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    Parks feels Gilas team led by Clarkson, Kai bound to do 'something special'

    'As long as we can just keep the right mindset together and continue to keep this core group, we have something special to offer'
    Sep 1, 2022
    Ray Parks Gilas
    PHOTO: Jerome Ascano

    BOBBY Ray Parks finds it amusing how the basketball gods work.

    Years after facing off against Jordan Clarkson back in the NBA Summer League in 2015, the two found themselves side-by-side this time for Gilas Pilipinas, proudly hoisting the country's flag in the international stage.

    "It’s just a journey," Parks said. "Like I’ve said, it’s the game that we love. When that ball keeps bouncing it brings you to different places. But at the end of the day, it’s a small world out there."

    [READ: Column: Leave Gilas fans alone]

    Seven years since that face-off, the two have gone on separate ways.

    Clarkson, of course, is thriving with the Utah Jazz and was even named as the NBA Sixth Man of the Year two seasons back.

    Parks, on the other hand, is bracing for his second year in Japan as a vital cog for the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins.

    From afar, Parks is just glad to see Clarkson make a name for himself and make the country proud.

    "It’s great to see that he's succeeded in life," he said.

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      Clarkson's growth as a player is only a bonus as he joined the Philippines for the fourth window of the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers, with his presence alone already turning up the intensity a notch for the national team.

      "Him coming back representing the Philippines means a lot not just to us players but to the whole country," remarked Parks.

      "I feel like he has matured as a basketball player. And both sides, syempre bata rin kami noon. But the level of practice really went up by just having Kai [Sotto] and having Jordan coming in. Every guy who was in the pool especially nung kulang-kulang pa, we really appreciate everybody who was a part of this."

      There's no doubt in Parks' mind that with Clarkson on board and a promising crew featuring Kai Sotto, Dwight Ramos, and his fellow Japan B.League imports, the sky is the limit for this group to achieve something great come the global hoops expo.

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      "I feel like there’s something special, for sure," he said. "Those guys are ridiculously talented. And I’m excited to see a bright future for Kai, and what JC still has in store throughout his young career in the NBA.

      "I just want to be a part of it, want to be a witness to it like everybody else. And as long as we can just keep the right mindset together and continue to keep this core group, we have something special to offer."

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      PHOTO: Jerome Ascano
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