Paul Alvarez

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Belenoand the surname or paternal family name is Alvarez.

Paul Alvarez

Personal information
Born	(1968-06-15) June 15, 1968 (age 56) Manila, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino
Listed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Listed weight	170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High school	UM (Manila)
College	San Sebastian
PBA draft	1989: , 4th overall pick
Selected by the Alaska Milkmen
Playing career	1989–2005
Position	Small forward
Career history
1989–1992	Alaska Milkmen
1993	Sta. Lucia Realtors
1994–1995	Formula Shell
1995–1997	San Miguel Beermen
1998	Ginebra San Miguel
1999-2000	Pampanga Dragons
2000	Pasig-Rizal Pirates
2001	Socsargen Marlins
2002	FedEx Express
2002–2003	Talk 'N Text Phone Pals
2004–2005	Red Bull Barako
Career highlights and awards
PBA champion (1991 Third Conference) 2x PBA Comeback Player of the Year (1993, 1997) 2x PBA Mr. Quality Minutes (1997) 4x PBA All-Star (1989-1990, 1992, 1996) PBA Mythical 1st Team (1990) PBA Mythical 2nd Team (1989)

Paul Beleno "Bong" Alvarez (born June 15, 1968) is a Filipino former professional basketball player of the Philippine Basketball Association and politician. 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 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 in Taipei, the SEA games in Jakarta and ABC Championships in Bangkok. ^[1] He also played for coach Derrick Pumaren and the Magnolia quintet in the Philippine Amateur Basketball League (PABL). ^[2]

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. ^[3] The win erased the stigma of a bitter finals loss to Letran Knights 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 and Nelson Asaytono. 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. He poured in 71 points in Alaska's 169-138 victory over Formula Shell on April 26, 1990. ^[4] 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. ^[5] 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 in the finals against Ginebra San Miguel, Alvarez and the Milkmen won their first-ever PBA championship. ^[6]

A contract dispute with Alaska at the start of the 1993 PBA season 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. 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 and then moved to San Miguel Beer in a trade with Victor Pablo in less than two years. ^{[7] [8]} After his one-year stint with Ginebra in 1998, Alvarez went on to play for a short stint in the Metropolitan Basketball Association before coming back to play in the PBA.

PBA career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Season-by-season averages

Year	Team	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1989	Alaska	59	31.69	.533	.217	.775	8.1	2.8	0.9	0.8	23.0
1990	Alaska	55	41.7	.547	.176	.743	5.7	2.4	1.0	1.1	23.4
1991	Alaska	14	27.6	.482	.286	.695	4.2	1.1	1.1	0.2	14.5
1992	Alaska	30	42.2	.509	.188	.699	5.8	4.4	1.5	1.0	21.3
1993	Sta Lucia	19	40.0	.538	.333	.674	7.8	4.8	1.2	0.8	20.4
1994	Shell	23	36.1	.549	.167	.650	6.3	3.9	1.4	0.5	16.8
1995	Shell	32	34.2	.545	.353	.781	4.6	5.4	1.3	0.6	15.8
1995	San Miguel	17	24.2	.563	.000	.565	3.3	5.7	0.8	0.8	11.5
1996	San Miguel	43	27.3	.553	.333	.716	4.0	3.7	1.1	0.7	14.8
Career		652	31.0	.468	.203	.676	6.4	2.4	0.6	0.7	11.6

Politics

In September 2024, Alvarez joined the Aksyon Demokratiko party as he would run for councilor of third district of Manila in the 2025 elections. He was named part of the ticket of former Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, who will seek a comeback as mayor. ^[9]

Arrest

Alvarez was caught using drugs with two other individuals at a barber shop in Sikatuna Village, Quezon City 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. ^[10]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Note(s)	Ref(s).
1989	Last Two Minutes
1994	Mars Ravelo's Darna! Ang Pagbabalik	Magnum
	Megamol	Brando A. Cortez

References

1. "Patrimonio on the carpet". Manila Standard.
2. "Uneasy win by Magnolia". Manila Standard.
3. "SSC sweeps NCAA for title". Manila Standard.
4. "PBA great Alvarez hoping to get back to basketball". Spin.ph.
5. "Rubbermatch - Purefoods could do it today". Manila Standard.
6. "Gins, Airmen start best-of-5 title showdown". Manila Standard.
7. "SLR setting a new trend?". Manila Standard.
8. "'Must-win' outings for Shell, SLR". Manila Standard.
9. Gasgonia, Dennis (September 8, 2024). "Mocha Uson, Paul Alvarez join Isko Moreno's Aksyon Demokratiko". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved September 9, 2024.
10. Enano, Jhesset O. (June 5, 2017). "Controversial ex-cager nabbed for drugs". INQUIRER.net. Retrieved September 16, 2020.

External links

• Paul [e-mail]
• Alvarez to play in Cebu