Emilio "Jun" Bernardino, Jr. (November 9, 1947 – March 24, 2007) was the fifth commissioner of the
Philippine Basketball Association
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...
(PBA). He was elected as commissioner of the league in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
and retired in
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
. He served as the commissioner of the
Shakey's V-League
The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) is a women's professional volleyball league in the Philippines organized by Sports Vision Management Group, Inc. The league began in 2004 as the Shakey's V-League, a women's collegiate league. Since 2011, th ...
and of the
2006-07 season of the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines)
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)Pronounced "N-C-A-A". is an athletics association of ten private colleges and universities in Metro Manila, Philippines. Established in 1924, it is the oldest collegiate athletic association ...
.
Early life
Bernardino was a member of the
Ateneo de Manila High School
, mottoeng = Light in the Lord
, type = Private, research, non-profit, coeducational basic and higher education institution
, established = December 10, 1859
, religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Jesuits)
, academic_af ...
Blue Eaglets basketball team and played for the
University of the Philippines, Diliman
, image = University of The Philippines seal.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = Official Logo of UP Diliman
, motto = Honor and Excellence
, established = February 12, 194 ...
Fighting Maroons
The UP Fighting Maroons are the collegiate varsity teams of the University of the Philippines, primarily off Diliman, which play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the premiere sports league in the country.
The Fig ...
during his collegiate days. Bernardino graduated with a degree in Sports Management at the
University of the Philippines
The University of the Philippines (UP; fil, Pamantasan ng Pilipinas Unibersidad ng Pilipinas) is a state university system in the Philippines. It is the country's national university, as mandated by Republic Act No. 9500 (UP Charter of 200 ...
.
Career
Early days
Bernardino rose through the ranks of the Philippine Basketball Association during the 1970s and 1980s. At first, he was with the coverage team of
Vintage Sports and later became the Executive Director of the league.
In 1994, he became the fifth commissioner of the PBA replacing Rey Marquez. Bernardino presided the league during the title reigns of the
Sunkist Orange Juicers,
Alaska Milkmen
The Alaska Aces were a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association since 1986 PBA season, 1986 under the ownership of Alaska Milk Corporation (AMC) and the owner of 14 PBA championships, tied with the Barangay Ginebr ...
and resurgence of the
Ginebra San Miguel
Ginebra San Miguel Inc. (GSMI, ) () (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.) is a Philippines-based diversified beverage company majority-owned by San Miguel Corporation (SMC).
History
La Tondeña was established in 1902 by Carlos Palanca, S ...
franchise from 1994 to 1998.
Fil-Ams and Fil-Sham controversy
However, with the rise of the newly formed
Metropolitan Basketball Association
The Metropolitan Basketball Association (MBA), or Metroball, was a professional basketball league in the Philippines that ran from March 7, 1998, to July 26, 2002.
History
The MBA played its first game on March 7, 1998, at the Don Narciso Ramos ...
in 1998, a regional-based professional league, Bernardino implemented a direct Filipino-American (Fil-Am) rule for each team for the 1999 season. This led to easy signing of players such as
Asi Taulava
Pauliasi Taulava (born March 2, 1973) is a Tongan-born Filipino professional basketball player for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is the oldest active player in the league.
Standing 6 ft 9 in (2. ...
,
Danny Seigle
Daniel Charles Seigle (born June 14, 1976) is a Filipino-American basketball coach and retired player. He is the head coach of the De La Salle Green Archers men's basketball team and a team consultant for the San Miguel Alab Pilipinas of the ASEA ...
and
Eric Menk
Eric Conrad Menk (born August 24, 1974) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the Asean Basketball League. Known as Major Pain, Menk is a four-time PBA champion ...
. But, this led to the league entering into controversies of alleged fake Filipino-American players. The PBA had strict rules in which only Filipinos were allowed to play as locals, other nationalities were allowed to play as "imports" and only on designated tournaments, with teams only recruiting one import on their roster.
In 2000, rules were implemented on not allowing alleged Fil-Shams (non-Filipinos posing as Filipinos) to play until their cases are resolved. Two incidents happened during the season. The first one surrounded on-court controversy, as Tanduay fielded an already questioned fil-am Earl Sonny Alvarado in Games Two and Three of the All-Filipino Cup semifinal series against the
Purefoods TJ Hotdogs
The Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, or simply known as the Magnolia Hotshots, are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team is owned by San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc., a subsidiary of San Migue ...
