When Jordan Clarkson returned to Manila, a familiar face in Bobby Ray Parks Jr. welcomed him back on the Gilas team.
Seven years ago, both players found themselves on opposing sides during the 2015 NBA Summer League as Parks suited up for the Dallas Mavericks while Clarkson donned the purple and gold for the Los Angeles Lakers.
But a lot of things have changed since then.
And in the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, the two Fil-Ams got to share the court with one another once again, this time as teammates.
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“It’s the game that we love. [We’ve] been to different places but at the end of the day, it’s a small world out there,” Parks said about crossing paths with Clarkson in Gilas.
“Great to see that he’s succeeding in life. It means a lot not just for us as a team but for the whole country.”
It has been a while since the second-generation cager played in the country in front of a packed crowd, especially after his sudden departure from the PBA back in 2020.
On Monday evening, Parks made sure to make the most out of his time on the court as he produced six points, three assists, two rebounds, and a steal in 14 minutes of action. Despite having a limited role on offense, the 29-year-old gunner was still in high spirits after getting a rousing 84-46 win against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in front of 19,829 fans in attendance.
“Syempre masaya. Alam mo naman tayong mga Pinoy, mahilig tayo sa basketball. Yung enthusiasm pati passion natin nandoon,” said Parks, who averaged 3.0 points, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 rebounds in Window 4.
“I feel na we fed off the energy of the crowd talaga. It’s good naman na nanalo tayo dito sa MOA.”
Aside from teaming up with Clarkson, Parks also expressed his excitement and support for Kai Sotto who is continuously hoping to realize his own NBA dream someday.
“Those guys are freakishly talented,” he said. “I’m excited to see that we have a bright future for Kai and what JC still has in store throughout his young career in the NBA. Just want to be a part of it and just want to be a witness like everybody else.”
Led by Clarkson and Sotto, several other Filipino talents are also currently pursuing their professional careers overseas. Being one of them, Parks thinks that distance is not a barrier as the Gilas program can still thrive despite not having a handful of its core players playing here in the country.
For him, building off on what they’ve achieved in this window can go a long way for the continuous progression of the program moving forward.
“Alam mo naman tayong mga Pinoy, sanay naman tayo na watak-watak eh pero pinagsasama-sama tayo so okay naman e,” the Nagoya import added. “As long as we can keep the right program together and continue to keep this core group, I feel like it’s something special for sure.”
After missing some time off with the national team, Parks is hoping that he can finally get back on track and regularly be involved with Gilas, just like before.
And he is very much looking forward to heeding the call of the flag if he gets the opportunity to do so in time for the World Cup next year.
“If that happens, I’ll take words out of my mouth. At the end of the day, it’s just full circle,” Parks stressed. “It’s just weird that I took a couple of years off from the national team but now I’m back. So it feels great to represent the country.
“It will be my honor, my privilege to be in the FIBA World Basketball Cup.”
