INTRODUCTION

PEOPLE
Yano
Romeo Lee
Manny Villar
Nur Misuari
Benjie Paras
Dino Ignacio
Eraserheads
Jerry Barican
Obet Verzola
Jessica Zafra
Zider Lubiano
Myla Algarme
Gary Granada
Raymond Red
Mike Defensor
Jerome Bailen
Eric Altamirano
Amante Jimenez
Miriam Defensor
Malou Mangahas

ISSUES
ID
UAAP
STFAP
US Bases
Collegian
Frat Violence
SAMASA split
SR controversy
Sexual Harassment

During the PBA Annual Awards last December 3, Venancio "Benjie" Johnson Paras, Jr. emerged as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the second time in his 10-year career in professional basketball.

Paras' latest MVP award means a lot to the 6'5" Shell Velocity center who first rocked the league by becoming the first PBA player to win the MVP and the Rookie of the Year plums at the same time. Aside from this achievement, there is more to this 10-year veteran with a storied past than meets the eye.

Dunkin' Donato
Before former UP Coach Joe Lipa, Jr. was able to recruit Paras from San Beda College in 1986, the Maroons were being criticized as a "DONUT" team: good, but no center. UP had talented guards and even its frontliners could deliver. However, the Maroons never had a bull-strong center until Paras came.

An MVP of both the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Metro Manila Basketball League (MMBL), Paras was then being offered by many schools with lucrative packages such as the exclusive use of a car and other benefits.

The highly-touted Paras, however, chose UP not only because of the oft-repeated "higher quality of education" but also because of the built-in familiarity he would enjoy with the other Bedans, led by team captain Joey Mendoza, that had been acquired by UP.

Paras delighted the fans right from his very first game as a Maroon, helping UP fashion out its first season-opener victory in five years. He came up with 19 big points, 17 rebounds, and seven blocked shots in an 81-55 trashing of the Far Eastern University. Against the Tamaraws, Paras wowed the crowd with a shattering dunk, a feat no other rookie has ever done before.

The prized UP find had the basketball essentials in him - height, rebounding strength, and shooting touch. Eventually, the Maroons went on to win its first-ever basketball championship in UAAP history against the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors led by Jerry Codiñera.

Balancing Act
But basketball and academics sometimes do not blend. If there was something about "dribbling" that Paras had difficulty with, it was dribbling classes between practices. He usually skipped one for the other.

Although Shell had succeeded in luring UP's star player to its fold earlier than expected, Paras still made it a point to root for the Maroons during their game. Paras, who was then on his junior year at the UP Asian Institute of Tourism, was automatically disqualified from leading UP's quest for a second UAAP basketball title after being drafted in the PBA. Nevertheless, he showed that he was still part of the team in every way he could, even at trivial things such as sporting a maroon car in campus.

Movie Star
In an interview with the Collegian in 1989, the Formula Shell cager was asked what he would be doing then if he were not a basketball player at all. "Siguro artista na ako ngayon," he laughingly remarked. What started out as a joke became a reality when Regal Films signed him up in the mid '90s. He starred in comedy flicks such as Dunkin' Donato, Last Two Minutes, Bulag, Pipi, at Bingi, and Boogie and Greggy.

Paras' tryst with showbiz led him to marry sexy actress Jackie Forster. However, his brief stint in the movies almost cost him his basketball career as his game nose-dived. Last year, he was left out of the Centennial Team that saw action in the Asian Games.

Renaissance Man
While the rest of the PBA superstars battled overseas, Paras was busy leading the Zoom Masters to the Governors Cup title last year. He was also largely responsible for Shell's victory in the All-Filipino Conference and finals stint in the Commissioner's Cup this year.

The 31-year old also led the Veterans in the PBA All-Star game this year against the Rookies-Sophomores-and-Juniors (RSJ) team led by the three Fil-Ams who were aiming to duplicate his feat in 1989 - Tanduay Rhum's tremendous duo of Earl Sonny Alvarado and Eric Menk and San Miguel Beer's Danny Siegle - plus deported PBA players Robert Parker and Alvarado Segova. Paras was suddenly back to his once formidable self.

From then on, there was no stopping the Tower of Power - the pride of the UP Maroons.