Parks sparks Alab to 2-1 lead over Mono Vampire

BANGKOK, Thailand—Bobby Ray Parks isn’t the back-to-back local Most Valuable Player for nothing.

Parks took charge late as San Miguel Alab Pilipinas turned back Mono Vampire of Thailand, 99-93, yesterday to move on the cusp of reclaiming ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) supremacy at the Studio 29 here.

Parks, who was recently bestowed the local MVP trophy for the second straight season, finished with a gamehigh 30 points including 10 in the fourth quarter when the Phl side fended off a late charge by the host Thais to claim the win, a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five title showdown while regaining homecourt edge.

Alab goes for the jugular in Game Four tomorrow also here.

A decider, if necessary, is on Wednesday back home at the Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Hall in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

“He just continues to grow as a player. Tonight (yesterday), there is no doubt that it was an MVP-type of performance with the shots he made and more impressively his defense on Jason Brickman,” said Alab coach Jimmy Alapag of Parks.

It was Parks who gave Alab an 85-74 lead, the biggest of the game with 4.57 minutes left in the game.

Mike Singletary waxed hot and willed Mono to just a 90-93 deficit with less than two minutes remaining.

Parks, however, answered the call and hit a difficult basket to break the backs of the home squad.

Alapag was also all praises for Justin Brownlee, who was a doubtful starter after hurting a hamstring in a 100-103 defeat in Game Two Wednesday in Sta. Rosa but came out with 27 points in just a little over 25 minutes.