Property valuation services: Are we losing international competitiveness?

January 6, 2019 | 10:24 pm

An important lesson of the 2008 global financial crisis is that unstable real estate markets can bring down the global economy. Corollary to that, they can deprive an emerging economy with financing, stunting investments and economic growth.
The Philippines has enjoyed impressive economic growth in the last six years. Sustaining that growth to at least 7% annually requires, among others, adequate financing of investments. But without sound property valuation practices, it would be difficult to ensure the right flow of credit into the economy and mitigate lending risks.
Appropriately regulated and managed real estate markets are needed to sustain strong economic growth. Keith Lancaster, CEO of Appraisal Institute of Canada, described how strong property valuation fundamentals helped Canada’s economy weather better the global crisis in 2008.
VALUATION PRACTICE
We are nowhere near that capability, thanks to how we had implemented the 2009 Real Estate Service Act or RA 9646. The law aims to “… develop and nurture through proper and effective regulation and supervision a corps of technically competent, responsible and respected professional real estate service practitioners whose standards of practice and service shall be globally competitive and will promote the growth of the real estate industry.”
RA 9646 will be 10 years old in July. If it accomplished anything at all, that would be in the number of real estate practitioners licensed by the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC): roughly, the number of licensed valuers at least tripled.
The average quality of valuation service unfortunately took a deep dive. According to one expert estimate,“90% of all appraisal licensure passers actually don’t have any idea how to do the actual appraisal.” The opinion came out sometime in August 2018, nine years after RA 9646.
The Professional Regulatory Board Real Estate Service (PRBRES) under the PRC should be held accountable for that. The law gave it the mandate to regulate the profession, and it has yet to deliver the result.
One indicator of success is that several formal educational institutions would already have had degree programs in real estate management. To date, I may count no more than two institutions doing that. That was about five years ago, and I don’t know if the degree programs have graduated students already, or they still exist at all.
This is understandable. It takes time for formal institutions to adopt real estate management as one of their regular programs. But 10 years comprise a long period of time. In the region, Malaysia has already reached this level of maturity of its valuation practice.
Given that formal education in valuation is out of reach, at the very least the PRC should have effectively enforced the quality of the trainings to be conducted in preparation for licensure examinations.
Instead in the case of the assessors/appraisers, it downgraded the requirement of training in the law. RA 9646 allowed government assessors and appraisers who applied for licenses two years after the effectivity of the act to be granted the license without examination. The condition is that they must have had 10 years of experience as appraiser/assessor and undergo 120 hours of training.
The PRBRES downgraded the 120 training hours into 60 lecture hours and 60 on-the job-training (OJT) hours to be certified by any licensed appraiser. Without the capacity to effectively monitor, the Board has effectively departed from the provision of the law by reducing training hours by half. With the thousands of grandfathered licensed practitioners, the regulator could not have ascertained the quality of the OJT hours conducted or if they had happened at all.
Another departure. The 10-year experience as appraiser/assessor requirement to qualify for the “grandfather clause” was glossed over. That had been rolled into the certification of 60 hours of OJT by a licensed appraiser. So a relatively newly appointed assessor, say, three years on the job, absent 10 years of actual experience in real estate appraisal, could avail of the license without any examination.
The departures defeat the very purpose of RA 9646 which is to professionalize the real estate valuation service, putting to risk the integrity and competency requirement of the profession. It is as one expert said a “race to the bottom.” No wonder, “90%” of the new licensees do not know how to do real estate appraisal.
Does this matter at all? Well if it does not, there should not have been any need for RA 9646. But there is! If 90% of our appraisers are not qualified, “lenders, mortgage insurers and mortgage brokers would not be able to verify the value of a property during a mortgage underwriting process. Governments would be unable to value their public assets and regulators would have no policies to mitigate risk and guide real estate transactions,” to quote Lancaster. On an individual basis, if one is selling his/her real estate he may stand to lose from amateur values prescribed by unqualified but licensed valuers.
Appraisers from other countries could take over and provide real estate valuation services, like for foreign banks, which BSP has accredited to operate in the country. But that poses a problem: they don’t know the intricacies of the local market. What we would have then would be a very unstable real estate market, which constrains investments and economic growth.
VALUATION STANDARDS
The global valuation community has moved into harmonizing asset valuation standards under the International Valuation Standards (IVS), with 2017 as its present version. The International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC) develops and maintains IVS.
We are not completely out of the IVS. There are about a few organizations that IVSC recognizes as having adopted the IVS 2017. The Bureau of Local Government Finance of the Department of Finance is one of these, as an Institutional Member. In the private sector, the Institute for Philippine Real Estate Appraisers (IPREA), a Valuation Professional Organization (VPO), is another. Other practitioners, however, are still following valuation standards other than the IVS.
But the public sector needs to do some more to signal to the global community that we follow IVS, in the same way that the Securities and Exchange Commission had required all companies to follow the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). In globalized markets, we need to abide by these standards to stay competitive.
Dec. 17, 2018, was the date for the Bureau of Local Government Finance of the Department of Finance to officially launch the second edition of the Philippine Valuation Standards (PVS). Compared to the first edition, this one adopts in toto as Part I the IVS 2017, updating its use of IVS 2007.
Parts 2 and 3 cover departures of PVS from the IVS. Departures are allowed under IVS 2017 provided they are taken to satisfy legislative, regulatory or other authoritative requirements. In Part 2, the PVS gives the Philippine context focusing on valuation for taxation and other purposes. Part 3 comprises guidance notes for appraising multiple properties as of a given date by a systematic and uniform application of appraisal methods and techniques that allow for statistical review and analysis of results.
Branding matters. While, it can be said that PVS is IVS-compliant, it nevertheless would be confusing. R. Narayanaswamy, the Chairperson of the Committee to advise on valuation matters constituted by the Government of India, Ministry of Corporate Affairs said that “renaming the book (e.g. from IVS to PVS) could create confusion.” In India, they also have national sensitivities, but they are only introducing minimal departures, following what they did with IFRS.

