Rene "Bong" Hawkins Jr. (born November 6, 1967) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player of the
Philippine Basketball Association
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...
. He is the son of character actor Rene Hawkins, Sr.
PBA career
Presto & Sta.Lucia
A power forward with the good sense of timing inside the shaded area, Bong was drafted as the second overall pick in the
1991 PBA draft. The former Perpetual Help cager was chosen by Presto coach Jimmy Mariano when the Tivolis traded Manny Victorino to Pepsi. Hawkins twisted his knee during practice and was forced to sit out in the entire first conference. He finally debut in Tivoli Milk uniform in the All-Filipino Conference and asserted his might.
In 1993, he was absorbed by newcomer
Sta. Lucia Realtors
The Sta. Lucia Realtors were a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1993 to 2010. Prior to joining the PBA, it played in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) from 1987 to 1992.
In 2015, a new Sta. ...
, which took over the disbanded Presto franchise. Bong played one conference as a Realtor before being traded to
Alaska Milkmen
The Alaska Aces were a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association since 1986 PBA season, 1986 under the ownership of Alaska Milk Corporation (AMC) and the owner of 14 PBA championships, tied with the Barangay Ginebr ...
for
Paul Alvarez
Paul Beleno "Bong" Alvarez (born June 15, 1968) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player of the Philippine Basketball Association. Dubbed as "Mr. Excitement" because of his high-leaping, slam-dunking acts.
Basketball career
At the ...
beginning the
1993 PBA Commissioner's Cup.
Alaska Milkmen
In his first full season with Alaska in 1994, Hawkins led his team in both scoring and rebounding as he was the hands down choice for the league's Most Improved Player award. He became an integral part of Alaska's success starting the mid-1990s, alongside
Jojo Lastimosa
Isabelo "Jojo" Lastimosa Jr. (born March 10, 1964) is a Filipino former professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association for the Purefoods Hotdogs, the Alaska Aces and the Pop Cola Panthers from 1988 to 2002. He was als ...
,
Johnny Abarrientos
Johnny Abarrientos (born July 17, 1970) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association. He was also a many-time member of the Philippine National team, and was the 1996 PBA Most Valuable Player, bec ...
,
Poch Juinio
Edward "Poch" Juinio (born May 25, 1973) is a Filipino retired former professional basketball player of the Philippine Basketball Association. He played most of his seasons with Alaska Aces and won numerous championships.
Professional career
...
and import
Sean Chambers
Sean Chambers (born February 27, 1965) is a retired American professional basketball player, best known for being a resident import of the Alaska Aces (PBA), Alaska Aces basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association from 1989–2001.
...
.
In 1996, the Milkmen became the fourth team to win the PBA Grandslam and Hawkins was named to the
Mythical Five for the second straight season. The 'Hawk' won nine championships with Alaska until the 2000 PBA season.
FedEx Express Controversy
He moved to
Tanduay Rhum Masters
The Tanduay Rhum Makers (1975-1987) and Tanduay Rhum Masters (1999-2001) were two basketball franchises associated with the same liquor brand that played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
The original franchise, owned by Elizald ...
in the 2001 season in exchange for a draft pick. When the ballclub disbanded at the end of the year, he was among the players absorbed by its buyer, the
FedEx Express
FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2020, it is one of the world's largest airlines in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the name ...
. However, he and the management had a feud. He wanted to have the same terms of salary that he had with the Masters while the Express based their contract on written ones. As a result, he was released and left unsigned in 2003.
Coca-Cola Tigers
In 2003, he was signed by the
Coca-Cola Tigers
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...
where he was re-united with former teammates
Jeffrey Cariaso
Jeffrey Joaquin Cariaso is a Filipino-American coach and retired professional basketball player. He is the former head coach of the Converge FiberXers of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He also played for various PBA teams, mostly ...
,
Johnny Abarrientos
Johnny Abarrientos (born July 17, 1970) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association. He was also a many-time member of the Philippine National team, and was the 1996 PBA Most Valuable Player, bec ...
and
Poch Juinio
Edward "Poch" Juinio (born May 25, 1973) is a Filipino retired former professional basketball player of the Philippine Basketball Association. He played most of his seasons with Alaska Aces and won numerous championships.
Professional career
...
. He would go to win another championship with the then-San Miguel owned franchise and suited up for them until the early beginning of the
2004-05 PBA Philippine Cup.
Return to Alaska
Hawkins was signed as a free agent during the
2004-05 PBA Philippine Cup reuniting him with head coach Tim Cone. Jeffrey Cariaso, who was traded later to Alaska in the middle of the conference, also reunited with them. Despite showing signs of slowing down and playing with limited minutes, Hawkins still contributed his play-making skills with the young Alaska squad. He last played during the 3rd-Place game of the
2006 PBA Philippine Cup
6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number.
In mathematics
Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...
against
San Miguel.
Retirement and post-basketball career
After the
2005-06 PBA season, Hawkins retired and worked for Tim Cone as one of his assistant coaches. During the 25th anniversary of Alaska on September 27, 2010, his number 16 was retired along with Johnny's number 14. He was snubbed from the PBA's
40 Greatest Players list.
Hawkins was invited to be on the coaching staff for the
University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons Men's Basketball Team.
Hawkins also played in exhibition games after retiring, including one in Saudi in 2012, one against a selection of former NBA stars that same year, and one with former and current Alaska, Purefoods, and Ginebra players in 2015.
PBA career statistics
References
External links
Profileat pba-online.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Bong
1967 births
Living people
Alaska Aces (PBA) players
Filipino men's basketball players
Great Taste Coffee Makers players
Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars
Philippine Basketball Association players with retired numbers
Power forwards (basketball)
Powerade Tigers players
Small forwards
Basketball players from Manila
Sta. Lucia Realtors players
Tanduay Rhum Masters players
Perpetual Altas basketball players
Great Taste Coffee Makers draft picks