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PBA: Bringing the league to the people

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
JANUARY 2019 will mark the first year of Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner Willie Marcial at the helm in an official capacity of Asia’s first play-for-pay league and he is looking forward to steering the PBA further and building on their gains in Year One.
Speaking to PBA reporters recently, the ever-amiable PBA commissioner said his first year in the job was a good one albeit admitted it could have been better, especially on the aspect of bringing the league to the people and enticing them to go out and watch the games live, which is one of the key thrusts of his leadership.
Mr. Marcial said they have laid down several programs geared towards that direction and crafting some more moving forward to keep the league vibrant and for fans to experience the PBA in the venues.
“It has been a good year I would say. All the finals were great but we still want to involve the fans some more especially in the venues,” said Mr. Marcial.
“Online, livestreaming and TV we have no problems. But venue attendance is proving to be challenging which is why for next year that is one thing we are looking at to improve on, to give fans a different experience when they are in the venues,” he added.
In his first year, the league saw the San Miguel Beermen and Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok battle in the Philippine Cup championship which the former won in five games.
San Miguel then met the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in the finals of the midseason tournament Commissioner’s Cup but lost out in six games.
Magnolia then was able to redeem itself when it recently copped the season-ending PBA Governors’ Cup with a six-game conquest of the Alaska Aces.
Mr. Marcial went on to say that apart from promotional programs for the league they are working on with new marketing partner Excite, they, too, would continue with their corporate social responsibility programs and give back to communities.
As to him being comfortable with the commissioner’s job, Mr. Marcial, who is the league’s long-time media bureau chief, said it was not much of a transition as he has been part of the PBA for some time now and had been doing some of the things he is tasked to do before.
“I have been doing these things for a while now and the only difference this time around is I have a commissioner’s label now. It’s the same. Nothing has changed to how I deal with people in the league and our partners and to media,” Mr. Marcial said.
Mr. Marcial was officially handed the PBA commissioner’s job in January this year, replacing the embattled Chito Narvasa, who was asked by majority of the league board to resign late in 2017 for “loss of confidence.”
Mr. Marcial was installed as officer-in-charge in the aftermath before being named as the league’s 10th commissioner, following Lito Prieto, Mariano Yenko, Rudy Salud, Rey Marquez, Jun Bernardino, Noli Eala, Sonny Barrio, Chito Salud and Mr. Narvasa.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that the annual league awards, the Leo Awards, for PBA Season 43 will be held on Jan. 13, 2019 in time for the opening of Season 44 at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
Due to the restructured league calendar this year to help the Philippine men’s national basketball team in its preparations, the handing out of the top league individual awards had to be pushed back.
Battling for the PBA most valuable player award are June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel, Stanley Pringle of Northport and Japeth Aguilar of Barangay Ginebra.
Jason Perkins of Phoenix and Jeron Teng of Alaska, meanwhile, are among those vying for the top rookie award.

Dota2, Tekken 7 among featured games at SEAG

PREPARATIONS for Esports in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) here in the Philippines got further legs as organizers last week named five of the six to be featured games in the event which will be making its Games debut.
One of the additional sports included in biennial regional meet, happening from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11, Esports tournaments in the SEA Games have been divided into three categories, namely, PC, smart phones and gaming consoles.
The Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (PHISGOC) and its Esports partner RazerTM announced that the games to be played are Dota2 and StarCraft II on PC, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Arena of Valor on smart phones, and on gaming consoles it is Tekken 7.
Organizers said the sixth and final console game is still undergoing evaluation and will be shortlisted in the coming weeks.
They went on to say that the final medal count will include two medal events for PC games, two medal events for mobile games, and two medal events for console games. The games are gender-inclusive and will be open to teams of both men and women to participate.
“In the three weeks since we announced Esports as a medal event at SEA Games 2019, we’ve seen a phenomenal level of interest from all segments of the industry, most of all game publishers. The shortlisting of six games in such a short time is evidence that the notion of Esports as a legitimate sporting event is no longer a fad. We look forward to having more partners come on board and join us in defining a new generation of sporting heroes for the youth and millennials,” Razer co-founder and CEO Min-Liang Tan said.
Local sports officials also welcome the addition of Esports as a sporting event in the Games.
“SEA Games is about sports and competition but still we cannot forget about its goal of unity and inclusion. Gamers are part of this community,” PHISGOC Chairman Emeritus Alan Peter Cayetano said.
For his part, Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Butch Ramirez also hailed new sports in the Games like Esports and vowed to “support it and ensure its success.”
Esports is among the recently approved additional sports for the SEA Games 2019 along with lawn balls, kickboxing, floorball, table tennis, surfing, traditional boat race, obstacle sport, ice skating and rugby 7’s.
Also added are indoor hockey, ice hockey, modern pentathlon, pencak silat, pentaque, rowing, sambo, skateboarding, underwater hockey, vovinam and soft tennis.
ESports is set to be played in a still-to-be-determined place here in Metro Manila. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