Ramon L. Clarete is a professor at the University of the Philippines School of Economics.

Incomplete youth councils in Iloilo won’t get 2019 budget

January 6, 2019 | 10:23 pm

SANGGUNIANG Kabataan (SK) leaders in Iloilo City have been ordered to immediately organize special elections to fill up vacant pots in their respective youth councils, or face a zero-budget year in 2019. “Based on the memorandum our department has issued, they have to complete their SK officials because we will not be receiving their proposed budget for 2019 if the signatures of the SK officials are not complete,” said Ferdinand L. Panes, director of the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) city office. The memorandum also stated that the 2018 SK plans and budgets shall only be subjected to technical review by the DILG office and the Local Youth and Development Office (LYDO )upon proof of compliance. Mr. Panes issued the directive to SK leaders last Jan. 3. The special elections will be supervised by the respective SK chairpersons, Commission on Elections, board of election supervisors headed by the DILG with non-government or civil society group representatives as members. DILG records show that more than 300 SK positions across 75 barangays are vacant. Mr. Panes cited the lack of benefits, honorarium, work, and school among the reasons behind the resignation of some elected SK officials. “We hope all the vacancies will be filled-up because we are planning together with SK Federation and LYDO to conduct mandatory training, which is a requirement before assumption of SK officials both appointed and elected,” Mr. Panes said. — Emme Rose S. Santiagudo

