Undefeated Blackwater is ‘for real,’ says Ray Parks

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—All eyes were on the marquee matchup featuring the top two picks in the 2018 PBA Draft.

Sunday’s game between Columbian and Blackwater marked the first time No. 1 selection CJ Perez and second pick Ray Parks met, but the Elite freshman would rather focus on something else.

“At the end of the day, my thing is to lead my team to victory,” said Parks after the Elite’s 118-110 win over the Dyip. “It ain’t really about one person, I want the task of guarding the best player on the other team but at the end of the day I just do my best to help my team win.”

Parks was the last rookie in the 2018 draft class to enter the PBA after he spent the first few months of 2019 playing with Alab Pilipinas in the ASEAN Basketball League.

“It’s still team defense, team offense, so it’s not just about one person.”

Parks got the better of his matchup against Perez after he put up 23 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals in Blackwater’s third straight win in as many games while Perez ended up with 17 points and seven boards.

It took a while before Parks finally made his PBA debut for Blackwater but the 26-year-old guard is certainly making up for lost time and the Elite are definitely feeling his presence.

“We’re for real, that’s one thing I can say,” said Parks. “It’s a different type of Blackwater right now, and my thing is, these games, they’re no fluke. We took teams down to the wire and those are great teams.”

Blackwater’s earlier wins came off against Meralco, 94-91, and defending champion Barangay Ginebra, 108-107.

“It’s a testament to the hard work, all the way from the coaches, the ball boys, to us, to the management, and we’re just reaping the benefits right now. Hopefully we can continue to just grow, continue to build, continue to dig, continue to build into our character.”