LeBron apologizes for IG post, won’t be punished

LOS ANGELES LAKERS forward LeBron James apologized on Monday for an Instagram post on Saturday that referenced “Jewish money,” and he won’t be punished for the post, according to an ESPN report.
Per ESPN, the NBA spoke with James about the post and accepted his explanation that he made a mistake.
James said he was quoting the song “ASMR” by the performer 21 Savage when he posted the lyrics, “We been getting that Jewish money. Everything is Kosher,” on his Instagram account, which has about 46 million followers.James told ESPN on Sunday night he was sorry to anyone who took issue with his post.
“Apologies, for sure, if I offended anyone,” James said. “That’s not why I chose to share that lyric. I always [post lyrics]. That’s what I do. I ride in my car, I listen to great music, and that was the byproduct of it.
“So, I actually thought it was a compliment, and obviously it wasn’t through the lens of a lot of people. My apologies. It definitely was not the intent, obviously, to hurt anybody.” — Reuters

Beach Volleyball Republic On Tour successfully holds celebrity match for a cause for Marawi

PLAYING together for the first time, phenoms Kiefer Ravena and Alyssa Valdez looked like they are long-time partners in the sand court.
“One for the books! So proud of you @kieferravena!” said Valdez on her Twitter account after the two bested Charo Soriano and John Vic de Guzman, 23-21, in the celebrity match which was a part of the Beach Volleyball Republic On Tour December Open 2018: A Christmas Rally festivities recently held at the Sands SM By The Bay.
It was tight up to the very end, as Ravena and Valdez scored the match’s last three points after Soriano nailed back-to-back aces for her team to lead for the last time at 21-20.
For Soriano, who is one of the BVR founders, the celebrity match is one way of sharing this Christmas, as the proceeds will go to Mindanao State University-Marawi College of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation Academy.
“It’s been an honor being able to play the game that we love and at the same time being able to help our young brothers and sisters in Marawi,” said Soriano, who won two BVR legs this year with Bea Tan.
“With the help of all those who supported, the CSPEAR Sports Academy of MSU-Marawi will be able to teach more and more kids so that these children’s lives will be filled with laughter instead of anger, love instead of hate, and hope instead of fear. That, for me, is the true value of sports,” she added.
The celebrity game was one way the BVR showed its gratitude and appreciation to its followers for a successful year, which included first-time visits to scenic El Nido and Dumaguete City, as well as return sojourns to Santa Ana, Cagayan and Lianga, Surigao del Sur.
BVR has grown to be a staple outdoor lifestyle brand that is known for its beach volleyball tournaments and nationwide tours. Through its programs, BVR aims that every aspiring beach volleyball athlete shall be given the opportunity to showcase and improve their talents through competitive games.