Incomplete youth councils in Iloilo won’t get 2019 budget

January 6, 2019 | 10:23 pm

May 2019 be a good year

January 6, 2019 | 10:23 pm

Happy New Year, Manay! May 2019 be a good year. What’s a good year, she says?
Manay lives in Daraga, Albay, at the foot of the beautiful Mount Mayon in Bicol, where the lush landscape is filigreed with so many coconut trees. The people of Albay are gentle and smiling, careful not to cross the “Daragang Magayon,” the folkloric beautiful lady of the volcano — for she hides herself in clouds to show displeasure when things are not right.
Last year, 2018, started with Mayon being most unhappy. From mid-January to end February, the Philippines’ most active of 22 active volcanoes had six major and many minor eruptions. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported that at that time, Mt. Mayon was erupting fountains of lava and plumes of ash rising up to 10 km into the air at its angriest. Nearby towns were choked with ash thick enough to turn the daytime sky dark, according to frantic news reports.
The volcano is geographically shared by the eight cities and municipalities of Legazpi City, Daraga, Camalig, Guinobatan, Ligao City, Tabaco City, Malilipot and Santo Domingo. An estimated 90,000 residents fled their homes for safer locations while local authorities shut down some government operations and schools, amidst a shortage of emergency funds (Forbes magazine, Feb. 6, 2018). On Jan. 16, 2018, the province of Albay declared a state of calamity as lava flows reached the limits of the 6-kilometer evacuation zone (Reuters, Jan. 16, 2018).
Please God, that the feared major eruption of the angry Mayon is not provoked by the pervading culture of hate and distrust in our country, and the too-ready violence that is cast on Filipinos by Filipinos.
One local newspaper tallied 11 mayors and six vice mayors killed since June 2016, when President Rodrigo Duterte assumed office, until September 2018, two years into his anti-drug campaign (Business Insider, Sept. 6, 2018). Human Rights Watch says Duterte, a former mayor elected on an anti-crime platform, is using the drug war as a cover to crack down on political opponents. “The earlier you do away with your mayor, the earlier you become the mayor also,” he told an audience in Bohol province (Time magazine, July 5, 2018).
“Police say 4,410 alleged drug dealers or users have been killed as part of the anti-drug campaign that Mr. Duterte launched since winning the elections in mid-2016, while rights groups charge that the actual death toll is three times higher and that the police and shadowy vigilantes are murdering people even without proof that they are linked to drugs,” the Agence France-Press said.
“My only sin is the extrajudicial killings.” Duterte said in a televised speech in September (telegraph.co.uk, Sept 28, 2018). While then presidential spokesman Harry Roque quickly said it was only a joke, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) surveyed that the drug campaign still had the backing of 78% of Filipinos, but 96% opposed the killings, saying the suspects should be taken alive (ABS-CBN, Oct. 14, 2018).
And on Dec. 22, Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe, candidate for Mayor of Daraga in the coming November (2019) local elections, and his security escort, SPO2 Orlando Diaz, were killed in cold blood by unidentified assailants in Daraga, in plain sight of the already-disturbed Mt. Mayon. Batocabe was one of three local election candidates killed in other provinces the same week before Christmas. Was the killing drug-related or election-related? Evidently power-related. On Dec. 26, angry Mayon caused two more phreatic explosions.
Manay, dear friend, please seriously think of leaving Daraga before Mayon’s wrath explodes in Nature’s subliminal reaction to the human violence For we can feel it coming: at yearend and into the first days of 2019, typhoon “Usman,” one of the deadliest storms of 2018 after Super typhoon Ompong, whipped and lashed Bicol and Samar, causing destructive landslides and flooding (ANS-CBN, Jan. 2, 2019). The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) reported 122 deaths caused by “Usman” as of Jan. 3.
So you suggest that I move to Metro Manila, and live in a high-rise condo that is insulated from the vicissitudes of Nature, like typhoons and the volcano, Manay asks? Will I not be nearer to man-made disasters in the economy and politics? Manay wants to “do a Thoreau,” like Henry David Thoreau, an early 1800s American writer who isolated himself from society in protest against corrupt and coercive government. “I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government,” he said in his now-famous book Civil Disobedience that has guided socio-political reformists like Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. (Rosenwald, Lawrence, The Theory, Practice and Influence of Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience, 2006).
But Thoreau eventually had to leave his idyllic Walden Pond, his physical and introspective retreat from the crass and unjust world that coerced him to subservience by having to pay taxes to the government. Manay, you cannot hack it alone, like Thoreau could not do it by living like a hermit himself.
Like Thoreau, if you have to pay taxes anyway, you might as well know, and be concerned about where your taxes are being spent. To start, you have to think with us all how we will live 2019 with a government expenditure program that has not been approved by the House and the Senate, and signed into effect by President Duterte.
Allegations of insertions and diversions of allocations in the pending 2019 government expenditure program has exposed the major graft and corruption in government, perhaps second only in criminality to the extrajudicial killings accused of political leaders and uniformed officials. There is something terribly wrong when those influential in preparing and approving the budget are “caught with their hands in the cookie jar,” with their own party-mates and political allies telling on them and on each other in classic Star Wars betrayals for personal power and dominance. Billions of pesos are allegedly tucked into this most controversial budget of all times for the easy picking of unashamedly greedy public officials, some through their alleged dummy contractors, as gleaned from news reports (ABS-CBN News, Jan 3, 2019).
“Let us greet the new year with gratitude to God for all His blessings and hope for a peaceful and prosperous Philippines,” House Speaker and former President Gloria Arroyo said in her message sent to the media on Sunday, Dec. 30. Arroyo certainly has a lot to be thankful for in 2018, the year of her political comeback, Rappler acidly pointed out (Dec. 31, 2019).
Manay is now seriously thinking of moving back to Manila. May 2019 be a good year.

Amelia H. C. Ylagan is a Doctor of Business Administration from the University of the Philippines.
ahcylagan@yahoo.com

