Is Bong misunderstood?

It was Mr. Excitement on the line and he didn’t seem too excited. Paul (Bong) Alvarez asked if we could meet, face to face, one on one. The way he sounded, what he wanted to talk about was extremely serious, a matter of life and death–almost.

So the other night, we met up at a Power Plant café in Rockwell, Makati.

Alvarez, 34, was early. We agreed to meet between 7:30 to 8 p.m. He was at the Oyster Bar before seven. When I got there, he was halfway through a generous dish of oysters.

After the predictable pleasantries, Alvarez fired away. He confessed that he sought me out to air his side on his predicament at FedEx. He wanted to make a clean breast of things.

Alvarez returned to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) this season and suited up for FedEx in the Samsung Governors Cup. His one-year contract stipulated a salary of P150,000 a month. He left the PBA after 10 seasons in 1998 to jump to the now defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA) where he saw action for three years.

According to Alvarez, it was tough to adjust to the salary after getting used to a monthly paycheck of P500,000. "Kung dati kumakain tayo ng steak gabi-gabi, ngayon twice a week na lang," said Alvarez. "Marami rin tayong binabayaran ng installment. Tatlo na ang anak namin ni Almira at malalaki ang kanilang mga tuition sa eskwela. Hindi magkasya yung sweldo ko. Bago dumating ang katapusan, ubos na tayo. Wala kasi akong savings. Ang pera ko, nilagay ko sa lupa, sa mga condo sa Greenhills at Baguio, sa negosyo. Kaya, nagpaalam ako kay (team manager) Mr. (Lito) Alvarez to take a leave of absence without pay for two months."

Alvarez explained he had to sort out his finances away from basketball. His timetable was to report back to duty in July. He said his FedEx boss agreed. In fact, he wasn’t even paid his salary for May. His leave was for June and July. Alvarez said he didn’t bother to ask for his back pay.

Within two months, Alvarez was back in the black. He sold one of his Greenhills condos for P2.5 Million and placed his money in a high-yielding instrument. He invested in a company specializing in forwarding balikbayan boxes door-to-door from the US, Hong Kong, Thailand and South Korea. Alvarez personally flew to several countries to set up the forwarding operations. He later brought in former PBA player Allan de los Reyes and broadcaster Anthony Suntay to work in the venture whose principal owners are Ben and Mac Carino of Isabela. Alvarez also organized Fastbreak Tires in Marikina to service the trucks that the forwarding company, Forex, deploys all over the country.

To promote Forex, Alvarez assembled a team to play in the Cebu league. His recruits, mostly MBA veterans, were paid P25,000 a month and P200 per practice. Alvarez got written permission from FedEx to play for the club. He only played once for Forex and it was only for about six minutes. Alvarez said he was the coach, manager and player all rolled into one.

With his finances straightened out, Alvarez asked FedEx coach Derick Pumaren if he could come back to play in late July. But Alvarez was told his services were no longer required.

Meanwhile, Alvarez was summoned by acting PBA commissioner Sonny Barrios to a meeting. Barrios threw the book at Alvarez for playing in another league despite his live FedEx contract. Alvarez, however, explained his situation and said FedEx allowed it. Barrios then called Alvarez and (Lito) Alvarez to a conference to resolve Mr. Excitement’s status and rule on the validity of his contract. It was agreed to nullify the contract.

According to Alvarez, he was ready to sign off his contract when Pumaren suggested a trade to Talk ‘N Text for Chris Nicdao last week. The deal is pending and Alvarez said he doesn’t know what’s in store for him. As far as he’s concerned, he’s raring to play.

Alvarez claimed he’s in tip-top shape. On a typical day, he spends 1 hours doing plyometric exercises and two hours hitting the weights at home then in the afternoon, he practices on the court for two hours. Alvarez boasted he can outlast any player in the PBA because nobody is in better condition.

Alvarez said he realizes his fate isn’t in his hands. "Okay lang, kung anong sabihin ng FedEx, gagawin ko," he continued. "Sa career ko, wala akong inagrabyadong tao. Wala akong pinatalsik na coach. Kung hindi kami nagkakasundo ng coach, ako ang umaalis. ‘Yan ang aking prinsipyo. Noong umalis ako sa Ginebra, ang aking contract had two more years but hindi ako humingi ng buyout, release papers lang. Itong nangyari sa akin sa FedEx, wala akong sinisisi. Si coach Derick ang ayaw sa akin, kaya wala akong magagawa. Nariyan na sina RenRen (Ritualo) at Vergel (Meneses). Still, tinupad ko ang aking commitment sa kanila–after two months, ready to play na ako."

Alvarez said he is often victimized by intrigue, gossip, and speculation. But whatever has happened in his career, he said his conscience is clear. "Wala akong tinatago," he insisted. "Sa loob ng court, 100 percent ang binibigay ko palagi."

Late last year, Alvarez disclosed that former national coach Ron Jacobs suggested trying out for the Philippine team to announce his return to form. He said Jacobs wanted to bring him to San Miguel Beer. "Mahilig ako sa deflection, sa steals–ayaw ‘yun ni coach Ron but sabi niya, okay daw kay coach Jong (Uichico)," related Alvarez. For four days, Alvarez attended the national team tryouts and impressed the coaching staff. That eventually led to a FedEx contract.

Alvarez said he’s not finished playing. With Danny Seigle out for at least six months, he volunteered to play for San Miguel Beer even for P50,000 a month up to the end of the year if he’s released by FedEx.

If he fails to hook up with a PBA club, Alvarez said he’ll just bow out quietly from the pros and retire. But as his businesses flourish and his bank accounts grow, Alvarez said he’ll be bored without basketball.

"Kaya ko pa maglaro," said Alvarez who averaged 11.9 points and a league-high 45.2 percent from triple range in the First Conference. "Wala pa rin tatalo sa akin sa takbuhan–kung mayroon lang team na kumuha sa akin."

Maybe, the Alvarez story is far from over.