Team Go For Gold athletes reap year-round success

FILIPINO ATHLETES under the Go For Gold program have delivered both in the local and international scenes in the year that’s about to end.
The paddlers from the Philippine Canoe Kayak Dragonboat Federation have become world champions again after capturing five gold medals in a global meet held in the United States this year before triathlete John Leerams Chicano ruled the prestigious Tri-Factor International Triathlon in China last month.
Go For Gold cyclists Jonel Carcueva and Rex Luis Krog topped the elite and junior races of the punishing Tour de Linggarjati in Indonesia. Skateboarder Margielyn Didal, who won a gold medal in the Asian Games, is preparing for an Olympic qualifying tournament in Brazil early next year.
“Our national athletes under the Go For Gold program have made the country proud in their respective competitions. Overall, I can say that the program is successful,” said Go For Gold godfather Jeremy Go.
Aside from cycling, dragonboat, triathlon and skateboarding, Go For Gold has also embraced the Philippine sepak takraw squad and the national wrestling team in its arms.
“We have succeeded in attaining our goals for 2018. The program has brought home medals from different sports around the world,” said Go For Gold project director Ednalyn Hualda. “Still, there are a lot of things that we have to work on to produce more top-caliber athletes.”
Filipino wrestlers Margarito Angana, Michael Vijay Cater, Noel Norada, Luke Cruz, Minalyn Foy-os and Noemi Tener accounted for the six gold medals during the country’s campaign in the Southeast Asian Senior Wrestling Championships two months ago.
The Philippine sepak takraw team brought home one gold and three bronze medals from the world championships in Thailand. This was before two-time SEA Games gold medalist Nikko Huelgas ruled the men’s elite category of the National Age Group Triathlon recently.
“We have partnered with the national sports associations of these athletes and teams as we continue to strive for excellence, especially that the Southeast Asian Games next year is looming on the horizon,” said Ms. Hualda.
CYCLING TEAM
Mr. Go also announced that the Go For Gold cycling squad has transformed into a continental team that will allow them to compete in more challenging races and set the stage for a possible stint in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Capping Go For Gold’s impressive year-round campaign for the national athletes was the rewarding performance of the Filipino grapplers in a continental meet in Singapore, where they seized two gold medals courtesy of Jhonny Morte and Alvin Lobreguito.
Besides these victories, the Pinoy wrestlers claimed three silver medals and a pair of bronzes through the efforts of the Ronil Tubog and Cadel Evance Hualda.

Australian Open set to introduce final-set tiebreak

THE AUSTRALIAN Open has joined Wimbledon in introducing a final-set tiebreak from next year’s competition, following the “most extensive” consultation in the event’s history, tournament director Craig Tiley said on Friday.
According to the new rules, which will come into force at the Jan. 14-27 event, matches tied at 6-6 in the final set will move into a tiebreak and the first player to reach 10 points with a difference of two will win the contest.
“We asked the players — both past and present, commentators, agents and TV analysts whether they wanted to play an advantage final set or not and went from there,” Tiley said.
Wimbledon said in October that next year’s Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club would feature a tiebreak when the score reaches 12-12 in the final set of all matches.
The move came after this year’s semifinal between American John Isner and South Africa’s Kevin Anderson turned into an epic marathon in which the final set alone, won 26-24 by Anderson, lasted almost three hours.
“We went with a 10-point tiebreak at six-all in the final set to ensure fans still get a special finale to these contests, with the longer tiebreak allowing for that one final twist or change of momentum in the contest,” Tiley said.
“This longer tiebreak also can lessen some of the serving dominance that can prevail in the shorter tiebreak. We believe this is the best possible outcome for both the players and the fans around the world.”
The Australian Open’s move means that each of the four Grand Slams has a different way of deciding the final set.
The US Open employs traditional tiebreaks even in the final set, with the first player to reach seven points with a difference of two declared the winner.
The French Open does not have a final set tiebreak, with matches continuing until a player secures a two-game lead in the decider. — Reuters