2018: The Good, Bad and Ugly

January 6, 2019 | 10:22 pm

2018 should have been a banner year for the Philippines. If President Duterte’s campaign promises are anything to go by, drug cartels should have been obliterated by now, peace and order should be firmly entrenched across the country, the flaws of the 1987 Constitution should have been amended, Metro Manila’s traffic woes should be solved and the economy should be soaring at a 7.5% growth rate.
President Duterte promised us the moon but has so far only delivered rainclouds. After all the hoopla, he has not proven to be the “game changer” that everyone hoped he would be. At least not yet. 2018 was underwhelming, reform-wise.
So what were the political and economic highlights of 2018? It was a mix of good, bad and ugly.
THE GOOD
Tourism. Last summer, the Commission on Audit exposed a P60-million ad placement made by then tourism secretary Wanda Teo on a non-rating TV show produced by her brother. This opened a Pandora’s box of graft allegedly orchestrated by Teo and then COO of the Tourism Promotions Board, Cesar Montano. Also uncovered was a P320 million rip-off called “Buhay Carinderia” and numerous junkets/promotional activities that were scandalously overpriced.
The exposé led to Teo and Montano’s forced resignation. This was the best thing that happened to the tourism industry. Replacing them were Bernadette Romulo-Puyat as DoT Secretary and Venus Tan as COO of the TPB. The industry is now under professional, experienced management.
Tourism is a vital component to the economy for its ability to pump in much needed dollar revenues in a relatively speedy manner. The country needs these revenues to help balance its widening fiscal deficit. In 2017, foreign inbound tourists generated some $8.6 billion on the back of 6.62 million visitors. For 2018, the DoT expects to have realized 7 to 7.2 million visitors, a tad below its 7.4 million target. An eight percent growth rate was realized despite the closure of Boracay and the empty coffers to spend on tourism promotions. This by itself is an achievement.
Another win is Secretary Romulo-Puyat’s focus on sustainable tourism. The six-month closure of Boracay was an exercise in political will, one that bodes well not only for Boracay but all other environmentally fragile destinations. The lessons learned in Boracay will be applied to other hotspots like El Nido, Siargao and Panglao.
The Philippines is poised to attract 8.2 million foreign visitors in 2019, generating $11 billion in revenues and 5.8 million jobs for our countrymen. Under Secretary Romulo Puyat’s baton, we are optimistic these targets will be met.
Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs). In 2017, the country realized $10.2 billion worth of FDIs, the highest intake ever recorded. In the first eight months of 2018, FDIs already stood at $7.4 billion, 31% higher than the same period the year prior. The Department of Trade and Industry is confident that $12 billion in FDIs was realized in 2018.
Deserving kudos is the Board of Investments. The BoI ended 2018 with $17.5 billion worth of investment approvals, a new high from the previous record of $11.9 billion in 2017. The unprecedented figure represents a 47% increase.
What is notable is that a large chunk of investments will go towards upstream, heavy industrial projects that will allow the economy to produce technologically complex goods it was not capable of producing before.
The Manufacturing Sector. The Philippines is in the midst of a manufacturing resurgence after a contraction that lasted three decades. From 2010 to 2017, manufacturing posted an average growth rate of 7.6%, outpacing the growth of the service sector. This shows that the country is well on track towards industrialization.
Food and beverage manufacturing leads the charge but headway was also made in heavy industries like auto and aeronautic parts, shipbuilding and chemicals.
The Philippines had the second best performing manufacturing sector in the region after Vietnam.
Build, Build, Build. I categorize government’s infrastructure program as a qualified “good.” I say this because while some projects have been completed or have started in 2018, many of the 75 keystone projects in the “Build, Build, Build,” program are delayed and languishing in the pre-construction stage.
Despite the best efforts of DoTr Secretary Arthur Tugade to expedite projects, delays have been unavoidable due to the difficulty to negotiate loan or official development assistance terms, complete feasibility studies and obtain interagency approvals.
The P9-trillion infrastructure program is the centerpiece of the Duterte administration. As such, the business sector expects the President to use his enormous political capital to expedite projects, especially in resolving right of way issues. He has not helped in this aspect and this has been a source of frustration for many.
The good news is that numerous projects were completed last year. Among them were: The Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange, the Mactan and Panglao International Airports, the night rating of 18 airports, the Cavite Gateway Terminal and the Laguna Lake Highway. The MRT3 rehabilitation and maintenance contract was also signed in record time. Almost done are the NLEX harbor Link Segment, Clark International Airport, MRT 7 and the South Integrated Transport Station.
