Paul Beleno "Bong" Alvarez (born June 15, 1968) is a Filipino former 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 (appro ...

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 Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

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 The William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament (), also known as the William Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in sports, 1977 ...

in Taipei, the

SEA games The Southeast Asian Games, commonly known as 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 su ...

in Jakarta and ABC Championships in Bangkok. He also played for coach Derrick Pumaren 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 and Lady Knights are the collegiate varsity teams representing Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The high school varsity teams are called the ''Squires''. The college's varsity te ...

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. 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 forme ...

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 * Rey Marquez, Reynaldo G. Marquez (Commissioner) * Moro Lorenzo, Luis Lorenzo, Sr. (Chairman, representing Pepsi M ...

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. 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), also shortened as Metroball, was a professional basketball league in the Philippines that ran for five seasons from 1998 until 2002. The MBA was established to rival the Philippine Basketball Asso ...

before coming back to play in the PBA.

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

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Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

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1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

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1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

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1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

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1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

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1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

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Politics

In September 2024, Alvarez joined the Aksyon Demokratiko party as he would run for

councilor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regio ...

of third district of Manila in the 2025 elections. He was named part of the ticket of former

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Isko Moreno Francisco "Isko" Moreno Domagoso (; born October 24, 1974) is a Filipino politician, actor, host and entrepreneur who is the mayor-elect of Manila, the capital city of the Philippines, having been 2025 Manila local elections, elected in 202 ...

, who will seek a comeback as mayor.

Arrest

Alvarez was caught using drugs with two other individuals at a barber shop in Sikatuna Village,

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

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.

Filmography

References

External links

Paul Alvarez@pba-online.netAlvarez to play in Cebu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Paul 1968 births Living people Aksyon Demokratiko politicians Alaska Aces (PBA) draft picks Alaska Aces (PBA) players Barako Bull Energy players Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Basketball players from Manila Filipino men's basketball players Pasig-Rizal Pirates players Philippine Basketball Association All-Stars Philippines men's national basketball team players San Miguel Beermen players San Sebastian Stags basketball players Small forwards Shell Turbo Chargers players SocSarGen Marlins players Sta. Lucia Realtors players TNT Tropang 5G players United States Basketball League players