Alvin Patrimonio

Alvin Dale Vergara Patrimonio (born November 17, 1966) is a Filipino retired professional basketball player from the Philippine Basketball Association and is the current team manager for the Magnolia Hotshots.

Patrimonio holds several PBA records including most consecutive games played (596); third most points scored in history (15,091); fourth most rebounds grabbed in history (more than 6,000) and second-most PBA Most Valuable Player awards (4, tied with Ramon Fernandez).

There, he pursued a degree in Civil Engineering and saw action for the Mapúa Cardinals in the NCAA playing as the team's center from 1983 to 1986.

He won the NCAA Most Valuable Player award back-to-back in 1985 and 1986 despite not leading the school to a championship.

Patrimonio first played for YCO Shine Masters in the Philippine Basketball League, now the PBA D-League). He moved to RFM-Swifts when the Elizalde ballclub disbanded after winning two championships in three conferences from 1986-87. Patrimonio had a two-conference stint with the Swift Hotdogs and won a title before joining the PBA in the middle of the 1988 season.

Patrimonio has seen action for the Philippine national team many times in his playing career.

Together with Allan Caidic, he shares the record of seeing action for the Asian Games four consecutive times in 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998.

In the 1986 Asian Games, he was part of the all-amateur Philippine national team that was coached by Joe Lipa.

The national team won the bronze medal after beating Jordan, 83-81.

It finished third behind China and South Korea.

Patrimonio entered the PBA in 1988 alongside the Rookie of the Year Jojo Lastimosa, many-time Mythical Team and Best Defensive Team member Jerry Codiñera and perennial Best Defensive Team member Glenn Capacio.

He was the subject of a controversy between Swift, his PABL team, and Purefoods, the team who drafted him.

Both happen to be corporate rivals.

There was a dispute between the two franchises which delayed his entry to the PBA.

This ruined his chances of winning the Rookie of the Year award.

He stands at 6'3" and primarily played at the power forward position in the professional league. He also played the center position in his collegiate and amateur days. His style of play was said to be comparable to Karl Malone, characterized by rugged physical play punctuated by finesse maneuvers. His known trademark was the spin move to the low post which he utilized to great effect due to his exceptional pivoting skills.

He also shares the distinction of having played the most Asian Games (4) with 1990 PBA MVP Allan Caidic.

He played his entire career with the Purefoods franchise and won five championships, mostly in the All-Filipino Conference championships with three.

In the 1990 Asian Games,he was part of an all-PBA Philippine national team that was coached by Robert Jaworski.

It was the first time that professional basketball players competed in the said event.

It won the silver medal.

It finished second after losing the Gold Medal Game to eventual champion China, 90-74.

In 1991, he signed a 5-year 25 million peso offer sheet from cellar-dwelling PBA ballclub Pepsi Hotshots which was matched by his mother ballclub Purefoods TJ Hotdogs.

Patrimonio's new contract ushered the era of the multi-millionaire players.

He justified this contract by winning the 1991, 1993 and 1994 Most Valuable Player awards of the PBA and leading the team to three conference championships.

He is also the second player after Bogs Adornado to win back-to-back MVP awards in 1993 and 1994, and also the second player to win three Best Player of the Conference award after Vergel Meneses.

In the 1994 Asian Games, he was part of the San Miguel Beer team that was sent to represent the Philippines compete in the Men's Basketball tournament.

The team was coached by Norman Black.

The national team lost the Bronze Medal Game to Japan, 79-76.

At the end of the contract, he managed to win his fourth Most Valuable Player award in the 1997 season, thus tying the all-time record.

Over time, his dominance in the post meant that he was accorded an automatic double or triple-team whenever he had possession in the low block.

This led to the gradual adjustment of his game as he advanced in his career, showing superior playmaking abilities from passing out of multiple defenders at the post.

He also was a part of the 1998 Philippine Centennial Team.

Patrimonio, looking for an opportunity to play basketball, transferred to the Intramuros-based Mapúa Institute of Technology.

In the 1998 Asian Games, he was part of an all-PBA Philippine national team also known as the Philippine Centennial Team.

The team was coached by Tim Cone.

It won the bronze medal after beating Kazakhstan, 73-68.

The same team also won the 1998 William Jones Cup after beating Chinese Taipei in the championship game, 82-72.

In 2000, he was part of the all-PBA All-Stars Select Team that represented the Philippines in the FIBA Asia All-Star Extravaganza.

The said team was coached by Tim Cone.