Ray Parks ticks many boxes in his checklist with ABL title win

SANTA ROSA, Laguna – "Dad, we did it."

Those were the first words Bobby Ray Parks Jr. said in his first interview as an Asean Basketball League champion.

And who could blame him? Among the myriad storylines his play in the regional skirmish hinged on, it was the closest to his heart.

There was proving doubters wrong follwing a 0-3 start. There was the drama where Parks and Alab Pilipinas were scrambling for titular sponsors. There was the bid to ressert his place among the top prospects in the local scene.

But none spoke louder than continuing his father's legacy.

His father, a former Philippine Basketball Association import, made his hands-on interaction with the game of basketball as a mentor to the San Miguel Beermen in 2012. Parks Sr. managed to comandeer that ABL team into the final round but was unable to win the championship against Indonesia.

The patriarch was unable to finish the job in 2013 as he fell in a long battle against lung cancer that year.

"Y'all been grilling me about not winning championships. Hey, we here now," the younger Parks added. "Give me an opportunity and I’ll make the most of it."

True enough, the 25-year-old cager, did make the most out of the chances afforded to him.

The two-way guard went on to win his second straight local Most Valuable Player plum in the ABL even after taking a backseat to the scoring roles of reinforcements Justin Brownlee and Renaldo Balkman.

And almost unknowingly, he also scripted the perfect followups to those subplots: He notched a Finals MVP award and placed himself in the discussion of who is the top prospect to declare for the PBA draft later this year.

"Just being around these great players, it just allowed me to grow," he ofered. "I also learned from [my teammates]. I was just put in an opportunity to just make the most of it."

"Getting better as a player is everybody’s goal and to win a championship – to do both is great," he added.

Apropos of his place among the younger talents expected to declare for the PBA draft, Parks capped off the chat with an equally interesting soundbite.

"Was I ever gone?"