Projects painfully delayed due to right of way issues are the all-important NLEX-SLEX connector road (which will have the greatest impact on Metro Manila’s traffic), LRT 1 extension to Cavite and the MRT2 extension to Masinag. Others projects still under construction are the Bicol and Bacolod International Airport.
The DoTr announced that the Metro Manila Subway will break ground this month.
Projects that have yet to break ground are the much needed MRT-LRT common station, PNR North and South Railways, EDSA and Bonifacio Global City BRT systems, the Subic-Clark Railway and the 12 bridges across Pasig River that China promised.
THE BAD
Exports. Exports is the missing link in our economic equation. Its dismal performance has left us with a gaping trade deficit. Data covering January to September show that imports rose by 16.2% to $80.66 billion while exports slipped by 2.1% to $50.75 billion. This resulted in a trade deficit of $29.91 billion, nearly twice the deficit registered the year prior. The deficit will worsen when the fourth-quarter figures are factored in.
Consider the difference. Philippine merchandise exports amounted to $68.71 billion in 2017. Compare this to Thailand’s $237 billion, Vietnam’s $214 billion, Malaysia’s $176 billion and Indonesia’s $169 billion. The Philippines has a lot of catching up to do.
Almost half of Philippine exports are composed of electronics and semiconductors and its growth rate is seen to slow down to just 5% in 2019 due to the rationalization of fiscal incentives from TRAIN 2. With this, we can expect less investments in the sector, resulting in less output.
The impediments to our export performance are the restrictive provisions of the Constitution relating to foreign investments, high power cost and insufficient infrastructure.
Extensive structural changes need to be effected to eliminate these impediments. In the end, government must make the conditions right for manufacturing industries to flourish and build their capacities to export. As it stands now, our exports are only capable of growing linearly. We need extensive structural reforms to achieve exponential growth. This is the only way can balance our trade deficit.
We must also diversify our merchandise exports mix. Among the promising product categories are auto and auto parts, frozen fruits, agro-industrial products and design-driven furniture and garments.
Inflation. Inflation rose steadily throughout the year, peaking at 6.7% last October. This was due to a confluence of bad weather, low agricultural output, disrupted supply chains, currency depreciation and the effects of TRAIN 1. Unfortunately, our economic planners did not foresee this.
Inflation dampened consumer spending and the production of consumer goods. It dragged GDP growth by nearly one percentage point.
The good news is that inflation eased to 6% in November and is seen to decrease further to 5.5% in December. This is due to stern price controls by the DTI, importation of grains and a drop in crude oil prices.
TRAIN 2 is set to push inflation upwards when it is implemented this year. Let’s hope that the tariffication of rice and lower crude oil prices will blunt its effect.
THE UGLY
The Justice System. Former Senator Bong Revilla was acquitted by the Sandiganbayan in his plunder case. The acquittal reeked of political favor as it was based on the testimony of Marina Sula who claimed she never saw Bong Revilla receive cash from PDAF scam mastermind Janet Napoles.
The fact that Sula never saw Revilla in the act of receiving cash doesn’t mean that he wasn’t aware of the scam and was not a party to it. Revilla’s right hand man, Richard Cambe, was found guilty while his boss goes scot-free for the same crime. Are we suppose to believe that Cambe acted without Revilla’s knowledge?
Further, the Sandiganbayan ignored the disparities in Revilla’s SALN and how cash deposits jived with the ledger of Napoles.
This just proves that the Judiciary is the weak link in our democratic system.
Political Dynasties. The 1987 Constitution is clear in its intent to ban political dynasties. Yet our congressmen have failed to pass an enacting law even after 31 years, obviously due to self-serving reasons.
This is why the slate of candidates for the 2019 elections are not the best and brightest but one composed of next of kin, no matter how unqualified.
Cha Cha. The “coup” staged by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo against Pantaleon Alvarez for the Speakership of the House was a welcome development by many. In just a few months, however, the GMA-led House passed its version of a federal draft charter that did not cure the flaws of the 1987 Constitution but instead released incumbents from term limits.
Peace and Order. The assassination of Congressman Rodel Batocabe in broad daylight speaks volumes about the state of law and order in the land.
The War on Drugs. While scores of people have been killed in the name of the war on drugs, it did not deter P6.4 billion worth of shabu from slipping through customs and into our streets last August. The war on drugs is a losing battle for as long as big-time drug lords are allowed to operate.
Here’s wishing that 2019 will be a better year for us all.

