"Chino, get some ice," and the son bowed his head to his dad Recah Trinidad in obeisance.
The genuflection was shared by Recah's audience — the newbies in that coverage of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.
That small group was just Recah, Chino, Abante's Tito Deblois, and myself who was then writing for the old Daily Tribune under Ninez Cacho Olivarez, a contemporary of Recah's.
That night, however, we were Recah's guests in his Olympic Village home along with some TV crew. And Chino, was his son. Period.
Recah was the biggest figure present, the host who dunked a half-finished dried fish into an electric kettle, followed by what remained of a tomato from his lunch, and some "sinigang" mix brought from home.
Sipping hot soup from that single bowl passed around was a ritual among friends from different generations. We took ice from Chino's bucket improvised from a pail with our bare hands. There was no San Miguel Beer Pale Pilsen, just red wine that was abundant in that part of the world.
Recah's message was that we were equals. In fact, we were not.
We were not even close to what Chino, his son, had achieved at that point.
By then, Chino had served as the last commissioner of the Philippine Basketball League (PBL), the former Philippine Amateur Basketball League (PABL), which was the entry point for any cager hopeful of being noticed by teams in the professional Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
We were then in the thick of calls to have the unfit Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) replaced, but it was still six years before the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) was formed. It was in 2006 when industrialist Manny V. Pangilinan was elected as SBP's first president, bringing professionalism to the federation.
Chino was to spend decades more as a media person: with Vintage, GMA-7, DZRH, as well as in other events that proved his love of sports like Recah did in his prime.
He made a bid for the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) soon after President Marcos’ triumph in the 2022 presidential elections.
He did not get the appointment, but Chino went on to bring other sports event closer to the people.
Chino made a short stop in cockfighting before embarking on bigger projects like his planned billiards tournament and boxing competitions that are aimed at discovering more champions in the provinces.
He was finalizing the details of these events with the Philippine Super League (PSL) backer Davao Occidental Rep. Claude Bautista when Chino suffered a heart attack on the night of July 13, just 10 days before he was to turn 57.
There has been an outpouring of honors in the few short hours since the news of Chino's passing broke.
He was as a passionate sportsman, a dedicated member of the media, a loving family man, and a respectful son and friend.
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