Bert Lina delivered

This writer had many insightful, eye-opening, and practical conversations with the late Bert Lina in the days of the Metropolitan Basketball Association and after. He was sincere, street-smart, and a visionary who helped many sports, not just basketball. He was easy to talk to, very fatherly, and shared his knowledge with all who needed it. We will miss him.

Lina started his entrepreneurial life very early, selling food in the street to help his family. He came to public prominence via FedEx, using his genius and logistics, not just to get us our packages in time, but also to help millions of Filipino who were cut off from the world during calamities. The same unmatched ability helped him promote basketball, cycling and other sports which he knew the masses needed to have something to aim for, to build their dreams on and escape the stresses of daily life.

In the MBA, Lina lent his leadership as its first chairman. Imagine the nightmarish challenges of moving hundreds of people and tons of equipment every week in the pre-Internet era. Yet, all of these got to where they needed to be, all the time. He ran a tight ship, and worked well not just with his fellow team owners, but also with ABS-CBN, which carried the games. Sir Bert was very hands-on with his own team, the Laguna Lakers, and loved not just being a part of the basketball community, but building better people within his team. When the NBA reportedly wrote him to stop using the “Lakers” moniker, he bluntly replied that Laguna has the most lakes in the Asia Pacific region, and asked how many lakes Los Angeles had. That was the end of that.

But most people don’t realize that sir Bert, having only daughters, treated all his players like sons. In the PBA, if he was unavailable to watch the games, he would always call the coaches afterward. He usually had only two questions. Of course, his first question was whether or not the team won. If they did, he would have no further questions. However, if they lost, his next question would be if everyone was able to play. And if they weren’t, he would be disappointed. It was a very democratic team, and it showed how much Lina understood what it meant and how much it would hurt to work for something and not reap the benefit.

“Imagine you’re the family or the girlfriend of this guy,” he said, “Then you go to the game, knowing how hard they worked, and he won’t get to play. Naturally, the player will feel bad.”

When you think about it, it does make sense. But it didn’t seem practical, not in the traditional sense of basketball. The same thing with his extraordinary idea to have a basketball league exclusively for players six feet and taller. Lina saw the future, and knew that the system of training young kids to play as big men at an early age was no longer viable. If that program had continued, who knows how Gilas Pilipinas would look today?

Bert Lina was a one-of-a-kind mix of on-the-ground intelligence and boardroom brilliance. He walked with kings and paupers, and to him, they were the same. He was the father figure Philippine basketball needed, and he changed the trajectory of so many lives. His impact on all our lives was profound and lasting. Thank you, sir Bert. You changed the notion of how sportsmen should be.