Happy Birthday, Rene "Bong" Hawkins, Jr.! ( Nov 6 )

Happy Birthday, Rene "Bong" Hawkins, Jr.

"The Hawk"
1991 PBA Rookie Draft second overall pick
Perpetual Help Atlas center
8x PBA champion
1996 PBA Grandslam champion
1994 PBA Most Improved Player
1994 PBA All-Defensive Team member
2x PBA Mythical First Team member
2x PBA Mythical Second Team member
1996 PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals MVP
2010 PBA Fiesta Cup champion assistant coach
14-season PBA veteran
5-PBA team player

Source : Assorted Magazines (PBA Archives Collections)

Life is full of ups and downs, and Rene "Bong" Hawkins, Crispa 400's finesse-playing power forward, has had his share of roller-coaster rides. The main cog in University of Santo Tomas's bid to win the UAAP high school basketball championship more than five years ago, Hawkins suffered a painful hamstring injury that slowed him down. Ateneo, which had to win twice over the Golden Nuggets, completed the task to bag the title that year. The injury, and some personal problems forced Hawkins out of Santo Tomas following his high school years, and for some time nobody heard of the lean and tall shooter with the deliberate moves and the cool, unflashy style. Then, Hawkins emerged in the NCAA scene donning the uniform of Perpetual Help College of Rizal, and slowly people started remembering. A few inches taller and bigger around the chest, the 22-year- old ex-Nugget, had developed some sort of inside presence and now played the center position. Occasionally, though, he would pop in a jumper from 15 feet, but clearly, he had developed an effective post-up game and had opponents up in the air with one head fake. Finally, as if to stand as the ultimate proof that he had come back, Hawkins was signed up by the Redmanizers of Danny Floro where he has become a vital factor in Crispa's championship bid in the PBL  Challenge Cup. "Actually, I didn't stop playing basketball," Hawkins, whose father is an American, said. "I played for PHCR although I wasn't able to play in the PBL. Maybe that's the reason why people think I had stopped playing. But now I'm here and I hope to, well, make a name for myself in basketball." During Crispa's second round semifinal game with Sarsi where Hawkins was beginning to make a name for himself, several sportswriters watching the match and the Redmanizers' 6-3 forward, deliberated on the exact word to describe Hawkins' No. 1 asset.