Philippine sports lost a broadcasting powerhouse when Manolo “Chino” Trinidad passed away on Saturday. He was 56.
Trinidad was known not just for his no-holds barred reporting and spicy commentaries but also for his strong leadership, visions, and dogged determination to bring sports closer to every Filipino.
In fact, he was in a meeting with a Pilipinas Super League backer in Davao Occidental Rep. Claude Bautista when he suffered a massive heart attack that led to his demise barely 10 days before his 57th birthday.
Prior to that, he applied as chairman of the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) following the election of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos in 2022.
“My goal is to bring sports closer to the Filipinos and protect the welfare of our professional athletes,” Trinidad told DAILY TRIBUNE in a conversation back in 2022.
“I’m not promising anything at the moment. But just in case I get appointed as GAB chairman, we’ll see a lot of changes that will benefit our pro athletes, especially the boxers who are dying dirt poor despite putting their lives at stake.”
Fighting for sports isn’t new to Trinidad.
When he was serving as commissioner of the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) from 2000 to 2010, he spearheaded a group of basketball executives that raised a howl over the embarrassing loss of the national squad to the Parañaque Jets, a team composed of comedians and amateur journeymen, in 2005.
Together with the executives of the PBA, University Athletic Association of the Philippines and National Collegiate Athletic Association, Trinidad called for the creation of a new basketball body that will replace the inefficient Basketball Association of the Philippines.
Their call took off when the Philippine Olympic Committee and the International Basketball Federation threw their support, leading to the creation of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas with industrialist Manny Pangilinan as president.
Despite Trinidad’s active involvement in the formation of the SBP in 2006, he never asked for a juicy position and quietly shied away from the limelight to resume his role as PBL commissioner and return to his first love — broadcasting.
He became GMA Network’s chief sports correspondent and actively chronicled Manny Pacquiao’s rise from a skinny puncher into an eight-time world champion.
He spent 23 years with GMA Network before he resigned last year, prompting him to found Pilipinas HD, a free-to-air channel that broadcasts cultural programming.
Recently, he is working as sports analyst at DZME while still involved in various grassroots endeavors like the Sharks Billiards Association and the PSL with the hopes of discovering more boxing, billiards and basketball players from the provinces who can use sports as their tickets to a better life.
Days before his untimely demise, Trinidad was complaining about the humiliating performance of Gilas Youth in the FIBA U17 World Championship in Istanbul.
“Que horror,” he said following Gilas’ 62-point beating at the hands of Spain, a fitting final word from a passionate sportsman, a strong leader, a loving father and a very good friend who will fight for truth until the very end.