Bobby Ray Parks File Photo
MANILA, Philippines — After another frustrating end to National University’s campaign, next season’s plans were the last thing on Bobby Ray Parks’ mind.
Whether Parks would still return another year to carry the Bulldogs remains in doubt after they had their finals bid thwarted again by the University of Santo Tomas on Saturday in UAAP season 76.
“I’m not sure yet. I got some thinking to do,” Parks told reporters after NU’s heartbreaking loss to UST, 69-76, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Even Parks’ supposed stint in the PBA D-League for Banco De Oro-NU is up in the air with the new season just around the corner.
“D-league? Not sure yet. Just want to take time off, probably train in the States. There’s a lot going through my mind right now.”
The Bulldogs, who were seeking to return to the final round after 43 years, took the twice-to-beat bonus “for granted” against the tested Tigers, Parks said.
“It could be lack of experience. We’ve never experienced a twice-to-beat advantage at all. Really, we could do better than that. The [Tigers] showed up, they’ve veterans,” Parks said.
UST dictated the pace in their first encounter last September 22, but NU did manage to mount a run in the second half before yielding a 61-72 decision.
But when everything was on the line last Saturday, the Bulldogs couldn’t knock down the shots to save their lives, especially in the last four minutes of the match.
“We could’ve executed better than we did. We were frantic. We didn’t make our shots, we made the extra pass but not the shots,” Parks said.
“We’re the new kids on the block. Every team there has been there, done that. It’s a learning experience for us.”
Meanwhile, the league’s two-time MVP, a ranked high school prospect in the U.S. before joining the Hans Sy-backed NU, is not closing his doors on his dream of making it to the NBA.
“[The PBA?] I have to talk to my manager about that. But it’s still an option,” Parks said. “[The NBA] is still my goal and my dream.”