THE great player that he is today, there was a time though, when no one seemed to take an interest in Paul Lee.
Despite coming off a celebrated high school career at San Sebastian where he won an NCAA junior championship in his first and only stint with the Staglets in Season 81, none among the country’s top universities and colleges came knocking on the door of the 6-foot guard from Tondo.
Although Lee didn’t make the juniors team until fourth year high school, he was still good enough to make the season’s Mythical Team as a rookie, joining San Beda’s Borgie Hermida, season MVP Allan Mangahas of Philippine Christian University, Jose Rizal University’s John Lopez, and Letran’s Darell Green, who walked away with the Rookie of the Year award.
The prospect looked bright for him back then that Staglets coach Raymond Valenzona told Lee to be ready as scouts and coaches are sure to come to him one by one once the season is over.
Alas, the calls didn’t come.
“After high school, wala talagang offer. Akala ko ganun na lang kadali yun lalo na nag-champion kami tapos nag-Mythical Five pa ako,” he recalled.
“Sabi sa akin ng coach namin, mga February or March may tatawag na sa iyo niyan mga offers from colleges,” the 31-year-old Magnolia guard added. “Pero walang nangyari.”

That Lee ended up playing for University of the East was actually more of an accident.
His former SSC teammate Raphy Reyes was the one being recruited by the Warriors under coach Dindo Pumaren during those times.
But Raphy’s father, former national team stalwart and PBA player Elmer Reyes, talked to UE management and asked the school to take a look at Lee as well.
“Tinawagan ako nung daddy ni Raphy kinukuha nga siya kasi ng UE. Sabi niya magpa-practice na siya (Raphy), pero sumabay ka lang. Kasi sinabihan niya yung UE, kung kukunin ninyo si Raphy, sama ninyo na si Paul,” said Lee as he tried to piece together the story that happened 14 years ago.
The Warriors relented and had Lee joining the team in practice.
Pumaren, one of the speedy point guards during his time in the PBA, may have seen something in Lee that he was taken by the Warriors shortly after the session.
“Siguro nakitaan tayo ng potential. So tinanong ako kung gusto ko sa UE. Sabi ko, ‘Yes po coach, kasi wala namang kumukuha sa akin na college.’ Alangan namang maging choosy pa tayo, di ba,” said the playmaker known as ‘Angas ng Tondo.’
He made sure too, that he got a full scholarship from the school.
“Yun kasi ang hinahabol ko para wala na akong babayaran sa school talaga. Ayun, naibigay naman nila sa akin,” said Lee.
And where was San Sebastian all along during that time?
Lee said he would have stayed with the Recto-based school especially with San Sebastian offering to elevate Valenzona as head coach of the seniors team.
“Halos lahat kami mag-i-stay dapat sa Baste kung si coach Raymond aakyat sa college,” he stressed.
Unfortunately, Valenzona chose to stay with the juniors team and continued his program that would win the school three more NCAA juniors championships later on.
Even then, Lee would have stayed on, but was already committed to play for UE.
“Sa akin, kung hindi naman ako tinawagan nung daddy ni Raphy, sa Baste talaga ako maglalaro ng college. Mag-stay talaga ako,” he said.
He had one concern, though, had he remained with Baste.
“Yun nga lang hindi ko alam kung full scholarship yung maibibigay nila sa akin,” said Lee.

UE obviously hit the jackpot with Lee coming on board.
Right in his first season with the Warriors, the team showed its potential after completing a rare 14-0 sweep of the UAAP season, earning it an outright berth in the Finals.
Unfortunately, things weren’t meant to be as UE was ambushed by De La Salle in a two-game sweep of the championship series.
Lee played three more years with the Warriors, who made it back to the Finals in 2009, but fell short again opposite a rampaging Ateneo side. That same year, he was named Most Improved Player in the UAAP and a year later, made it to the Mythical Team in his final stint with the team.
By then, too, Lee was already making a name for himself, blossoming into one of the most sought after players in the amateur ranks.
In 2011, he finally applied for the PBA draft and ended up the No. 2 pick overall by Rain or Shine, the only one out of the Top 5 selections who was not a member of the Smart Gilas team.
As they say, the rest was history.
“May gulat factor din,” he admitted about what he felt on being snubbed by top Metro Manila schools when he was coming out of high school. “Pero wala talaga, e.”
POSTSCRIPT: Lee started out as a table tennis player for San Sebastian and played in the NCAA. Not that he didn’t like playing basketball, which is his first love.
He was supposed to try out for the juniors’ basketball team during his first year, but backed out at the last minute.
“Pag-akyat ko sa gym, na-shock ako sa mga nakita kong players. Malalaki sila, makikita mo na athlete talaga na basketball player. Iba 'yung build ng katawan nila compared sa akin,” said Lee, a wide-eyed, 13-year-old boy back then.
Members of the Staglets team who Lee remembered seeing were Raymond Aguilar and June Dizon.
“Medyo nanghina yung loob ko. Sabi ko hindi ko pa time para mag-basketball. Kaya nag-try ako sa ibang sports muna,” he said.

By the time he was in third year, Lee was allowed to play basketball in intramurals competition, and was spotted by Valenzona.
It so happened Lee’s coach in the intramurals, Anthony Del Rio, was a classmate of him and a member of the San Sebastian juniors team.
“Tinanong siya (Del Rio) ni coach Raymond, ‘Sino yun?’ Nung sinabi niya na classmate ko, sinabihan siya ni coach na mag-try out daw ako,” Lee said.
“So doon nag-start.”
*Aside from Reyes, among Lee’s batchmates with the SSC Staglets during his lone playing year were Eric Salamat and a rising rookie by the name of Ryan Buenafe.
Salamat, who was Finals MVP when the Staglets won the championship, didn’t stay either with the school and went to Ateneo in college. A few years later, Buenafe followed suit and joined the Katipunan-based squad.
Salamat won three championships with the Blue Eagles, one of them against Lee and the Warriors in 2009. He applied for the draft in the same batch as Lee and was picked by Alaska in the second round (13th overall).
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