Bobby Ray Parks Jr. (Parks FB page)
MANILA –Bobby Ray Parks Jr. zoomed to the top spot in the race for the Philippine Basketball Association Most Valuable Player award following the computation of the statistical points (SP's) up to the semifinals of the bubble season.
At the release of the tabulation results on Saturday, the six-foot-four TNT combo guard overtook Phoenix's Matt Wright with 38.3 SPs.
Entering the Tropang Giga's finals showdown with Barangay Ginebra starting on Sunday night, Parks averages 22.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.
Wright, whose ankle injury slowed him down in Phoenix's semifinal series against TNT, slipped to fourth with 35.6 SP's, letting CJ Perez, whose Terrafirma squad crashed out of the regular season, move to third with 35.7.
Calvin Abueva, who has been on a roll since returning from a long ban, is now second in the MVP race with 37.1 SP's.
The Phoenix winger is currently averaging 15.4 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.7 steals a night, a stat line even better than his Rookie of the Year season in 2013.
NorthPort's Chris Standhardinger rounds up the Top 5 with 34.6 SPs, while TNT's RR Pogoy, (33.5), Ginebra's Stanley Pringle (33.1) and Scottie Thompson (32.7), and Phoenix's Jason Perkins (32.7) are at the outside looking in.
Meanwhile, Aaron Black is on track of winning the Rookie of the Year honors.
While the Meralco freshman remains second in the stats race behind Terrafirma's Roosevelt Adams, the fact that Meralco made all the way to the semifinals may factor in the balloting. (PNA)
