QUIETLY, the NCAA brought in a new man at the helm of the men’s basketball tournament by appointing unassuming Joel Ngo as Season 100 commissioner.
Ngo took over the job from Ogie Bernarte without fanfare after the latter fell ill near the tail end of the first round.
A former PBA referee like Bernarte, Ngo was named caretaker of the league, which holds its best of-three finals starting Sunday between top seeds Mapua and College of St. Benilde at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“He’s actually a junior to Comm. (Ogie) in the PBA,” said NCAA Management Committee Chairman Herc Callanta of host school Lyceum.
“He (Ngo) has also served as commissioner and technical head to several minor leagues like the UBL (United Basketball League),” added Callanta, who also once served as strength and conditioning coach of the Formula Shell franchise in the PBA.
Ngo was a PBA referee during the time of former commissioners Noli Eala and Renauld Barrios before leaving the league when Atty. Chito Salud took over. He also served as crew chief under former technical committee head Perry Martinez.
Ngo began calling the shots for the NCAA beginning the second round of the eliminations.
Callanta said as Bernarte fell ill, so did his mother.
“He was not able to attend fully to his duties, although he was present during games. (But) it was the off-game matters that needed attention that suffered,” said the ManCom chairman.
But the NCAA management still gave him spare time to recover, allowing Bernarte to take a two-week leave of absence for health reasons.
Bernarte’s condition – together with his mother – improved later on, but by that time, NCAA officials felt the league would be going through another adjustment period should there be another transition in leadership.
“However, it was decided not to bring him back anymore since the tournament has already progressed and is nearing the end already,” said Callanta.
Bernarte however, was retained as ManCom consultant, Callanta added.
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