Singapore’s Lee in do-over fight with Filipino Kelly

FORMER ONE Featherweight World Title challenger Christian “The Warrior” Lee of Singapore is set to face the Philippines’ Edward “The Ferocious” Kelly in a highly anticipated rematch at “ONE: Eternal Glory,” set for the Istora Senayan in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Jan. 19. The two warriors have met each other before, with Lee dropping a disqualification loss to Kelly after an illegal suplex.
The two featherweights are tops in their division, whose champion is Australia’s Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen. A victory for Lee or Kelly would certainly bring either closer to a shot at the ONE Featherweight World Title.
The first time they met at ONE: Beyond The Horizon last September, it started off as a heated battle. Kelly had his moments early, tagging Lee with a couple of hard shots, while the young Singaporean dominated the grappling exchanges. An ill-fated suplex ultimately led to the disqualification ruling, with Kelly landing on his head and the referee calling a halt to the contest shortly after.
Matters are expected to be resolved in the do-over bout, and this time, fans expect a more decisive finish.
The 20-year-old Lee is one of ONE Championship’s top prospects. Even at such a young age, “The Warrior” has shown incredible poise and polish. Guided by his father Ken Lee at United MMA in Hawaii, and by the world champions at Evolve MMA in Singapore, Lee is a martial arts prodigy.
He is the younger brother of reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee and often trains with her. In May 2018, Lee was on the wrong end of a split decision when he challenged Nguyen in his first shot at the ONE World Title. This championship experience however has made him a better fighter.
Kelly, on the other hand, is a prominent member of the famed Team Lakay, one of the top martial arts outfits in the world. The stable includes World Champions such as Eduard Folayang, Joshua Pacio, Geje Eustaquio, and Kevin Belingon, who Kelly trains with regularly.
ONE: Eternal Glory features a headline bout between ONE Strawweight World Champion Pacio and Japanese challenger Yosuke Saruta.

Standout moments (1)

The Year 2018 is about to end and in hindsight, as a sportswriter, there were a lot of standout moments in Philippine sports to remember.
Basketball surely had its share of memorable moments, both of the famous and the infamous kind.
The Philippine Basketball Association began the year by settling things following a rocky leadership crisis with the naming of erstwhile officer-in-charge and media bureau chief Willie Marcial as commissioner in place of embattled Chito Narvasa, who was asked by a majority of the board members to resign late in 2017 over “loss of confidence.”
PBA games were for the most part competitive with each of the three conferences won by teams under the San Miguel umbrella.
The San Miguel Beermen took the Philippine Cup over the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok, 4-1, in the finals. It was the Beermen’s fourth straight All-Filipino title.
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, meanwhile, latched on to the midseason PBA tournament Commissioner’s Cup by edging San Miguel, 4-2, in the best-of-seven final series.
Magnolia eventually completed the SMC shutout in Season 43 of the PBA by winning the season-ending tournament Governors’ Cup, 4-2, over the Alaska Aces.
The young basketball Maharlika Premier Basketball League, meanwhile, continued to will its way into the national consciousness at the conclusion of its maiden season and into its second year while Alab Pilipinas got back to the top of the ASEAN Basketball League by winning the crown at the expense of Thai team Mono Vampire in May.
Gilas Pilipinas, right smack in the middle of its FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers campaign, started the year strong in its bid but hit some roadblocks after, including the now-infamous brawl with Australia in July that resulted in numerous suspensions on players and coaches as well as a major revamp of the team that saw Yeng Guiao named as new Gilas coach.
The nationals ended the year on a sour note as they fell in their matches in the fifth window of the qualifiers here at home that had them dropping in the standings in their grouping and needing to make things happen in the sixth big time and final window in February.
The year also saw Gilas player and PBA star Kiefer Ravena banned for a year and half for failing a FIBA substance test in May.
Collegiate ball had it solid, too, highlighted by the resurgence of the University of the Philippine Fighting Maroons in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.
Riding the “Atin ‘To” battle cry, the Maroons made their move all the way to the finals of UAAP Season 81 after a 32-year finals appearance drought.
It made the UAAP finals a blockbuster in more ways than one.
They, however, would fall short, swept in the finals by the currently gold standard Ateneo Blue Eagles.
Also stamping their class in collegiate basketball was the San Beda Red Lions, who won their third straight title in the National Collegiate Athletic Association by dominating the Lyceum Pirates in the finals of Season 94.
In football, the Philippine Azkals made history by booking a place in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup with a gutsy victory over Tajikistan in March.
They made a coaching change in the middle of this year, selecting British Terry Butcher to replace American Thomas Dooley. Butcher though would reconsider his decision to take over the Azkals job less than two months after being named as coach.
In came World Cup coach Sven-Goran Eriksson who helped the team get back into the semifinals of the AFF Suzuki Cup and now channelling his focus on the Asian Cup where the Philippines is grouped with South Korea, China, and Kazakhstan.
In the local pro league, Ceres-Negros FC continued with its dominance by claiming another Philippines Football League title while Kaya FC-Iloilo was crowned the maiden winner of the Copa Paulino Alcantara.
The PFL though was hit by a number of pullouts in 2018, with the teams citing difficulty in maintaining a team in the league, among other things.
Ilocos United FC and Loyola Meralco Manila Sparks were no longer part of the league when the 2018 PFL season began while Davao Aguilas FC decided to leave the league after the season ended.
Reports have it though that the PFL has been rebranded as the Philippine Premier League, which will be under a new leadership but nonetheless is hoping to continue its thrust of helping in the development of football in the country.
The development is said to be garnering interest from possible new league entrants, something stakeholders, especially the fans who are hoping the sport gets its due chance in the sporting ecosystem of the country, are banking on.
Also noteworthy was the performance of the Philippine Malditas who are now through to the second round of the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers.
(To be continued)
 
Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.
msmurillo@bworldonline.com

Spurs’ reality

For a while there, it looked as if the Spurs would prove preseason prognoses right. Rocked by a heavy roster turnover that included the departure of key figures to their protracted streak of success, they were pegged by not a few quarters to miss the playoffs for the first time since 1997. Following an auspicious 6-2 start that saw them bent on bucking conventional wisdom, they went an abhorring 5-12 through the next month; from the outside looking in, their failure to register back-to-back wins over the period underscored a talent deficiency that exposed their relative lack of competitiveness.
And then something happened. The Spurs became, well, the Spurs. Reflecting a preferential option for excellence that permeated every aspect of their operations on the court and off, they promptly went on a tear that catapulted them from doormats to division leaders. They claimed seven of their next eight outings, the lone blemish a fluke setback to the otherwise-overmatched Bulls. So good were they during the two-week stretch that their average margin of victory stood at a whopping 25.8 points, the highest and lowest at 38 and 13, respectively.
Over the weekend, though, the Spurs could not add to their run of excellence. They trekked to the Toyota Center determined to take the measure of the highly touted Rockets, who likewise seem to have recovered from initial stumbles. And, as is typical under head coach Gregg Popovich, they hung their hats on defense. As badly as they shot from the field, they managed to compel their opponents to shoot much worse. Reigning Most Valuable Player and scoring leader James Harden was particularly errant, as good an indication as any of their excellent coverage.
That said, the Spurs found themselves ultimately succumbing to the Rockets, their determined efforts to force misses undone by a glaring inability to thereafter secure possession. For all their solid play, they were overcome by second-chance attempt after second-chance attempt, not to mention an unrelenting barrage of threes. The stats said it all; they gave up 19 offensive rebounds and 19 made shots off 54 attempts from beyond the arc, nine more than they themselves canned from 30 less tries. Broken down to basics, the difference was what accounted for their seven-point defeat.
Given how the match unfolded, it’s fair to note that the Spurs aren’t close to contenting for the hardware. Given the midrange predilections of their leading lights, they appear hard-pressed to stand toe to toe against the acknowledged best of the best. Invariably, they’re very, very good at what they do, but the output isn’t enough — not in this day and age of advanced metrics calling for treys or layups and close to nothing in between. It’s a change in mindset that Popovich has termed “boring … There’s no basketball anymore. There’s no beauty in it.”
Still, the Spurs will leave nothing in the tank every time out. It’s why they can’t be written off, and why their ups speak more of them than their downs. Regardless of circumstance, their sets on both ends of the court will be like balletic dances designed to elicit intended outcomes. Meanwhile, the Rockets represent the polar opposite, with isolation-heavy forays dictated by moneyball objectives. That the latter won speaks volumes of where pro hoops is. Popovich understands, and is adjusting as best he can with what he has. “It is what it is and you need to work with it,” he said. True, and sadly so.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.

