By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
During a press launch at Conrad Manila on September 10, 2019, the ASEAN Basketball League management unveiled their all-time top 10 players who played in their league.
In the list, three Filipinos with illustrious careers in the ABL were included, Leo Avenido, Jerick Cañada, and Bobby Ray Parks Jr.
Avenido, a former FEU Tamaraw and a former PBA player who rendered his services under the Columbian Dyip, had numerous stints in the ABL that includes the Brunei Barracudas, the Singapore Slingers, and the Saigon Heat, but in 2012 he was called up by the San Miguel Beermen where they won the championship and Avenido clinching the local MVP plum.
A former Adamson standout and a role player for the Blackwater Elite during the 2015-2016 season, Cañada went out and tested the waters in the ABL where he found most of his success, winning championships with Hi-Tech Bangkok City and the Indonesia Warriors as well as Finals MVP for the latter.
Lastly there is Ray Parks Jr, who is already making a name in the PBA these past two conferences. Ray Parks initially opted to play in the ABL where he cemented his legacy before entering pro in the Philippines.
Parks was a three-time Local MVP from 2017 to 2019 and had sweet success with the San Miguel Alab Pilipinas in 2018 together with head coach Jimmy Alapag and superstar import Renaldo Balkman.
