Jasper Parker of SWU goes for lay-up in a game against the University of the East last May 2014 at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City.
Court general Jasper Parker will no longer be coming back to the Southwestern University (SWU) Cobras and will instead focus on preparing for the next level.
With his eligibility for next year’s Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) season scuttled due to academic issues, Parker, in an exclusive interview with Cebu Daily News, revealed that he will soon be heading home to California where he will resume his studies and training.
“I feel like I would be better off going to school back home even though it’s not going to be free for me but at least I know I’m working for it rather than just having it handed to me over here just because I’m a basketball player,” said the 5-foot-9 guard who started for the Cobras in their title campaign last year before sitting out this past season. “I don’t want it to be that way. I’ll get the proper training that I believe I need for me to get better.”
Parker and fellow Filipino-American Juju Bautista will not be eligible to play next season because of academic trouble but the latter has expressed his willingness to return and make his way back to the team.
Parker, on the other hand, felt that his time will be well-spent if he was back home in Long Beach.
“I feel like I was more productive than I was at home than I am here, to be honest. The whole ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines’ went a little too overboard for me and I feel like this is the time to really buckle down and start making wiser decisions and the right ones to get where I want to be.”
Parker added that he will be back in the next couple of years to try his hand at the PBA D-League and take a step closer towards his aspirations of making it to the PBA.
Before leaving, Parker expressed his thanks to the SWU community and all who supported him during his brief stint here in Cebu.
“Trust me, I definitely had great times and memories here, too. I’m going to miss everyone here that helped and supported me here.”
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