ son score 12 points in the first game.

"College scouts were in Vegas to look at prospects,"said Rius. "Bobby’s son was included even if he turned only 14 last February. He’s already close to 6-4. The kid can post up and shoot the three. Two of his co-players, who are in third year high school, were offered to play for Duke, Memphis and Virginia. If he gets an attractive offer from a good school, he might just stay in the US. But Rey-Rey is open to playing for a Manila school."

This month, Parks and his son will visit here. Parks’ buddy and Ateneo coach Norman Black has invited Rey-Rey to practice with the Blue Eagles.

By the way, Rius – who used to work for Levi’s in San Francisco – represents Purefoods’ Marquin Chandler and Red Bull’s James Penny. Another import he brought in this conference was Coca-Cola’s Anthony Johnson.

"Luckily, I’m now semi-retired so I can concentrate on getting quality imports for teams that are loyal to me,"said Rius who has been sending imports to the PBA since the 1980s.

Some of Rius’ most popular imports were Swift’s Tony (Hurricane) Harris, Tanduay’s David Thirdkill, Manila Beer’s Michael Young and Crispa’s Al Green.

Rius said he has the rights to a player whom he guarantees will tear up the PBA. The problem is he’s finishing his contract in Europe where his team is in the playoffs.

"The best of the best is yet to come to Manila this conference,"said Rius. "I thought he would be ready by the third week of April but his team keeps on winning in Europe. Hopefully, he’ll be ready to fly over during the playoffs."

Rius declined to name his star-under-wraps but said the 6-6 forward is averaging 25.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.2 blocks

and 35 minutes. He has hit at least 30 points in six games with a high of 46. His shooting percentages are 52 for two-pointers, 34 for threes and 73 for free throws.

Rius said the player is highly recommended by a scout for an NBA team that’s now in the playoffs.

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Sta. Lucia Realty coach Boyet Fernandez said recently the trade that sent Alex Cabagnot, Ricky Calimag and Kenneth Duremdes to Coca-Cola for Denok Miranda and Manny Ramos was initiated by the Tigers.

"We didn’t want to let Alex go but we thought of our salary cap for the next draft where we’re looking at Ken Bono, Doug Kramer, Rob Reyes if he’s available or J. C. Intal,’said the Realtors rookie mentor.

Fernandez said he expects even more from crack rookie Kelly Williams as Sta. Lucia battles for an outright quarterfinals ticket.

"Kelly is playing so well and he still has a lot to show," said Fernandez.

"We’re giving him all the support. You can now see the chemistry in our team. We recently activated Paeng (Santos) and Mark (Magsumbol) because they deserve the chance to play after sacrificing so long in the reserve list. We’re giving everyone a chance to show their worth."

Sta. Lucia returns to action against Air21 tomorrow with new import Jamaal Williams in harness. Williams replaced Rock Winston who was Magsumbol’s teammate with the San Jose Skyrockets in the American Basketball Association last season.

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Who are the country’s top bets for an Olympic gold medal in 2008"

The consensus is boxers Joan Tipon and Genebert Basadre and taekwondo jins Tshomlee Go and Toni Rivero are high on the list.

Tipon, a bantamweight, was the only Filipino to strike paydirt in both the 2005 SEA Games and 2006 Asian Games. Basadre, a lightweight, won a SEA Games gold medal and a bronze in Doha.

Go and Rivero bagged golds in the SEA Games and silvers in the Asiad to emerge as Olympic darkhorses.

The four standouts, however, must hurdle qualifying competitions before advancing to the Olympics.