, despite the league's warning. Without Alvarado in Game 1, the Rhum Masters won and defeated Purefoods in Games 2 and 3 to sweep the series. However, with Alvarado found fake and was deported, Bernardino nullify Tanduay's two victories with Alvarado, resulting in a RTO order, later dropped, by team management.
Later that year, he suspended players indefinitely those who have not prove their Filipino citizenship that began in the 2000 Commissioners Cup. Those suspended were Danny Seigle, Chris Jackson, Rudy Hatfield and Menk, among others. However, Menk would suffer the worst as he spend more than a year to prove his case until the latter stages of the 2001 season.
Latter years
In Bernardino's latter years in the PBA, two expansion franchises,
Tanduay
Tanduay Distillers, Inc. () is a Philippine alcoholic beverage company. It is a subsidiary of LT Group, a conglomerate owned by Filipino business magnate Lucio Tan. As of 2019, it is the world's largest rum brand.
History
Tanduay traces its or ...
and
Red Bull
Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...
entered the league in 1999 and 2000, respectively, bringing the league number from eight to 10. The
San Miguel Beermen rose into power as the league's new dynasty, winning five titles in two seasons.
In 2001, Bernardino went through minor health problems and was forced to temporarily hand the reins to deputy commissioner Sonny Barrios to recuperate. In 2002, he announced that he was stepping aside as commissioner after the end of the season. His successor was Viva TV sports anchor and lawyer,
Noli Eala
Jose Emmanuel "Noli" M. Eala is a Filipino sports executive and disbarred lawyer who served as the 11th chairperson of the Philippine Sports Commission from August 30 to December 28, 2022. He previously served as the sixth commissioner of the P ...
.
After the PBA
In 2004, Bernardino, along with Ricky Palou and other former PBA executives, formed Sports Vision Management and was responsible for the formation of the school-themed
Shakey's V-League
The Premier Volleyball League (PVL) is a women's professional volleyball league in the Philippines organized by Sports Vision Management Group, Inc. The league began in 2004 as the Shakey's V-League, a women's collegiate league. Since 2011, th ...
that began in 2004.
In 2006, he was the commissioner of the
82nd NCAA season, the first time in four years he was commissioner of a basketball tournament.
He was also considered to be the executive director of the
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas
The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas () or the SBP is the national sport association for basketball in the Philippines, formed from the merging of the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) and Pilipinas Basketball (PB).
It was formed ...
.
Death
Jun Bernardino died at 1:30 a.m. on March 24, 2007, from a heart attack after organizing a surprise birthday celebration for Philippine basketball pioneer
Moying Martelino
Mauricio "Moying" Martelino (March 21, 1935 – September 22, 2021) was a Filipino sports executive who was involved in bowling, basketball, and volleyball. He was secretary general of the Asian Basketball Confederation from 1991 to 1998.
Backg ...
.
As a tribute to Bernardino, the league renamed the Perpetual Trophy, the award given to the champions of the
PBA Philippine Cup
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup is a tournament that does not allow teams to hire foreign players or imports. Before 2004–05 season, the tournament was then known as the PBA All-Filipino Cup. It is considered the mo ...
as the
Jun Bernardino Trophy
The Jun Bernardino Trophy is a trophy awarded to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that wins the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
Previously known as the "Perpetual Trophy", it was created in 2006 and renamed in March 2007 in honor of ...
. All 10 teams also worn a black patch in their uniforms during the
2007 PBA Fiesta Conference
The 2007 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Fiesta Conference or known as the 2007 Talk 'N Text PBA Fiesta Conference for sponsorship reasons, is the second conference of the 2006-07 season of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Te ...
as a tribute while commemorating the life and times of the late commissioner in a tribute during the
PBA Hall of Fame
The Philippine Basketball Association Hall of Fame is an institution that honors selected former players and personalities of the Philippine Basketball Association
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketbal ...
induction ceremony.
The Shakey's V-League also paid tribute to Bernardino during the opening rites of the tournament in May.
See also
*
Philippine Basketball Association
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...
References
External links
PBA Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernardino, Jun
1947 births
2007 deaths
Filipino men's basketball players
Philippine Basketball Association executives
Ateneo de Manila University alumni
UP Fighting Maroons basketball players