BOBBY RAY Parks is uncertain whether he will come back for a fourth season with National University after the Bulldogs' campaign in UAAP Season 76 in yet another disappointment.
The two-time UAAP Most Valuable Player Parks left a lot of questions hanging after his top-seeded team suffered a 69-76 loss to fourth-seed University of Santo Tomas on Saturday.
“I’m not sure,” Parks told reporters after the game. “I’ve got some thinking to do.”
Parks said he isn’t even sure whether he will suit up for the NU-backed Banco De Oro squad in the PBA D-League or enter the PBA draft, but said making it to the NBA is still his biggest dream.
“D-League not sure. Probably, I’ll train in the States. I don’t know. I have lots of things going through my mind right now,” said the two-time league MVP.
“Of course, it is still an option,” said Parks regarding his NBA dream. “That is my goal and my dream.”
Parks’ statements came in the midst of speculations that NU coach Eric Altamirano might not return for next season after three championship-less years with the team.
But Parks was quick to issue a denial.
“Not true,” said Parks with a curt reply.
Parks finished with 15 points in the game but was a non-factor in the endgame, even sitting out the final minute of the game after suffering from cramps on both feet.
Parks said that the loss is a learning experience for the Bulldogs after bowing to a veteran-laden cast of UST, which became the first fourth-seeded team to reach the title series since the Final Four format was institutionalized in 1994.
“They are veterans. They played their type of basketball,” said Parks. “We fell short. We’ll see where it goes.”
Parks admitted that inexperience did the Bulldogs in.
“We are the new kids on the block. Every team has been there, done that. It’s a learning experience for us,” said Parks.
That was none more apparent than in the endgame, when the Bulldogs turned the ball over three times and took bad shots while the Tigers piled on the pressure.
“We didn’t executed well the way we did. We were frantic. We didn’t make our shots. We made extra passes but we weren’t making our shot,” said Parks.
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