Divining the 2019 local automotive scene:Cloudy, with a chance of hybrids

By Kap Maceda Aguila
2018 is about to be done and dusted and, truth to tell, many in the local motoring industry are heaving a sigh of relief.
It wasn’t a pretty picture, you see. The sector’s figures were down across the board for the first time after posting multiple, successive years of record growth. The joint report released by member brands of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) showed total vehicles sales in November fell by 23.4% year-on-year (from 40,799 to 31,258). From January to November, the dip was 14.4% — from 380,179 down to 325,465 units.
Sales in November declined 5.7% compared to October, or to 31,258 units from 33,150 units in the earlier month. Despite the decline, the industry is still positive with the result.
CAMPI president Rommel R. Gutierrez said: “We remain confident that the industry will continue to recover as the year ends.”
By category, passenger car sales went down by 2.6% with 9,197 units in November from 9,444 units in October. The commercial vehicle segment also declined by 6.9%, with 22,061 units sold in November compared to 23,706 units in the previous month. Sales of Asian utility vehicles (Category I) shrank 7.8%, with 3,142 units from 3,409 units in October.
The light commercial vehicle (Category II) was also down by 6.9% with 17,594 units delivered in November from the previous month’s 18,896-unit result. Sales of light trucks (Category III) increased 4.4% with 753 units, ip from 721 units. Deliveries of trucks and buses (Category IV) recorded the highest decline among all the segments, dropping 22.2% with 425 units from 546 units.
Aggregate sales for the first 11 months of the year retracted by 14.4% with 325,465 units compared with 380,179 units in the same period a year ago.
In terms of market share, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) remains the market leader with a 42.5% market share, followed by Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation with 19%. Nissan Philippines, Inc. came in at third with 9.7% market share, followed by Ford Motor Company Philippines, Inc. and Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. with 6.6% and 6.5%, respectively going by year-to-date sales figures, the Asian utility vehicle segment has taken the biggest hit, falling by 39.1% from 73,414 to 44,732 units. Passenger cars didn’t fare much better with a 20.4% decline from 125,242 to 99,719 units.
In late November, Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. president and CEO (and Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors, Inc. head) Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo expressed in a statement accompanying a report of the company’s sales numbers that “the performance of the automotive industry is beginning to normalize.” On the heels of Hyundai’s 9.6% sales increase in October (compared to the same month last year), Ms. Perez-Agudo declared, “Our growth outlook remains to be upbeat for the remainder of the year.”
The release proposed that the “sales performance of the brand [remained] consistent with the overall demand for automotive vehicles in the country [and that the] monthly trend would show that unit sales would eventually pick up in the last two months of the year.”
MOVING FORWARD
What does 2019 bring for the automotive scene? That is probably the biggest question that auto executives need to divine the answer to. As this waning year was an unmitigated, if expected, letdown people are scrambling to provide clarity on the immediate future of our mobility here.
Mr. Gutierrez said at the recent launch of the all-new Toyota Camry that the industry is projecting a recovery of sorts next year by a modest rate of 10%. According to TMP senior vice-president for marketing Jose Maria Atienza, the company is expecting the eighth-generation Camry to move 40 to 60 units a month. TMP last year sold 286 units of the mid-size sedan.
Perhaps no one is betting more heavily on an automotive sector comeback in 2019 than AC Industrial Technology Holdings, Inc., or AC Industrials. On Jan. 30, the Ayala Corporation-steered firm will officially take over Kia through a brand relaunch, as well as the introduction of three new models. New Kia Philippines president Emmanuel A. Aligada recently said in news conference the brand aims to sell 10,000 units in 2019.
Appointed last December 5 as the exclusive local distributor of the South Korea-headquartered international auto giant, Mr. Aligada said: “Our objective is to stabilize the business… build the Kia brand, emphasizing on the Ayala partnership.”
Even casual observers readily attribute the sales downtrend this year to the effects of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law, which effectively drove up vehicle prices (with a few exceptions) through higher excise taxation. And because the market was able to anticipate the implementation of the tariff scheme, many bought new vehicles — further driving up 2017 sales figures, and providing a starker contrast to the diminished total of this year. Obviously, a lot of people stayed away from the showrooms.
Victories in this strange new time can still be had though, as the pickup segment has picked up owing to tax exemption for the genre, as well as for purely electric vehicles. The shock has also started to wear off, and buyers are starting to troop into the brick-and-mortar and digital showrooms.
But if automobile players are up for it, 2019 can be the year of the hybrids — which also benefit from lower excise tax (half of that levied on regular automobiles). This can be Toyota’s opportunity to properly push its longstanding Prius product. TMP executives have been ruing the general public’s lack of awareness regarding the technology and idea behind hybrid vehicles, which boast an internal combustion engine and electric motor. “Media can help us propagate the idea,” said Mr. Gutierrez.
As mentioned, purely electricity-powered automobiles have the benefit of full tax exemption, and now’s the best time to push this format. This not only puts the onus on car companies but, perhaps more significantly, on government to help provide an environment where prerequisite charging stations can be more widespread.
Will 2019 be the year of ICE alternatives? Maybe future-proofing our transportation tale can start next year since we’ve found ourselves pushed to the wall by our tariff scheme anyway.