Andrew J. Masigan is an economist.

Davao police files 1,150 drug-related cases in 2018

January 6, 2019 | 10:22 pm

THE DAVAO Police Regional Office (PRO-11) reported 1,150 drug-related cases filed in 2018, involving mainly users and pushers. Chief Supt. Marcelo C. Morales, PRO-11 director, said over the weekend that they are intensifying their campaign against the illegal drug trade this year, alongside other crimes. PRO-11 logged in 6,700 various operations last year, netting about 9,200 suspects and filing 5,200 cases. Aside from illegal drugs, the other major crimes are illegal gambling, illegal fishing and logging, loose firearms, and car theft. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

PHL Azkals begin historic AFC Asian Cup bid today

January 6, 2019 | 10:19 pm

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE HISTORIC AFC Asian Cup campaign of the Philippine men’s national football team begins today as the Azkals play their debut group stage game in the continental football spectacle in the United Arab Emirates.
Playing for the first time ever in the Asian Cup, the Philippines takes on South Korea in a Group C match at the Al-Maktoum Stadium in Dubai at 9:30 p.m. (Manila time) where it hopes to set its bid to a good start.
The Azkals are also set to face China and Kyrgyzstan in the grouping with the top two teams automatically advancing to the next round.
Today’s game marks the first time that the Philippines is facing South Korea in 39 years.
The last time the two teams met, the Koreans lorded it over the Filipinos, winning, 8-0. The Taeguk Warriors have a 7-0 record against the Philippines and have scored 35 total goals and not allowing any to the Southeast Asian squad.
For this year’s Asian Cup, Azkals coach Sven-Goran Eriksson are banking on the efforts of a 23-man team, most of whom are already staples with the team.
Called up were goalkeepers Nathaniel Villanueva, Michael Falkesgaard and Kevin Ray Hansen, and defenders Alvaro Silva, Carli De Murga, Daisuke Sato, Stephan Palla, Luke Woodland, Adam Tull, Curt Dizon and Paul Mulders.
Also part of the team are midfielders John-Patrick Strauss, Iain Ramsey, Manuel Ott, Kevin Ingreso, Stephan Schrock, Miguel Tanton, James Younghusband and Mike Ott, and forwards Jovin Bedic, Phil Younghusband, Patrick Reichelt and Javier Patino.
Top goalkeeper Neil Etheridge is not part of the Azkals for the Asian Cup because of his commitment with Cardiff City in the Premier League in Europe.
Despite the uphill battle facing them right at the onset of group play, Mr. Eriksson said it would not let it stop them from trying to make waves in the tournament and going all out.
“I think the Philippines have to go in with one target: to go through, to go further. That’s not easy but if you can do that, that’s good…” Mr. Eriksson was quoted as saying by the AFC Website, underscoring the kind of mindset his team has to have if they are to make things happen.
“We have to have that target if we go to the tournament. We can’t just go and be happy that we are there. Yes, we’re happy but that’s not enough. We have to try to go through,” added the coach, who led the Azkals to a semifinal finish in the AFF Suzuki Cup late last year.
After South Korea, which incidentally was the runner-up in the last edition of the Asian Cup in 2015 behind champion Australia, the Azkals will face off with China on Jan. 11 and Kyrgyzstan on Jan. 16.
Apart from winding up in the top two in their respective groupings, a team can advance to the next round of the tournament if it is one of the four best third-placed teams among the six groups in the group stage.
The 2019 AFC Asian Cup has the theme “Bringing Asia Together.”
The Azkals’ matches can be seen over FOX Sports which is available on SkyCable Channels 31 & 32 (SD) and 253 & 254 (HD) and on Cignal Channels 263 and 265 (HD).

Curry, Warriors fire away, beat Kings in 3-point match

January 6, 2019 | 10:18 pm

LOS ANGELES – Stephen Curry connected on 10 3-pointers as part of a 42-point performance Saturday night, helping the Golden State Warriors outlast the host Sacramento Kings 127-123 in a game that featured the most combined 3-pointers in NBA history.
The Warriors went 21-for-47 from beyond the arc while the Kings made a franchise-record 20 in 36 attempts.
The 41 3-pointers were one more than the previous record of 40 set in a game last season between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Curry scored 20 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter, none bigger than a three-point play off a Draymond Green assist that put Golden State ahead for good at 123-121 with 2:03 to go.
Green also made a key defensive play two possessions later, stealing a De’Aaron Fox pass and lobbing to Andre Iguodala for an alley-oop dunk that made it a four-point game with 56.8 seconds remaining.
Curry capped his big night with two clinching free throws with 9.4 seconds left.
Curry finished 14-for-26 from the field and 10-for-20 on 3-pointers as the Warriors, in winning their third straight on the road, successfully rebounded from an overtime loss at home to Houston two nights earlier.
Kevin Durant backed Curry with 29 points and nine assists, while Klay Thompson added 20 points, Green 12 to go with seven rebounds and seven assists, and Quinn Cook with 10 points.
Golden State shot 50.5 percent for the game and won at Sacramento for the fourth straight time.
Buddy Hield buried a career-high eight 3-pointers in 13 attempts to account for most of his scoring on a 32-point night for the Kings, who have lost three straight to Golden State this season by one, five and four points.
Justin Jackson also established a career-high for 3-pointers with five during a 28-point game for Sacramento, which lost its fourth in a row.
Bogdan Bogdanovic had 17 points, Willie Cauley-Stein 14 to complement a game-high 13 rebounds, and Nemanja Bjelica 12 points for the Kings, who shot 47.4% overall.
NURKIC, MCCOLLUM LEAD BLAZERS PAST ROCKETS
Jusuf Nurkic scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers knocked off the visiting Houston Rockets 110-101 Saturday night.
CJ McCollum scored 24 points and Damian Lillard contributed 17 points and 12 assists for the Trail Blazers, who ended the Rockets’ six-game win streak.
Houston’s James Harden scored 38 points, ending his string of five straight 40-point performances. Harden, who missed a layup in the closing seconds, was 13 for 35 from the field, including 5 for 17 from 3-point range.
Austin Rivers scored 21 points and Clint Capela added 13 points and 21 rebounds for the Rockets, who lost for only the third time in the last 11 meetings with the Blazers.
Nurkic had 13 points and seven rebounds as Portland seized a 59-46 lead at the half. Rivers scored 17 points for Houston. Harden had nine points on 3-for-15 shooting, including 0 for 8 from 3-point range.
Portland extended its edge to 79-64 in the third quarter. Houston closed to within 83-75 on a three-point play by Harden late in the quarter.
Lillard answered with a three-point play of his own, and Harden sank a bank shot as time expired and the Blazers took an 86-77 advantage into the final period.
Houston cut the difference to 88-83 on a dunk by Gerald Green with nine minutes left, but McCollum hit a 3-pointer and Nurkic scored on a tip-in to make it 93-83. — Reuters

