Bismarck Lina was sidelined for nine months after going under the knife for an ACL injury he sustained while on national team duty with Gilas Pilipinas 3x3 at the Asian Games.
Even while in recovery, the 6-foot-5 bruiser made sure he'll be prepared when the big moment comes again, and it all starts with taking care of his body — his top asset.
"Non-stop therapy talaga ako. Inalagaan ko ‘yung katawan ko and discipline, lift weights, and recovery lang araw-araw. ‘Yun ‘yung naging buhay ko araw-araw," Lina said after his breakout game on Saturday against Arellano.
Only in his third game in his Season 100 debut, Lina backed up the talk.
Coming off the bench, he exploded for a career-high 20 points while also grabbing seven rebounds, one assist, and one steal against the Chiefs to help the Red Lions stretch their streak to four, claiming the solo second spot at 7-3.
He is hoping this is the start of a redemption tour that saw him grow from being a bench player in his two-year stint with University of the Philippines back in Season 84 and Season 85 to being selected by the national team in Asian Games 3x3.
"Siguro ilang taon na naghihintay kaya hindi ko sinayang ‘yung opportunity na makalaro ngayon. Every game binibigay ko lang ‘yung best ko para maka-payback ako sa mga tiwala na binibigay ng mga coaches," Lina added.
"Nu’ng nasa UP pa ako, hindi ako nagagamit doon kaya lagi akong nage-extra work ‘pag hindi ako nagagamit sa game. Nu’ng lumipat ako sa San Beda, binigyan ako ng opportunity na makalaro sa 3x3 then nakuha ko ‘yung confidence ko doon hanggang na-translate ko dito sa NCAA."
"Ayon patuloy pa rin akong nagle-learn ng skills and sa system."
And nothing makes seeing one of his big men oozing with confidence than head coach Yuri Escueta, who said they patiently waited for Lina to recover from the injury before fielding him in their title defense bid.
"Nagpaopera siya January so nine months namin hinintay ‘yung laro niyang ganito. Pero we know naman ‘yung capability of Bis," Escueta said.
"He’s highly recruited when he went to college and this kid is confident with ‘yung mga capabilities niya. We just gave him a platform to showcase what he can."
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
