Ray Parks was not having himself a good game when TNT took on the Magnolia Hotshots in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals on Monday night. But he delivered when it mattered the most.
With the KaTropa down by a point, he took advantage of Rafi Reavis’ blunder of fouling him, coolly sinking both of his free throws with seven seconds left to play to give his side the lead.
Everything else then fell into place for TNT. KJ McDaniels made a huge block on counterpart Romeo Travis, and another stop by the Texters helped them bag the gritty 98-97 victory.
“Pambawi ko lang ‘yun. Sama ng laro ko eh,” said Parks, who finished with seven points, eight rebounds, four assists, and a steal in nearly 39 minutes.
“Effort na lang. It’s the least I could do.”
After dethroning Magnolia, TNT now heads into the semifinals. Parks feels blessed with the achievement, though, considering the challenges that the KaTropa faced this conference.
The flagship MVP franchise lost three straight games — two with Parks on board — after winning seven in a row, and was even in danger of missing out on a Top Four finish.
But fortunately for them, they took down rivals San Miguel Beermen in their last elimination round game, then finished as the third seed. And now, they’re bound for the penultimate stage.
“It’s a blessing,” said Parks, who will finally get to play in the PBA semis after barely making it in the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup when he was still with the Blackwater Elite.
“It’s a privilege for sure — it’s just a test of character. We were able to persevere through all the adversity that we had to deal with and we prevailed. It’s great growth on our part.”
The KaTropa will face the Meralco Bolts in the best-of-five semis. For Parks, they hope they can take advantage of the Southeast Asian Games break to better prepare for their foes.
“Meralco is playing well. We just have to prepare throughout the SEA Games break and be sharp coming back.”
