Ray Parks hoping for the best

MANILA—He left the country when he was 13 to be with his mother in the United States, and that decision now weighs heavily on his bid to play for the National University Bulldogs in the coming UAAP wars.

“I understand the question on my eligibility, so I really want to get the point across that it’s family circumstances that got me leaving for the US,” said Ray Parks.

“I lived here [in Manila] for 13 years of my life,” added the 18-year-old son of former seven-time PBA Best Import Bobby Parks who returned home last year and played for the country’s 3-on-3 team in the Singapore Youth Olympics.

The UAAP requires athletes who studied overseas to serve a two-year residency. But an exception to the rule are “children of parents assigned abroad due to the nature of their jobs” and “children whose parents are OFWs [overseas Filipino workers] and stationed abroad.”

Although the UAAP eligibility committee didn’t clear Ray to play this season during its meeting last week, the league board will still meet today to review his case.

Ray, who was born in Makati, left the Philippines in 2006 when both his parents decided to work overseas. His Filipino mother, Marifer Barbosa, a native of Rosario, Batangas, left for the US in 2003. Bobby followed two years later.
Family above all else

Despite looking more like his American dad, Ray is as Filipino as anyone can get. He speaks fluent Tagalog. And there’s the Filipino penchant of putting his family above everything else.

“You can never change the time with your family,” explained Ray. “Basketball comes and goes. But when I saw the opportunity to come back and play here, I grabbed it and made a big leap.”

Bobby received an offer to work as a sports consultant for National University last year and he returned to Manila with his son, a southpaw 6-foot-3 guard.

“I don’t want to hope for the worst, but I’m praying to get my name cleared,” said Ray. “I hope to play for NU. The brotherhood is there, it’s starting to get tighter. The chemistry is there. We’re a young team, but I think we can still be competitive.”

If he fails to make it to the UAAP, he is a strong contender to represent the country in the Southeast Asian Games this November.

He is in the national pool of young collegiate standouts now training under national coach Norman Black for the Indonesia SEA Games.

“I always feel proud representing the Philippines,” said Ray.