World | Philippines
Rude player picks wrong person to bully
A former popular basketball player, notorious for his brushes with the law in the past for bad behaviour, picked a wrong person to bully on Tuesday after his intended victim, a woman reporter, turned out to be a karate gold medallist.
- By Gilbert Felongco, Correspondent
- Published: 01:01 August 23, 2007
Manila: A former popular basketball player, notorious for his brushes with the law in the past for bad behaviour, picked a wrong person to bully on Tuesday after his intended victim, a woman reporter, turned out to be a karate gold medallist.
Paul "Bong" Alvarez, who earned the title "Mr excitement" from Filipino sports fans during the height of his career as a basketball player, is now out on bail after he was detained in suburban Mandaluyong City after he was charged by reporter Gretchen Malalad with physical assault.
According to Malalad, the 1.83 metre tall Alvarez pulled her hair, elbowed her in the face and neck and punched her on the forehead after she interviewed a taxi driver whom the former local basketball star allegedly mauled earlier in the day.
The scene had been captured on video by an ABS-CBN camera man.
The beauteous Malalad, a contestant in the 2002 Binibining Pilipinas (Miss Philippines) and former national athlete who had won several gold medals in the Southeast Asian games in Karate, landed a blow squarely on Alvarez's face during the scuffle.
"Bong Alvarez is so rude. When he declined to be interviewed, we respected his decision. But when we were about to interview his victim he was trying to stop us. When he went out of the room, he elbowed me in the face. I was caught off guard," Malalad said.
Malalad, reportedly had been self-confessed fan of the former player before the incident. Alvarez, aside from facing a charge of physical assault filed by Malalad, had likewise been charged by the taxi driver, William Cabanlit of two counts of physical injuries.
The former sports star had also been accused by the Mandaluyong police with resisting arrest.
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