BOBBY Ray Parks Jr. has reportedly left the country for Japan to suit up as an Asian import in the Japan B.League.
Parks is set to play for Nagoya in the new season set to kick off on Sept. 30.
The 6-foot-4 Parks opted not to sign a contract extension with TNT last March, citing “personal reasons” on why he chose to skip the PBA’s 46th season.
No less than former PLDT president and CEO Manny V. Pangilinan questioned Parks’ decision to take a sabbatical. Parks was seen on social media surfing in La Union with 30th Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Roger Casugay.
Parks was eventually given the green light by TNT and the pro league to go to Japan.
Former Ateneo star Thirdy Ravena opened the way for Filipino cagers in the B.League, playing last year for San-EnNeoPhoenix, while former University of the Philippines wingman Jaydee Tungcab was also set to play in the league’s second division but this did not push through due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NLEX star and Thirdy’s brother Kiefer Ravena was also signed last month by Shiga Lakestars.
Former Fighting Maroons standouts and brothers Juan and Javi Gomez de Liaño are also set to bring their acts to the B.League.
Former San Beda University big man KemarkCariño will also play for Aomori Wat’s in the second division.
Parks, 28, led the Tropang Giga in last year’s Philippine Cup bubble in Clark with 22.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.5 steals in 17 games.
TNT wound up with a 7-4 card after the eliminations and hurdled Alaska and Phoenix Super LPG in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively to reach the Big Dance.
With Parks nursing a strained calf injury, the Tropang Giga lost to Ginebra in five games in the finals.
After seeing action in the NBA G League and with AlabPilipinas in the ABL, Parks was tabbed No. 2 overall by Blackwater in the 2018 draft and played for the Bossing for two conferences before he was shipped to the Tropang Giga in late 2019.
