Parks ‘ready’ to make most out of Gilas experience

Ray Parks in national team uniform. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

For Ray Parks, his inclusion to the final lineup of Gilas Pilipinas for the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament is a vindication of his sacrifice to take his chance with the national team.

“It’s a blessing and a privilege truthfully. It was my mindset of coming back and making it to the team, and that’s one goal I achieved off of my bucket list right now,” he said.

Parks is coming off an NBA D-League stint with the Texas Legends, where he averaged 4.6 points, 1.9 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.1 blocks in 13.3 minutes of play in the 32 games he saw.

The versatile forward is ready to put all his learnings into action as he dons the national tri-colors for the senior team.

At 23, Parks is the youngest in coach Tab Baldwin’s 12-man roster. But he wants to prove that he is ready for primetime and share the court with his elder teammates, all for the glory of the country.

“I’m ready,” he said. “This is what me and my trainer Tyrone Gordon wanted. It gave us a stage and it’s a matter of making the most of it. My focus right now is about performing and making the most of this experience.”

Parks is confident in the final 12 Baldwin has assembled as it makes its final push for 2016 Rio Olympics next week in the Manila OQT.

“We came a long way. A lot of great players came through and it’s great that we finally have the core of the team,” he said. “It’s sad to say that kuya Calvin (Abueva) and kuya LA (Tenorio) are gone, but they’re still here proud of us and we’re fighting for them. It could have been any of us who got cut, but God has a plan and He has a purpose.”