Mariano Yenko was the second 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 ...

. He served as the Assistant Executive Secretary under Executive Secretary Fred Ruiz Castro and Philippine President

Ramon Magsaysay Ramon del Fierro Magsaysay Sr. (August 31, 1907 – March 17, 1957) was a Filipino statesman who served as the seventh president of the Philippines, from December 30, 1953, until his death in an aircraft disaster on March 17, 1957. An automo ...

and as

Philippine Airlines Philippine Airlines (PAL), a trade name of PAL Holdings, Inc. ( PSEPAL (Philippine Air Lines until 1970), is the flag carrier airline of the Philippines. Headquartered at the PNB Financial Center in Pasay, the airline was founded in 1941 and ...

' Vice-President Corporate Secretary. The

Ateneo de Manila University , 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_aff ...

's Audio-Visual Room at the Moro Lorenzo Sports Complex was named after him. His son Ignatius Yenko served as PBA's Chairman and as

PLDT PLDT, Inc., formerly known as the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company ( fil, Kompanya ng Teleponong Pangmalayuan ng Pilipinas), is a Philippine telecommunications, internet and digital service holdings company. It is one of the country's ...

's First Vice President.

PBA Commissioner

Yenko became the second PBA commissioner in 1983 and under his term the PBA entered its second phase, the post-EDSA era after the disbandment of Crispa-Toyota. Yenko managed to turn around the league's fortunes by popularizing the Ginebra San Miguel team during his tenure. Revenue remained strong and the PBA welcomed new legends such as Allan Caidic to carry the new generation. He was succeeded as the Commissioner by Rodrigo Salud during the start of PBA's 1988 season.

Awards and honors

Yenko was posthumously inducted into the Philippine Basketball Association Hall of Fame in 2011.

References

Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown Philippine Basketball Association executives Magsaysay administration personnel Ateneo de Manila University alumni {{Philippines-basketball-bio-stub