Richard Alvarez (born October 30, 1980) is a Japanese-born Filipino professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Basilan Starhorse of the MPBL. He played his whole career in 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 ...

(PBA). He was the first overall pick of 2004 PBA draft by the

Shell Turbo Chargers The Shell Turbo Chargers were a Philippine Basketball Association team from 1985 to 2005. It won four PBA championships, two from 1998 to 1999. Shell sold its franchise to PBL team Welcoat Dragons, Welcoat Paints in February 2006. Aside from be ...

Early life and college career

Alvarez grew up in Yokosuka, Japan where he first played for the

Nile C. Kinnick High School Nile C. Kinnick High School is a U.S. military-operated school that originally opened in Yokohama, Japan in 1946 during the occupation after World War II. The school later moved to United States Fleet Activities Yokosuka, US Fleet Activities Yok ...

Basketball Varsity Squad. Shortly, after finishing high school, he flew to the Philippines and attended at Ateneo de Manila University where he became a pivotal part of the Blue Eagles basketball squad. At Ateneo, he was known for his tenacity and hustle plays. Thus, as a sophomore in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, he won the coveted UAAP MVP award, beating the likes of King Archer Mike Cortez, fellow Blue Eagle

Enrico Villanueva Jose Enrico Pascual Villanueva (born June 23, 1980) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Amateur career Villanueva first played for the ...

and UST's Cyrus Baguio. The following year in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, he won his second UAAP MVP plum. However, the team still failed to win the championship as the Green Archers established their dynasty in the collegiate ranks courtesy of winning their fourth-straight UAAP championship. Finally, in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, with a stellar supporting cast composed of

LA Tenorio Lewis Alfred Vasquez Tenorio (born July 9, 1984) is a Filipino professional basketball player and an assistant coach for the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is also the head coach of the Gilas You ...

, Larry Fonacier, Wesley Gonzales and Gec Chia, he anchored the Blue Eagles to win the title against the heavily favored Green Archers, their first title since 1988. While in the amateur ranks, he also played for several teams in the

Philippine Basketball League The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) was a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league was composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars. History The PBL was formed on M ...

, such as Hapee-Nenaco/FASH and Pioneer Insurance. He was also a member of the Philippine national team that competed in the 2003 SEA Games.

PBA career

Alvarez was drafted first overall by

in the 2004 PBA Draft, ahead of former college rival James Yap. He played his first PBA game on the team's second game after former coach John Moran benched him in the first game. He thought that Alvarez was not yet ready to play, but when

Leo Austria Leovino "Leo" Austria (born March 14, 1958) is a Filipino professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He previously coached the team from 2014 to ...

took over the team's coaching duties, his game status went up and won the Rookie of the Year honors at season's end. In his rookie season, he averaged 8.8 points and 6.4 rebounds in 72 games. As the Shell franchise was about to take a leave of absence from the league, he was traded to the Alaska Aces along with

Tony dela Cruz Anthony Bryan Davis dela Cruz (born August 24, 1978) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player and coach. He played majority of his career for the Alaska Aces of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), where he also serv ...

,No home for poor rich
hoo.ph where he struggled in his only appearance with the team during the 2005-06 PBA Fiesta Conference. Prior to the start of the 2006 PBA Philippine Cup, he was traded to the

Red Bull Barako Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondary ...

in exchange for two 1st round picks, reuniting him with some of his former teammates in college. In 2008, he was traded again, this time to Purefoods in exchange for Barako's 2011 first-round pick. The following year, he was involved into a blockbuster multi-player deal that sent him to the Ginebra Kings. In 2010, he was traded again, along with Doug Kramer, to Air21 in exchange for

Yancy de Ocampo Yancy Rozal de Ocampo (born November 11, 1980) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He is the elder brother of basketball player Ranidel de Ocampo. He is a 12-time Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketbal ...

. As his contract with Air21 expired, he signed with Talk 'N Text prior to start of the 2010–11 PBA season. Initially, he was only signed to a one-conference contract. However, with his valuable contributions off the bench, he stayed with the Tropang Texters until the

2012–13 PBA season The 2012–13 PBA season was the 38th season of the Philippine Basketball Association. The season formally opened on September 30, 2012, and finished October 25, 2013. This was the longest in PBA history with 13-month span. The season continued ...

. In his last year with the team, he only averaged career-low numbers of 0.4 point, 1.1 rebounds and 0.2 assist in just 20 games.

