Jasper Parker’s road
by rick olivares
When Jasper Parker leaves the school dorm at
Southwestern University, even after four months in Cebu, he still isn’t sure
where the roads lead.
“I don’t know where they lead to,” Parker laughs.
“But they gotta lead somewhere. I’ll figure it out.”
Cebu isn’t Orange County, California where Parker
grew up, “But it isn’t so bad. It takes some getting used to though.”
Parker was originally supposed to head to Manila and
play for the Far Eastern University Tamaraws but he took a detour to Cebu where
he found a home with SWU. “I guess it’s easier for my transition to the
Philippines because my mother’s family is from here.”
Jasper doesn’t speak much Filipino as it was hardly
used at home. “I did know ‘salamat’ and a few other words but that’s pretty
much it.”
If speaking the vernacular is difficult how much more
in Cebuano. “My other teammates – Landry (Sanjo) and Adam (Mohammed) can
understand it or even speak some if it so they do the translating for me. But
at least in Cebu, they speak English as well so it isn’t much of a problem.”
It is on the court where the 5’10” Parker lets his
game speak for himself.
He’s given the SWU Cobras another dimension with his
quarterbacking and superb outside shooting drawing comparisons to a young Jimmy
Alapag. His addition, along with the sweet shooting Anton Pardo had made up for
the loss of Monbert Arong who transferred to FEU and the sidelining of sniper
Melvin Holper who has back problems.
“I’ve seen Jimmy play and I am flattered by the
comparison,” said Jasper. “But I have still a ways to go.”
Growing up in California, Parker was a Los Angeles
Lakers fan. He was even happier when Steve Nash joined the Lakers even if he
has yet to recapture his form in Phoenix. “I try to incorporate some what Steve
does but of course,, you have to find your own style and game. But yep, I’m a
Steve Nash fan.”
In Cebu, it hoped that he will help the SWU Cobras
unseat the University of the Visayas Green Lancers as CESAFI champions. But
before that, there’s the matter of the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premier Cup. SWU
head coach Yayoy Alcoseba has made no bones about winning the pre-season
tourney. “Last year was a learning process for us,” said the coach. “This year
we want to take even bigger steps. We’d like to win it.”
“The games held here in Cebu are huge not only for us
but the other Cebuano teams (University of San Carlos and UV),” explained Parker.
“In Manila, it is up to us to adjust to the environment, the game atmosphere,
and even the calls. So here it is the other way around.”
It isn’t only his team that needed to adapt, he
himself had to adjust to the heat, the environment, and the calls. “In my two
games in Manila, I fouled out every time and coach says I need to stay on the
floor if I want to help my team,” noted Jasper. “Just reaching in is tough
because the referees immediately blow the whistle whether you touch the
opposing player or not. It’s something I am not very conscious of.”
He played one year in Irvine Valley College before
coming to the Philippines. Prior to that, Parker starred for the Sunny Hills
High Lancers in Fullerton, California where he averaged 13.7 points, 4.9 rebounds,
4.6 assists, and 2.3 steals per game.
For the Cobras, Jasper is averaging 9.0 points, 5.0
rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 0.5 steals in four matches in the Filoil Cup while
logging in 26.5 minutes per outing.
And with SWU at 4-0, they have a good chance of
advancing to the knockout stages of the tournament. But they have to win their
last two games if they want to realize that ambition.
When speaking of long term ambition,
aside from leading SWU to cage glory, Parker hopes to finish and get his degree
in SWU then if possible play in the Philippine Basketball Association. “I hope
that from here is Cebu, my road leads to the PBA. But we’ll see. I gotta figure
that out.”
Nice piece Rick, good luck Jasper Parker!
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