WHAT IT TAKES TO BE Rich

He hit the headlines from the sidelines, and made local basketball history sitting on the bench. His not playing in his much-anticipated debut in the major leagues caused such a public uproar that his coach was accused of everything from not knowing what he was doing to insensitivity to Filipino culture, with one congressman about to label him an ugly American.

So what’s all the fuss about Rich Alvarez?

Rich Alvarez joined the Philippine Basketball Association (pba) as the season’s top draft pick–a bit of a surprise, to be sure, but that set the bar way up there for the 23-year-old forward. Helping his team–Fash Liquid Detergent–in a come-from-behind win in the most recent Philippine Basketball League (pbl) championship just two weeks before the pba season started only added to the great expectations.

Before that opening game his coach–a gruff Brooklyn native named John Moran–had told him to just relax. No one–not his family and friends, who watched eagerly from courtside; not his fans, who showed up in loud numbers to cheer him on; not the media, hungry to either heap praise or contempt; and certainly not Rich, who really wanted a taste of the hardcourt–thought that relax meant sitting on the bench.

But that was where he stayed–for the whole game. It was heart-breaking to see this eager young ballplayer on the sidelines, impatiently stretching his long legs, at times scratching his nearly shaved head, straining at the bit to get in on the action. Many felt Rich could have helped his team particularly in rebounds.

"You always think that if you were on the court, you could help the team," he said after the game, which his team, the Shell Turbochargers, lost by nine points. He wanted to play, the crowd screamed for him to play–but the coach said no: for all his talent, agility and determination, he was deemed not yet ready. With his "pure motion" system of play that he had been drilling the Shell squad on for over a month, Moran felt that the week’s worth of practice that Rich had put in after his pbl stint was not enough to warrant game time. Rich Alvarez thus became the first ever uninjured pba number one draft pick to make his debut from the bench.

Not the greatest distinction with which to start off a promising career–and certainly not the way he would have wanted to remember his first pro game–but Rich isn’t letting that unfortunate episode adversely affect his game. He has said repeatedly that, although disappointed and hurt at not having been able to play in such an important game and sad to have disappointed his fans (this incident served to show him just how many fans he had), he respects the coach’s decision.

A week later, in the team’s second outing, he finally saw action. He admits that he was "so nervous...I was afraid I’d make a stupid mistake..." But Rich didn’t disappoint: no mistakes, stupid or otherwise, in the 22 minutes that he played. "After the first shot," he reveals, "it was okay." His team lost, but Rich’s 12-point contribution eased the stigma of the first game. Afterwards, the shy six-foot-four player was seen quietly (someone said sulkingly) leaving the sports arena. In General Santos City last Wednesday, fans swarmed all over him; ready or not, star status has come upon Rich Alvarez.

Rich was born in Yokosuka, Japan and grew up on an American military base where his father Rudy–who had played college basketball in Manila with Far Eastern University and San Sebastian College–was stationed as a naval officer. After high school in Japan, Rich came to Manila, enrolled at the Ateneo University (inter-disciplinary studies) and became a mainstay in the Blue Eagle squad, earning two successive MVP (Most Valuable Player) awards from the UAAP and a championship trophy for the school.

Mid-way through college, Rich joined Cecilio Pedro’s Hapee squad and earned his first PBL championship ring. In the first half of last year he won his second team championship, plus the league’s MVP prize. During his third PBL stint, he went up for the PBA draft and, with the badge of being the top of the pick, combined with his Ateneo teammates to win the last two do-or-die games and give Pedro his third league crown.