Sonny Alvarado

Earl Sonny Alvarado is a Puerto Rican former basketball player who played in the Philippine Basketball Association for the Tanduay Rhum Masters. He was known as "The Punisher".

Player profile

Alvarado played for multiple colleges in NCAA, and ended up at University of Texas at Austin. He played for Spain, Mexico, China, Japan, Taiwan, and Puerto Rico pro ballclubs.
Alvarado was drafted by Tanduay Rhum Masters as first overall. In his first year, he led the team to a Finals finish lost to Benjie Paras-led Formula Shell. In his time with Tanduay, he was a front-court tandem with Eric Menk.

Controversy

In the middle of the 2000 PBA All-Filipino Cup semifinals against [2000 2000 Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs season|Purefoods Tender Juicy Hotdogs season|Purefoods], Alvarado found without any evidence or document that he has a Filipino citizenship. He was deported by the Department of Justice Bureau of Immigration. The sweep of the team against Purefoods were later voided, and Purefoods eventually marched to the Finals.