Ferrari to mark Schumacher’s 50th birthday with exhibition

FERRARI said its museum in Maranello is dedicating a special exhibit to Michael Schumacher, which is set to open on Jan. 3, 2019, on the occasion of the race driver’s 50th birthday. The car maker noted the exhibit is “intended both as a celebration and a mark of gratitude to the most successful Prancing Horse driver ever.”
It added Mr. Schumacher has a special place in Ferrari’s history because of his numerous records. Between 1996 and 2006 the German won five consecutive drivers’ titles, and is also credited for his “major contribution” to the Scuderia’s haul of six manufacturers’ titles over those years.

Michael Schumacher 2
The Champion in 2002.

Ferrari said its museum will look back over the seasons which the seven-time world champion (he won two titles driving for Benetton) gifted to Ferrari fans. The exhibition will also show Mr. Schumacher’s crucial contribution to the development of extraordinary GT cars in his years at Maranello as a driver and, later, as a consultant.
Called the “Michael 50” exhibition, it will benefit the Keep Fighting Foundation, a non-profit initiative for Mr. Schumacher, who was seriously injured in a skiing accident in France in December 2013.

Traction and attraction:Mitsubishi demonstrates Strada pickup’s updated styling is matched by genuine off-road skills

RACE DRIVER Hiroshi Masuoka, who counts 21 Dakar Rally starts to his name (plus a back-to-back title in 2002 and 2003), in his present capacity as a “senior expert” in Mitsubishi Motors Corporation’s (MMC) public relations department was again wheeled out by the car maker so he could demonstrate the enhanced off-road capabilities of the revised Mitsubishi Strada pickup. Besides receiving refreshed bodywork, the Strada — also known as the L200 or Triton — now has an improved four-wheel drive system.
The latest version of the truck made its global premiere on Nov. 9 in Bangkok, Thailand (the Strada is built at Mitsubishi’s Laem Chabang plant in Thailand).
It went on sale in Thailand on Nov. 17, marking the start of its roll out in 150 markets. The new Strada is set to be released in the Philippines in January 2019.
MASUOKA’S OFF-ROAD METTLE
Making up a part of the Strada’s global reveal program was a series of test-drives. One was held on a simulated off-road track on the grounds of the Impact Arena, just outside Bangkok; the next involved a 200-kilometer drive from Impact Arena to Spirit 4×4, an off-road driving park south of the capital; still another called for tackling a tight, twisty trail in the woods near the Spirit 4×4. Though Mr. Masuoka’s role in the activities was confined to a driving exercise around the Impact Arena course, it pitched the Strada’s off-road skills — and Mitsubishi’s expertise on such matters — succinctly.

