Homecoming

Welcome home.
(Photo credit to the owner)

Though it may have taken a while, and may even only be temporary, but for the time-being 2x UAAP MVP and NBA hopeful RayRay Parks is finally “home.”

Home to strut his wares for neophyte Alab Pilipinas in the coming ASEAN Basketball League season; home to showcase just how far he has grown as a basketball talent and person; home to prove all of his critics and those he deem as “haters” wrong.

Parks will be joining an Alab team that badly needs his starpower, though it is not exactly lacking in terms of talent or firepower. Joining him are Paulo Hubalde, JR Cawaling, Robby Celiz, Jeric Fortuna, Anthony Gavieres, Jens Knuttel, Jovet Mendoza, Val Acuna, Hans Thiele and imports: (ASEAN) Laurence Domingo, Igee King, (World) Lee Sueng Jun and Lee Dong Jun.

We expect a best or starting five of Fortuna, Hubalde, Parks, Domingo and Lee Sueng Jun from that core though we also wouldn’t be surprised if the World imports are replaced mid-season by more traditional ones (American/African imports like other ABL teams). Banking on the Korean brothers to carry the fight in the paint for Alab would be a bit too much, since both are pushing 40 and are not exactly in the same mold as proven scorers/bangers Chris Charles or Paul Williams.

That being said, Parks will be the uncontested draw for Alab. The Kayumanggi LeBron James. The Pinoy Basketball Jesus. The Chosen One. Ang Sugo. He brings credibility not only to Alab but to the ABL as a whole the way Asi Taulava did via San Miguel as a recognized world/Asian-level player. Parks will always be mentioned in any Gilas pool, and that in itself should shut up his so-called haters.

Haters.

Some would say that we are one of Parks’ chosen “haters.” Hell, we have made it no secret that the kid chose to block us on social media for calling him out. That was probably our bad; but we don’t recall saying anything against him as a person. Only as a basketball player who we see could be more than what he was/is.

What has Parks achieved in the two-three years that he has spent in the US? An NBA D-League tryout and actual game experience? How has he improved overall as a player from what he was before? His decision making has always been A+, so you will have to forgive us if we were disappointed with what we saw when he suited up for Gilas.

He was the same exact, multi-dimensional player as before. His shooting, though we only saw him take a few shots, was the same. Nothing spectacular. There weren’t muscles on muscles the way guys like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and on the local front, Mark Caguioa or even his peer Kiefer Ravena, put on when they moved up from preps to the pros/ trained overseas. He looked exactly the same, only with a nice hairdo and maybe some more ink.

He was living his NBA dream, he was chasing that dream, and he can still do. But our argument has always been, with today’s global scouting and social media, why not simply stay home and be the best Filipino player out there? Squash the competition and make waves. Lead Gilas to glory and be recognized as its best player. Isn’t that how most Euro-players have been scouted as of late? They’re either their country’s recognized best, or are specialists/ bigs/ shooters who, well, are their country’s best as well.

We are saying this, from an OFWs standpoint. Which is what Parks was when he jumped into the NBA D-League system. He is going up against locals, some of which are not even at par with his basketball IQ but enjoy other gifts like: being 100% African-American (those guys are athletic, and there’s a huge difference that simply boils down to genetics), they have names built in the preps circuit, they have backers and financiers. He is going up against Europeans, foreigners, who come from big markets and have bigger followings.

Parang kaming mga OFW din, lalo na mga nurses, mas magagaling at Pulido tayo magtrabaho pero sa ibang lahi binibigay yung trabaho kasi marunong sila magsalita ng lengwaheng local, o tropa nila si ganito, o kasi, Pinoy LANG tayo.

It’s just the natural order of things that we would love to break, but well, that’s life.

So here’s the do-over. The homecoming. If Parks can lead Alab to the ABL Finals (we won’t crown this team just yet, since we are not sold on their Korean imports) while looking dominant, maybe submitting a 20-7-7 statline, then he could start turning some heads. The way Alab’s homecourt has been set-up, wherein they will play their games all over the Philippines, will also allow him to become a brand, LeBron style, and win over more fans. If Parks plays his cards right, he could be even bigger than most PBA stars by ABL season’s end.

He could do TV appearances, mall tours, fan signing gigs all while riding ABS-CBN’s Sports + Action vehicle.

And you know what?

The ABL season is a short one; this would give him enough time to go back to chase his NBA dream OR even throw his hat in the next PBA Draft OR focus on Gilas. The options, the possibilities are endless.

NBA call-up or not, people should not take anything away from Parks.

He should not see it as a letdown or failure.

Because it isn’t, and he’s destined to be one of the country’s best ever.

We just hope that he doesn’t spend too much time exhausting his youth and best basketball years on endless tryouts and being a bench player in some foreign team, when he could’ve made so much more, could’ve been so much more, right here.

Right back home.