“Who?”
That was Ray Parks, Jr.’s response, when asked on his thoughts about the match-up he had with Singapore Slingers guard Mitchell Folkoff.
In Friday night’s highly-touted affair that saw Alab Pilipinas break a two-game skid against the Singaporeans, 74-72, Parks, Jr. was defended most of the time by Folkoff.
Days ago, Folkoff, in an article published in ABL’s official website, claimed that his style of play is described greatly by his effort on defense especially against other teams’ best players.
“I feel like I’m a pretty good defender and I thrive on coming in and trying stopping the opposing team’s best player. I like the challenge,” claimed Folkoff in the piece posted last January 4.
Folkoff has the right to claim such statement. During their last meeting at the OCBC Arena in which they won over Alab 71-68, Folkoff was also the one defending Parks.
Prior to that match, Parks was coming off a 30-point and a 41-point outing against Kaohsiung Truth. But that day, the league’s leading scorer was limited to his season-low output of 15 markers.
Another notable performance by Folkoff was against Hongkong Eastern Lions, where he was tasked to guard scorers Marcus Elliot and Tyler Lamb, who were producing greatly for the Lions. With his stifling defense, both Elliot and Lamb were slowed down. The former, despite scoring 24, made all while taking 17 shots, while the latter was just limited to 1-of-7 from the three-point area.
But despite such instances, the Gilas Pilipinas standout somehow does not want to agree with Folkoff’s statement, especially with the way he fared against the wide-bodied guard Friday night.
Parks finished the game with 17 markers on an efficient 6-of-11 shooting from the field. He also had nine boards for a near double-double.
“For me, if I had 17 and 9, and what, 6 of 11 shooting, and you say you stopped me, that’s kind of… I don’t know” said Parks moments after the match.
And such statement only made him fired up, according to the six-foot-four wingman, who was nailing tough jumpers all through out the game.
“I don’t wanna make the first shots but I’ll make sure I’ll end it. I’ve read the article too. I’ve read what he claimed.I mean, for me, if you wanna plan to stop Bobby Ray Parks then bring it. It’s fine with me. It will add more fuel to the fire.
“You can’t wake up the sleeping dragon,” quipped the 23-year-old.
Nevertheless, Parks still remarked positively on Folkoff, saying that he admires the 27-year-old’s spirit in playing the game.
“I love the competitiveness in him. But I have to let it be known,” he added.
