Paul Beleno "Bong" Alvarez (born June 15, 1968) is a Filipino retired professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

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 ...

. Dubbed as "Mr. Excitement" because of his high-leaping, slam-dunking acts.

Basketball career

At the young age of 17, Paul graduated from the

University of Manila , mottoeng = ''Country Science and Virtue'' , type = Private Non-sectarian Research Coeducational Basic and Higher education institution , established = , founders = , academic_affili ...

High School, where he was considered a star of the UM Hawklets. His playing style was noticed by San Sebastian coach Francis Rodriguez, who took him to the San Sebastian Varsity team in 1985. As a rookie, Alvarez helped the Recto-based team win their second championship in the NCAA. In 1987, Paul was one of the college players chosen to represent the Philippine National team to the ABC Youth championships held in Manila. He then became a member of the RP Basketball team to the

William Jones Cup The R. William Jones Cup (), also known as the Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in Taiwan. It was named in honor of basketball promoter ...

in Taipei, the

SEA games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

in Jakarta and ABC Championships in Bangkok. He also played for coach

Derrick Pumaren Frederick "Derrick" S. Pumaren, better known on his nickname Manong Derrick, is a Filipino basketball coach who is currently the coach of the De La Salle Green Archers in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). He coached se ...

and the Magnolia quintet in the Philippine Amateur Basketball League (PABL). In his final year with San Sebastian College in 1988, Alvarez, along with league MVP Eugene Quilban, led the Stags to sweep the elimination round and then clinch the school's third NCAA title. The win erased the stigma of a bitter finals loss to

Letran Knights The Letran Knights are the collegiate varsity teams representing Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The collegiate women's varsity teams are called the ''Lady Knights'', while the high school varsity t ...

the previous season.

PBA career

Paul Alvarez turned pro in 1989 and was drafted third overall by Alaska Milk, behind fellow national teammates

Benjie Paras Venancio Johnson Paras Jr. (born October 2, 1968), better known as Benjie Paras, is a Filipino actor, comedian, and a retired professional basketball player who played for Shell Turbo Chargers and San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketb ...

and

Nelson Asaytono Nelson Asaytono (born January 25, 1967) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player who played for Purefoods, Swift/Sunkist/Pop Cola, San Miguel Beer, and Red Bull in the PBA during his 17-year career. Collegiate / Amateur career Asa ...

. He made an impact from his very first game delighting the crowd with his high-flying antics. Soon after, fans and TV announcers started calling him "Mr.Excitement", a moniker that stuck with him throughout his career. In his sophomore year, Alvarez shattered the record for most points by an individual in a single-game held by

Allan Caidic Allan Vito Flores Caidic (born June 15, 1963) is a Filipino former professional basketball player in the Philippine Basketball Association. He is considered by many to be the greatest shooter the country has ever produced, thus, earning the mon ...

. He poured in 71 points in Alaska's 169-138 victory over Formula Shell on April 26, 1990. That same year, he made it to the Mythical five selection for the first time but injured his Achilles heel in Game 3 of the 1990 PBA Third Conference Finals against Purefoods. He was out of commission for two full conferences to recuperate from the Achilles heel injury but made a successful comeback in the third conference. Helping to limit the point production of Best Import Awardee

Wes Matthews Wesley Joel Matthews Sr. (born August 24, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is the father of current ...

in the finals against Ginebra San Miguel, Alvarez and the Milkmen won their first-ever PBA championship. A contract dispute with Alaska at the start of the

1993 PBA season The 1993 PBA season was the 19th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Board of governors Executive committee * Reynaldo G. Marquez (Commissioner) * Luis Lorenzo, Sr. (Chairman, representing Pepsi Mega Hotshots) * Wilfred Stev ...

led to Alvarez boarding a plane to the United States. When he returned to the country, Alaska traded him to Sta.Lucia for

Bong Hawkins Rene "Bong" Hawkins Jr. (born November 6, 1967) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player of the Philippine Basketball Association. He is the son of character actor Rene Hawkins, Sr. PBA career Presto & Sta.Lucia A power forward wit ...

. He was back in harness quickly becoming one of the main men of the Realtors and was named comeback player of the year by the PBA Press Corps. His playing career become somewhat of a journeyman from there, being traded to Shell for Romeo Dela Rosa at the start of the

1994 PBA season The 1994 PBA season was the 20th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Season highlights *PBA Commissioner Rey Marquez steps down and Deputy Commissioner Jun Bernardino succeeded Marquez as the new PBA Commissioner. *The PBA has ...

and then moved to San Miguel Beer in a trade with Victor Pablo in less than two years. After his one-year stint with Ginebra in 1998, Alvarez went on to play for a short stint in the

Metropolitan Basketball Association The Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), or Metroball, was a professional basketball league in the Philippines that ran from March 7, 1998, to July 26, 2002. History The MBA played its first game on March 7, 1998, at the Don Narciso Ramos ...

before coming back to play in the PBA.

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

, - , align="left" , 1989 , align="left" ,

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

, 59 , , 31.69 , , .533 , , .217 , , .775 , , 8.1 , , 2.8 , , 0.9 , , 0.8 , , 23.0 , - , align="left" ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

, align="left" ,

, 55 , , 41.7 , , .547 , , .176, , .743 , , 5.7 , , 2.4 , , 1.0 , , 1.1 , , 23.4 , - , align="left" ,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, align="left" ,

, 14 , , 27.6 , , .482 , , .286 , , .695 , , 4.2 , , 1.1 , , 1.1 , , 0.2 , , 14.5 , - , align="left" ,

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, align="left" ,

, 30 , , 42.2 , , .509 , , .188 , , .699 , , 5.8 , , 4.4 , , 1.5 , , 1.0 , , 21.3 , - , align="left" ,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, align="left" , Sta Lucia , 19 , , 40.0 , , .538 , , .333 , , .674 , , 7.8 , , 4.8 , , 1.2 , , 0.8 , , 20.4 , - , align="left" ,

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, align="left" ,

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

, 23 , , 36.1 , , .549 , , .167 , , .650 , , 6.3 , , 3.9 , , 1.4 , , 0.5 , , 16.8 , - , align="left" ,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

, align="left" ,

, 32 , , 34.2 , , .545 , , .353 , , .781 , , 4.6 , , 5.4 , , 1.3 , , 0.6 , , 15.8 , - , align="left" ,

, align="left" , San Miguel , 17 , , 24.2 , , .563 , , .000 , , .565 , , 3.3 , , 5.7 , , 0.8 , , 0.8 , , 11.5 , - , align="left" ,

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, align="left" , San Miguel , 43 , , 27.3 , , .553 , , .333 , , .716 , , 4.0 , , 3.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.7 , , 14.8 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , , 652 , , 31.0 , , .468 , , .203 , , .676 , , 6.4 , , 2.4 , , 0.6 , , 0.7 , , 11.6

Arrest

Alvarez was caught using drugs with two other individuals at a barber shop in Sikatuna village on June 3, 2017. Initially, policemen went to the barber shop to serve an arrest warrant on Alvarez for a case of slight physical injury.

References

External links

Paul Alvarez@pba-online.netAlvarez to play in Cebu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Paul 1968 births Living people Alaska Aces (PBA) players Barako Bull Energy players Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players San Sebastian Stags basketball players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players San Miguel Beermen players Small forwards Shell Turbo Chargers players Basketball players from Manila Sta. Lucia Realtors players TNT Tropang Giga players United States Basketball League players Alaska Aces (PBA) draft picks