THE TNT Tropang Giga are making loud noise early into the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup restart with back-to-back wins to open their campaign.
Their latest success, a 112-101 victory over the Terrafirma Dyip Tuesday at the Smart 5G-powered Angeles University Foundation Sports and Cultural Center, gave the Tropang Giga the early lead.
And Bobby Parks Jr had a lot to do with it.
Parks Jr. put up a career-high of 40 points in his debut, going 13/18 from the field as he made his presence felt in a game TNT controlled from the start while keeping the trend of players setting or tying career-highs inside the bubble. He also had 11 rebounds and five assists.
On Sunday Roger Pogoy netted a career-high 45 points in TNT's 100-95 win over Alaska, in the process earning Parks Jr. and Pogoy the distinction as the first local teammates to score 40 or more points in back-to-back games in 30 years.
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The honor was previously held by Ronnie Magsanoc and Benjie Paras, who scored 40 and 45 points respectively for Shell in consecutive games against Presto and Pepsi in July of 1990.
"It's a great achievement. Those are some great players, ninong ko pa sila pareho," said a visibly proud Parks Jr., who joins two of his legendary father's former teammates in the record books.
"Just to be mentioned with their names, it's a blessing," added Park Jr. who showed no ill effect of the calf strain that sideline him Sunday.
With the offseason acquisition of Poy Erram and the re-signing Parks Jr., TNT is expected by jaded observers to figure for the championship.
And there's no doubt about it.
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Back-to-back wins marked by successive career-high games from their young stars, it appears that the long break didn't do much to hinder Tropang Giga's explosive offensive potential.
"Yesterday's game was not just a testament of my hard work, but a testament of my teammates' [hard work]. The ball was moving around very well last night," said Parks Jr. the second pick in the 2018 Draft.
"The good thing about our team is it's just not me. [I believe] somebody else will go off for us next game. That ball will find that energy, it will go to the hands that's supposed to shoot the shot," he added. (PL)
