PBA names Best Import award after Bobby Parks

MANILA, Philippines – The PBA will name the Best Import award after the late Bobby Parks.

PBA Commissioner Chito Salud announced on Sunday that the league will honor the legendary import, who won the award for an unprecedented seven times during a 12-year career in the Philippines that started in 1987.

“Bobby Parks, a seven-time PBA best import awardee, epitomized everything we could hope for an import: highly skilled, hardworking, respectful of host country rules and sensibilities and a perfect gentleman on and off the court,” Salud said in a statement.

“I therefore cannot think of a better import and human being after which to name the best import award (Bobby Parks Best Import Award), both to honor Bobby's immense contribution to PBA as well as to serve as a shining example and inspiration to all imports who play in our shores," Salud added.

The idea was picked up by Gilas coach Chot Reyes from a fan on Twitter on Saturday shortly after news of Parks' passing away broke out.

"In my response to twitter clamor, My text to Com Salud: 'Maybe d PBA can name d Best Import Awards as d Bobby Parks Trophy," Reyes said on his Twitter account (@coachot).

The league also paid homage to Parks with a minute of silence before the tip-off of the San Mig Coffee-Barako Bull game on Sunday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Parks, who died yesterday due to complications that stemmed from laryngeal (throat) cancer which was first diagnosed in 2008, was also inducted to the PBA Hall of Fame in 2008 as one of the only three imports to be enshrined in the select company (the other two was Norman Black and Billy Ray Bates).