Didal starts Olympic journey in Rio qualifying tournament

January 6, 2019 | 10:18 pm

GO FOR GOLD will be backing the qualifying bid of Margielyn Arda Didal to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Cebuana skateboarding heroine is set to begin her quest to earn a spot in the global quadrennial Games during the Street League Skateboarding PRO Championships in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on Jan. 8-11, the first Olympic ranking competition in the sport.
Didal, who catapulted to instant fame when the 19-year-old captured a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games, will be in the company of the world’s best in the discipline including Brazilian Monica Torres, Australian Haley Wilson, Candy Jacobs of the Netherlands and 16-year-old Japanese world champion Aori Nishimura.
“I believe she is one of the leading contenders for our country to get another Olympic medal,” said Go For Gold godfather Jeremy Go.
Didal would love to follow the footsteps of 2016 Olympic silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz or even surpass the feat of the Filipino weightlifting star by aiming for the country’s first Olympic gold in the 2020 Tokyo Games.
“It’s a dream that I hope to fulfill. But for now, my focus is how to earn a spot in the Olympics through a series of ranking competitions where I have to perform at my best,” said Didal, one of the several national athletes in the six sports that Go For Gold has been supporting.
Also seeing action in the Rio qualifier, considered as the 2019 world championship of skateboarding, is Christiana Means, an Oregon-based Pinay skater.
“We wish her (Didal) good luck in her tournament and will continue to support her and our other Pinoy skateboarders,” said Go.
Aside from skateboarding, Go For Gold is also behind the success of several national athletes from cycling, triathlon, sepak takraw, dragonboat, and wrestling.
The top 14 women of Street League Skateboarding will see action in Rio beginning Tuesday, which will also feature world-renowned skaters Pamela Rosa, Alexis Sablone, Kate Shengeliya, Jenn Sotto, Lacey Baker, Samarria Brevard, Julia Brueckler, Leticia Bufoni, and Mariah Duran.

Khalil penalty earns United Arab Emirates draw in Asian Cup opener against Bahrain

January 6, 2019 | 10:18 pm

ABU DHABI — United Arab Emirates’ Ahmed Khalil scored a penalty two minutes from fulltime to spare their blushes as the hosts secured a fortuitous 1-1 draw with Bahrain in the opening game of the 2019 Asian Cup on Saturday.
Khalil smashed home his spot kick after Mohamed Marhoon was judged to have handled the ball inside the penalty area, cancelling out Mohamed Al Romaihi’s 78^th-minute opener for Bahrain in the Group A meeting.
The late goal spared the host nation the indignity of losing to a side 34 places below them in the FIFA rankings but it will have done little to ease the pressure on coach Alberto Zaccheroni, who has come in for criticism throughout his time in charge of the UAE.
“The performance in the first half was aggressive and I thank the players for fighting, but I told them what matters is to evolve our performances from one game to the next,” said Zaccheroni.
“We will correct all the mistakes and learn lessons from them for the next game against India and hopefully the performance will be better.”
The Italian, who won the Asian title in 2011 when he was in charge of Japan, fielded a side on Saturday that lacked cohesion and composure in front of goal, with striker Ali Mabkhout missing several chances to put his side in front.
Ismail Al Hammadi almost gave Zaccheroni’s side the perfect start after seven minutes when he was sent racing in on goal by Mabkhout, only for Bahrain goalkeeper Sayed Shubbar to deny the winger.
Mabkhout pulled an effort across the face of goal while later in the half he skied a half-volley well over the bar.
Bahrain gradually pulled themselves into contention with Al Romaihi threatening in attack while Komail Al Aswad was inches away from giving Miroslav Soukup’s side the lead when his free kick just cleared the crossbar on the stroke of halftime.
Al Romaihi had given the home defence trouble throughout the match with his height and physical presence and it came as no surprise that it was the front man who put Bahrain ahead, scoring at the second attempt after indecision in the UAE defence.
Soukup’s side looked set to take all three points but the referee pointed to the spot when the ball brushed Marhoon’s hand and Khalil scored to rescue his team.
The UAE face India and Bahrain play Thailand in the second round of group matches on Jan. 10. — Reuters

