Watch out for Ray-Ray

Bobby Ray Parks has come to terms on a two-conference deal with Blackwater in the PBA and according to PBA legend Danny Seigle, he’s sure to make an impact in the league. Seigle worked closely with Parks in the ABL the last two seasons so he’s had the benefit of watching him grow as a pro in the San Miguel Alab organization.

“I think he’s one of the best two-way players in the Philippines right now,” said Seigle, an Alab coaching consultant who starred in the PBA from 1999 to 2017, winning eight championships and bagging four Finals MVP trophies. “He can post up and play multiple positions, including point guard. He was our best spot-up shooter with Alab. I think he’ll be a great PBA player.”

Parks, 26, was Blackwater’s first round pick and second overall behind C. J. Perez in last year’s draft. He finished his commitments with Alab before signing with Blackwater. There were rumors that Parks would be traded to Meralco in a three-way deal sending Jericho Cruz to Blackwater and Baser Amer to TNT. Even Parks heard about it but said he had “no idea” if the rumors were false or not.

Because the PBA has a salary limit of P200,000 a month for rookies, Parks initially hesitated to come aboard. That’s because he has pending offers of at least P300,000 a month to play overseas. “It’s understandable,” said a source with knowledge of his situation. “Ray-Ray is the family breadwinner and the extra money he’d earn playing abroad isn’t small change. He has offers up to over P400,000 so you can’t blame him for hesitating. But Ray-Ray was advised to look at his future and think long-term. What happens if he gets injured abroad? Will a foreign team take care of him like a PBA team? Will a foreign team pay for his treatment in case it’s necessary? In the PBA, he’ll be cared for. He’ll be home with family.”

Blackwater tendered an offer sheet of P10.4 Million over three years. But Parks wanted to keep his options open beyond the first year. The tender offer was P200,000 a month for the first year, P250,000 for the second and P420,000 for the third. The PBA salary cap for veterans is P420,000 although there is a pending proposal to increase it to P500,000 which was the limit some years back. 

Parks played the last three years with Alab, averaging 18.2 points in 2016-17, 16.7 the next season and 15.8 this past campaign. He would’ve liked to end his San Miguel stint on a high note but things didn’t turn out as expected. Although Alab was No. 1 in the standings most of the way, late injuries to at least four key players, including hard-nosed defender Lawrence Domingo, brought the team down to second place entering the playoffs. Disaster struck as San Miguel was eliminated in the first round, losing two in a row to Hong Kong Eastern, 90-88 at home and 102-84 on the road in the best-of-three quarterfinals. Alab lost six straight to end the season.

Alab could’ve enlisted three imports but chose to sign up only Renaldo Balkman and P. J. Ramos while the other nine ABL teams went for the max. A plan to add Justin Bronwlee was scuttled because San Miguel would’ve gone over the cap with his inclusion. Brownlee and Balkman had led Alab to the ABL title the previous season. 

Parks said he’s excited to play in the PBA. It’s been a long time coming since he left NU in 2013. He tried his luck to enter the NBA but got only as far as playing for the Texas Legends in the NBA D-League. After suiting up for the Legends, he joined Alab. As a national player, Parks was on three Southeast Asian Games gold medal teams in 2011, 2013 and 2017.

Parks said he’ll give it his all for Blackwater. Even as Blackwater was the doormat in the PBA this conference, Parks said it’s a team with talent, lengthy wings and pesky guards and he’s raring to fit in. Blackwater team owner Dioceldo Sy said Parks will begin to practice with the Elite after the Easter holidays.