Kia

After his stint with Talk 'N Text, he found himself without a team for the entire 2013–14 season. However, when the news broke out that three franchises KIA, Blackwater, and NLEX were accepted as expansion teams in the PBA, he immediately joined the tryouts of Team Kia, and he's out to prove he can still compete. His competitiveness and renewed fervor rewarded him of a spot at

Kia Sorento The Kia Sorento () is a series of two-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive family SUVs manufactured by the South Korean manufacturer Kia since 2002 through four generations. Initially a compact SUV built on a body-on-frame chassis, the second-g ...

for the upcoming

2014–15 PBA season The 2014–15 PBA season was the 40th season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The season formally opened on October 19, 2014, and finished on July 17, 2015. The league continued to use the three-conference format, starting with t ...

PBA career statistics

Season-by-season averages

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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 Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

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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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Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

, 24 , , 15.2 , , .309 , , .300 , , .560 , , 3.4 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .2 , , 3.9 , - , align=left, , align=left,

, 55 , , 18.9 , , .498 , , .167 , , .585 , , 10.6 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .3 , , 5.5 , - , align=left, , align=left,

, 23 , , 23.0 , , .370 , , .250 , , .636 , , 3.4 , , 1.1 , , .7 , , .4 , , 6.6 , - , align=left rowspan=2, , align=left,

, rowspan=2, 35 , , rowspan=2, 17.9 , , rowspan=2, .352 , , rowspan=2, .267 , , rowspan=2, .630 , , rowspan=2, 4.1 , , rowspan=2, .7 , , rowspan=2, .4 , , rowspan=2, .3 , , rowspan=2, 3.2 , - , align=left, Purefoods , - , align=left rowspan=2, , align=left, Barangay Ginebra , rowspan=2, 38 , , rowspan=2, 14.6 , , rowspan=2, .330 , , rowspan=2, .000 , , rowspan=2, .704 , , rowspan=2, 3.0 , , rowspan=2, 1.0 , , rowspan=2, .4 , , rowspan=2, .2 , , rowspan=2, 2.8 , - , align=left, Air21 , - , align=left, , align=left, Talk 'N Text , 34 , , 6.7 , , .400 , , — , , .667 , , 1.8 , , .3 , , .3 , , .0 , , 1.2 , - , align=left, , align=left, Talk 'N Text , 22 , , 6.0 , , .375 , , — , , .455 , , 1.3 , , .2 , , .3 , , .1 , , .8 , - , align=left, , align=left, Talk 'N Text , 20 , , 4.2 , , .308 , , — , , .500 , , 1.1 , , .2 , , .1 , , .1 , , .5 , - , align=left, , align=left, Kia , 33 , , 13.2 , , .405 , , .400 , , .625 , , 2.9 , , .8 , , .6 , , .3 , , 2.6 , - , align=left, , align=left, Mahindra , 10 , , 8.5 , , .250 , , — , , 1.000 , , 1.7 , , .4 , , .3 , , .1 , , .8 , -class=sortbottom , align=center colspan=2 , Career , 387 , , 16.8 , , .404 , , .276 , , .588 , , 4.6 , , 1.1 , , .5 , , .2 , , 4.3

Personal life

Alvarez began dating R&B singer,

Kyla Kyla may refer to: *Kyla (given name) Kyla is a female given name. It is a derivative of the originally Irish and Scottish Gaels, Gaelic Kyle (given name), ''Kyle''. Kyla may refer to: Music * Kyla (Filipino singer), Filipino R&B singer Melani ...

(real name Melanie Calumpad) in 2005. After six years of dating, he proposed in January 2011. Their wedding took place on November 28, 2011. Their son, Toby Elsiah, was born on May 5, 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Rich 1980 births Living people 21st-century Filipino sportsmen Alaska Aces (PBA) players Ateneo Blue Eagles men's basketball players Barako Bull Energy players Barako Bull Energy Boosters players Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Basketball players from Kanagawa Prefecture Competitors at the 2003 SEA Games Expatriates in Japan Filipino men's basketball coaches Filipino men's basketball players Magnolia Hotshots players MPBL coaches Philippines men's national basketball team players Power forwards Rain or Shine Elasto Painters coaches Shell Turbo Chargers draft picks Shell Turbo Chargers players SEA Games gold medalists for the Philippines SEA Games medalists in basketball Sportspeople from Yokosuka, Kanagawa Terrafirma Dyip players TNT Tropang 5G players