Manila, Philippines - Prized rookie Bobby Ray Parks Jr. practically bled for every point he posted in his debut – 16 markers on 5-of-20 shooting – as the Bulldogs dropped a 72-73 loss to Santo Tomas.
“Just like any other rookie, he (Parks) struggled; he’s still feeling his way. Whatever you say, he’s still a rookie,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano, who also drew nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks from his celebrated recruit.
The Tigers assigned Jeric Teng to hound Parks, much like how the former’s father Alvin was tapped to defend the latter’s dad Bobby Sr. during their PBA days. Teng had help from teammates like Kevin Ferrer and Aljohn Ungria in trying to contain Parks.
“They (UST) made it hard for him to score; he was the focal point of the other team’s defense,” said Altamirano.
Parks had the last shot for NU but Teng didn’t bite to the fake and put a hand in front of his face, leading to a miss.
“I don’t want to blame it all as a rookie (jitters). They played great defense, at the same time I wasn’t getting calls. In the last play, I got smacked on the face but I don’t want to dwell on that. I give props to them (UST). They played well,” said Parks.
Teng said it was a concerted effort. UST threw off Parks with a double and triple-teaming in the first three quarters and Teng defended him one-on-one in the endgame.