ANTIPOLO CITY — Bobby Ray Parks, Jr.’s scoring has surprisingly dipped in the last two games.
Parks, Jr. averaged 27.3 points in Blackwater’s first four outings in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup. He then scored a total of 17 points in the Elite’s last two games versus Magnolia and Meralco, which they split.
Still, Elite interim head coach Aris Dimaunahan isn’t worrying.
“No, no, no. Lalo sa team namin, hindi naman ang bida lang dito kung sino ang umi-score,” he said after the Elite’s 97-106 loss to the Bolts Friday. “He had eight assists.
“‘Yung kulang niya sa scoring, doon napunta sa assists.”
The second-generation cager out of National University has been playing as more of a floor general in the last two games. And Dimaunahan greatly appreciates his contributions.
“He’s trying to facilitate the offense for us looking for his teammates. I feel ‘yung strength ng team namin is kung ma-spread namin ‘yung production among the players, hindi yung isa lang ang ii-score ng malaki then wala nang kasunod.
“‘Yun ang parang nakikita namin na barometer namin kapag nananalo kami, ‘yung point production ng team is well-spread. Nothing to worry about that bumabang point production ni Ray because he’s passing the ball,” he said.
Besides creating for his teammates, Dimaunahan noted that the 6-foot-4 forward is also giving his best on the defensive end. And for the Elite, that is significant, since they have always put a premium on defense.
“He is defending also on the defensive side,” said Dimaunahan.
“Hindi madali kasi ‘yun sa isang player na ikaw na ‘yung umi-score, dedepensa ka pa doon sa kabila. Malaki ang hinihingi ko sa kanila na kayo na ‘yung scorer, pero kailangan niyo more importantly, dumipensa.”