Qatari Asian Cup organizer stopped from attending tourney

January 6, 2019 | 10:17 pm

DOHA — A Qatari official who helped organise the Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates was prevented from flying there on Thursday for the tournament, sources said, as a rift between the two Gulf states showed no signs of abating.
Saoud Al-Mohannadi chaired the organizing committee for the tournament, which starts on Saturday, and is vice president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
A Qatari official told Reuters that Mohannadi was stopped from boarding an Oman Air flight to Abu Dhabi from Muscat. He was told by the airline that his name was not on a list held at Abu Dhabi airport, another source said.
Abu Dhabi’s government communications office did not respond immediately to Reuters’ request for comment. But Aref al-Awani, director of the Asian Cup’s local organising committee, said on Twitter that nobody was banned from attending the tournament.
Other than in special circumstances, Qataris have been prevented from entering United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt since the four countries launched a diplomatic and trade boycott of Qatar in June 2017.
They accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism, a charge that Doha denies. Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup, which soccer’s global governing body FIFA hopes to expand to 48 teams from 32, suggesting the country could share hosting duties with neighbouring Gulf states.
The AFC is one of six continental football confederations that make up FIFA.
AFC ELECTION
Abu Dhabi’s Awani said reports about banning any individual from attending were untrue. “Whoever is trying to create stories and fictions are used to it, and we are used to ignoring them,” he tweeted.
Mohannadi said last month that he would run for president of the 47-country AFC in April. — Reuters

Loyal soldiers

January 6, 2019 | 10:17 pm

The only thing permanent in this world is change and that in the truest sense of the word was best exemplified by Jimmy Alapag, the guy who spent his playing career for 14 seasons under the MVP Group of Companies.
Known as The Mighty Mouse, Alapag started his career with Talk ‘N Text in 2003 and as a rookie, he won the team’s first ever championship that same year.
He became part of the Tropang Texters’ six championship squads before he would temporarily retire, but would resurface to play for the Meralco Bolts, his previous squad’s sister company for the 2015-2016 season.
There, at Meralco, he would break the all-time record of Allan Caidic for most three-point shots and he retired making 1,250 career treys.
After retirement, he would continue serving as an assistant coach both of the Bolts and Gilas Pilipinas under head coaches Tab Baldwin and Chot Reyes. His involvement with Alab Pilipinas, which would eventually be bankrolled by San Miguel Beer in the Asean Basketball League and a team he would led to the championship last year, opened his involvement with the MVP Group’s rival company.
It came as no surprise though that Alapag was named assistant coach of the San Miguel Beermen in the PBA to join the coaching staff headed by Leo Austria.
Why am I not surprised to see Alapag, who had shown his loyalty to the MVP Group for 13 years, moving to the SMC fold?
Tim Cone, the coach who was even mistakenly identified by long-time subscriber of Alaska as “the little boy in the can,” and would coach the Aces for 22 years, would eventually jump ship to the SMC fold.
After winning 13 championships with Alaska, Cone would lead the old Purefoods franchise to five championships, including his second grand slam. He would transfer to Ginebra, the PBA’s most popular team and sister company of Purefoods, to three more championships.
Jong Uichico, a loyal soldier of SMC and has been associated as the most diligent protégé of Ron Jacobs, would also transfer to the MVP Group of Companies despite his success with his previous mother company.
Uichico took over the team coached by his long-time mentor, the Beermen, and would quickly win a championship in just his first season. Overall, he would win six championships with San Miguel Beer before he was shipped to Ginebra, a team he led to two titles.
When Uichico has disagreements with SMC management, which was trying to put him as an alternate board governor and being demoted from a head coach to assistant of Siot Tanquingcen, the former La Salle stalwart transferred to the MVP Group where he served as an assistant coach to Ryan Gregorio before being named head coach of TNT.
There, at TNT, Uichico would win a championship. Uichico would also serve as an assistant coach to Chot Reyes at Gilas Pilipinas and would spearhead the Philippine men’s basketball team in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games.
So even the most loyal soldiers would also leave their posts once opportunity arises. It may be hard to imagine seeing them in different squads, knowing their long associations with a certain entity.
But these individuals are out there just to continue pursuing what they loved the most – and that is being linked to basketball – whatever capacity it may be.
At least not in the case of Cone, who has been a champion in all of the teams he’s involved with.
Life goes on for them whatever teams they’re involved with.

Rey Joble is a member of the PBA Press Corps and Philippine Sportswriters Association.
reyjoble09@gmail.com

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