Mitsubishi Strada 2
Rear of updated Mitsubishi Strada blockier than previous model’s.

As can be expected, Mr. Masuoka was assigned to take journalists aboard the four-wheel drive Strada on full-throttle, high-speed runs across a dirt track. The course used for these runs mixed in a few tight turns and fast, sweeping bends with dips, plus one big crest, over which the Strada easily caught air. Yes, it was no Dakar Rally stage, but the mastery of Mr. Masuoka showed the Strada could be driven quite hard without it rolling over, and jumped without any of its chassis components breaking. That it could switch directions quickly enough — not easy considering its long wheel base — proved impressive as well.
The trip to Spirit 4×4, reached via expressways and national highways that occasionally passed through town centers, only confirmed what had long been one of the Strada’s (and its Montero Sport platform-mate’s) strengths — its comfortable and refined ride over pavement. Even with an empty bed, the Strada did not bounce over uneven road surfaces, and could be jarring only when the truck went over large crests and dips. But minor ruts and highway expansion joints were easily soaked by the suspension. Also, the truck’s structure, as well as insulation materials, filtered much of the noise, vibration and harshness created by the vehicle and its contact with the air and the road that conversation in the cabin was never strained even at speeds over 100kph.
At Spirit 4×4, nearly a dozen technical off-road driving exercises were arrayed, each one of which designed to highlight an aspect of the Strada’s chassis and four-wheel drive system. These included mud-fording (to test wading-depth capability), boulder- and mound-crawling (traction, suspension articulation), and hill-climbing (power) and hill-descending (advanced electronic and mechanical traction systems). The drive through the wooded trail, about a couple of kilometers’ long, was meant to add a real-world dimension to the off-road driving tests. Driven correctly, the Strada managed to traverse both courses without any glitch.
WHAT’S NEW?
MMC has embarked on creating a uniform visual identity for all its models — especially the vehicles’ fascia. So the Strada’s front end is now defined by the corporate “Dynamic Shield” styling marked by a high hood, equally high placements for the squinty headlamps and narrow grille, a large aperture on the bumper for the fog lights, a second, bigger air inlet, and plenty of complex, angular lines. Oddly, the redesigned elements in front are contrasted in the rear by simpler tail lights and a bumper and tailgate that received noticeably less contouring when compared to those on the previous truck.
Mitsubishi Strada 3
Rally driver Hiroshi Masuoka demonstrating the truck’s climbing prowess.

In any case, the new nose job thankfully matches the unchanged elements on the truck’s flanks. The edgier, more fiddly lines in front complement the sculpted wheel arches, sharply angled greenhouse and pronounced creases on the expanses of bodywork on the side. There would be no confusing the updated Strada with the model it is replacing.
Beneath the sheet metal, new to the Strada are larger discs and pistons for the brakes in front (marginally improving both stopping power and pedal “feel”), rear dampers containing more fluid (better control of up and down motions), and a six-speed automatic transmission (adding another cog means engine output can be spread across the rev range so that acceleration gets quicker while cruising speeds turn more frugal on fuel).
Also upgraded is the Strada’s four-wheel drive system, which now comes with Mitsubishi’s new Off-road Mode. The feature offers four selectable modes: Gravel, Mud/Snow, Sand and Rock. When any is engaged, the system governs engine power output, transmission speed (or resistance) and braking to eliminate wheel slip, guaranteeing traction over bad surfaces, as well as lending the truck the ability to slog through mud (or snow). The enhanced hill-descent control of the four-wheel drive system also makes sure that — operated properly — the Strada won’t come tumbling down hills.
Surely, it’s a handy feature whether one is a Dakar Rally driver or not. — Brian M. Afuang

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