What’s next for Jun Bernardino?

There’s a glow in former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner Emilio (Jun) Bernardino, Jr.’s face when he talks about his plans for the new year. It’s almost as if a big thorn in his back was removed. The relief is evident.

Bernardino, 55, has retired as the PBA’s longest-serving commissioner. His successor, lawyer Noli Eala, took over yesterday.

In April 2001, Bernardino suffered a mild heart attack in Baguio and was airlifted to Manila in critical condition. He took a 4 -month leave of absence from the PBA to undergo chelation therapy under Dr. Art Estuita. Last July, Bernardino decided to retire at the end of the season for health reasons and said he leaves the post "with a heavy heart."

While he has passed the torch, Bernardino isn’t turning his back on the PBA. He’ll still be available for consultation just like the previous commissioners who make up a so-called Council of Elders. And he’ll regularly show up for games–not as a league official but as a fan–just like founding Commissioner Leo Prieto who makes it a point to watch in the arena as often as possible.

What will keep Bernardino busy?

For one, he’ll try his hand at farming. Bernardino recently bought a farming property at Leisure Farms in Lemery, Batangas. He plans to put up a rest house on the property and make it a getaway from the dizzying pace of Metro Manila.

For another, he’s thinking of organizing a consulting company in events management with former Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) secretary-general Mauricio (Moying) Martelino, his good friend. Nothing is certain about it but Bernardino says he’d like to confer with Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) president Tiny Literal and secretary-general Graham Lim on how they could connect.

This April, Bernardino says he’ll visit the US where his daughter Stephanie, 27, lives. "But I won’t be gone a long time," he notes. "It’ll be only for a few weeks, maybe. I’ll be in the country much of the year." Bernardino and his wife Mimi reside in Manila with their children Nolan, Vera, and Kristine.

As for Eala, he, too, has a lot of big plans for the year. He’s looking forward to relaunching the PBA as the country’s No. 1 sports and entertainment vehicle.

This season, Eala is thinking of modifying the traditional three-conference format. The All-Filipino Cup will get the show on the road, as usual. Then, he plans a foreign-flavored invitational tournament either before the Reinforced Conference or after. The timing will depend on the availability of the foreign teams to be invited. Eala says the options include teams from Japan, South Korea, China, Australia, and possibly, Europe. Italy, for instance, has expressed interest in playing here.

Eala’s idea is to shorten the season not just to allow the players more rest but also to make the fans crave for the games. As they say, too much of a good thing could be bad.

Another idea is to thoroughly professionalize the referees’ ranks. "I want to make it a career for referees, a full-time profession," Eala explains. A source says the highest-paid PBA referee earns about P70,000 a month, including allowances for game assignments. Eala intends to study the referees’ salary scales and propose an incentive system to bring out the best from the officials. Housing is an area that he’ll look into.

"As much as possible, I’d like to relieve the referees of distractions which may affect their work during a game," says Eala. "If we could provide a housing option, that would be one less distraction."

Eala is thinking of setting up an academy for referees to lay the groundwork for future development and is considering to invite former players to apply for the job. He says he recently spoke to a Purefoods veteran, whose contract has expired, about becoming a referee. In the National Basketball Association (NBA), there are two former players in the referees’ roster–Leon Wood, who once played for Purefoods as an import, and Bernie Fryer.

Bernardino says one of the first things he’ll do this year is to write David Stern to inform him of his retirement and to introduce Eala who also plans to communicate with the NBA commissioner as he hopes to learn valuable lessons in marketing and organization from his American companero.