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Kings, Bolts in a finals clash for the third time

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

FOR the third time in the last four years the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings and Meralco Bolts dispute the title for the season-ending Philippine Basketball Association tournament Governors’ Cup.

A best-of-seven affair, the finals series begins on Jan. 8 and to be played in four venues.

The Kings have had the number of the Bolts in the finals to date, taking the first two encounters, 4-2 and 4-3, in 2016 and 2017, respectively. But Meralco fortified its roster of late with solid acquisitions which it hopes could help it finally go over the hump and win its first-ever PBA crown.

Barangay Ginebra was the first to barge into the finals of this edition of the Governors’ Cup.

It fended off a spirited challenge from the upset-minded Northport Batang Pier, 3-1, in their best-of-five semifinal series. Prior to that, the fourth-seeded Kings eliminated and crushed the grand slam hopes of the San Miguel Beermen in the quarterfinals where they saw no need to use their twice-to-beat advantage.

In their last game against Northport, import Justin Brownlee led the Kings in securing the finals berth, finishing with 36 points, 19 rebounds and eight assists.

Japeth Aguilar had 20 points, nine boards and seven assists while LA Tenorio and Stanley Pringle had 19 and 18 points, respectively.

Scottie Thompson also had it solid, chalking up 14 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

The Kings swept their last three games versus the Batang Pier after being routed by 34 points in the series opener.

“Hopefully this is our time again. In the previous three PBA season we always had a title to show for. Hopefully we win another one this year,” said Mr. Tenorio following their victory.

THIRD TIME’S A CHARM?
The Bolts, meanwhile, are looking to make it third time a charm after falling short in each of their two attempts at a PBA title. They acquired the services of guys like Raymond Almazan and Allein Maliksi in recent trades to help them in their championship push.

Meralco outlasted the TNT KaTropa in their best-of-five semifinals, 3-2, punctuated by an 89-78 victory in Game Five on Dec. 23.

Import Allen Durham had it all-around anew with 28 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Chris Newsome had 23 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the victory.

Rookie Bong Quinto exploded for 19 points with Mr. Maliksi adding 11.

In the quarterfinals, the second-seeded Bolts dispatched the Alaska Aces.

“It was a tough path but everybody was just focused on getting back to the finals,” said Meralco coach Norman Black.

In their lone game in the Governors’ Cup this year, the Bolts won over the Kings, 101-77.

Meanwhile, the finals series begins on Jan. 8, Wednesday, with Game One set for 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Game Two will be on the road in Lucena City with the series going back to the Big Dome for Games 3 and 4.

Game Five will be played at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Games Six and Seven will be at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.

NBA on Christmas Day 2019 By-The-Numbers

THE 72nd edition of the National Basketball Association on Christmas Day will feature five games televised across ESPN and ABC in the United States and streamed on the ESPN App. The annual tradition will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in 46 languages.

The action tips off with the defending NBA Champion Toronto Raptors hosting a Christmas Day game for the first time when they meet the Boston Celtics at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN. In the Philippines it can be seen over the Facebook and Twitter accounts of NBA Philippines at 1 a.m. today (Dec. 26).

ABC’s coverage opens with reigning Kia NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks visiting the Philadelphia 76ers at 2:30 p.m. ET, followed by NBA scoring leader James Harden and the Houston Rockets taking on the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco (5 p.m. ET).

ABC and ESPN will both air the Staples Center showdown between LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers and Kawhi Leonard and the LA Clippers at 8 p.m. ET. This game can be seen in the Philippines at 9 a.m. today over CNN Philippines.

The schedule concludes with the Denver Nuggets hosting their first Christmas Day game in 25 years when they play the New Orleans Pelicans at 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Here are some additional numbers highlighting the NBA on Christmas Day.

338 — James ranks third on the career Christmas Day scoring list with 338 points, behind No. 1 Kobe Bryant (395) and No. 2 Oscar Robertson (377).

140 — NBA teams have conducted 140 NBA Cares Season of Giving events this holiday season, serving more than 130,000 meals and distributing more than 10,000 gifts.

60 — Bernard King scored a Christmas Day-record 60 points for the New York Knicks against the New Jersey Nets in 1984.

31 — Philadelphia will host a Christmas Day game for the first time in 31 years.

30/17 — There are 30 international players from 17 countries on Christmas Day teams’ rosters.

28 — Christmas Day rosters feature 28 players who have been NBA All-Stars. NBA All-Star Voting presented by Google begins on Dec. 25 at 11 a.m. ET.

25 — This Christmas will mark the 25th anniversary of Scottie Pippen leading the Chicago Bulls to a 107-104 overtime win over the Knicks. Pippen had 36 points, 16 rebounds and five steals.

23 — The Lakers have the most wins on Christmas Day with 23.

15 — Clippers head coach Doc Rivers has been a part of 15 Christmas Day games — four as a player and 11 as a head coach.

14 — James will play his 14th Christmas Day game, moving into sole possession of second place in NBA history. Bryant holds the record with 16.

12 — The NBA will have five Christmas Day games for the 12th year in a row.

10 — Dwyane Wade has the most Christmas Day victories for a player with 10 — a record that James can match with a win this year.

6 — Six players have recorded a triple-double in a game on Christmas Day: Draymond Green (2017), Russell Westbrook (2013), James (2010), Billy Cunningham (1970), John Havlicek (1967) and Robertson (1960, 1961, 1963, 1967).

4 — Christmas Day will feature four Kia NBA MVPs: the Rockets’ Harden and Westbrook, the Lakers’ James and the Bucks’ Antetokounmpo.

3 — Three 2019 NBA All-Stars are set to make their Christmas Day debuts this year: Denver’s Nikola Jokić, Toronto’s Kyle Lowry and Boston’s Kemba Walker.

1 — The Jump’s new pregame show on ABC will air for the first time prior to the Lakers-Clippers game, while Hoop Streams, ESPN’s new digital onsite pregame, will make its debut on the ESPN App and ESPN’s Twitter and YouTube platforms.

Australian Open prize pool jumps to $49M

MELBOURNE — The prize pool for the 2020 Australian Open has been boosted by 14% to A$71 million ($49.1 million), organizers said on Tuesday, with the biggest gains for players exiting in the early rounds.

Players losing in the first round of qualifying at the year’s first Grand Slam will take home A$20,000, up by a third from last year, while singles players who exit in the first round of the main draw will earn A$90,000, a jump of 20%.

Before the start of the 2018 Australian Open, Serb champion Novak Djokovic had to distance himself from media reports that he had pushed for a revolt over the way revenues from the four Grand Slams were distributed to help reward a larger group of players.

“We have long been committed to improving the pay and conditions for a deeper pool of international tennis players,” tournament director Craig Tiley said in a statement, noting that overall prize money has more than tripled since 2007.

“This year … we pushed to reward players competing early in the tournament in both singles and doubles.”

The 2020 women’s and men’s singles champions will receive smaller increases in prize money, with both winners taking home A$4.12 million, up $20,000.

Players can usually secure a main draw appearance in the tournament, which starts on Jan. 20, by having a ranking in the top 100.

Naomi Osaka of Japan is the reigning women’s singles champion at the Australian Open while Djokovic claimed a record seventh title by defeating great rival Rafa Nadal in the 2019 final.

In a report published last year, an International Review Panel commissioned to address betting-related and other integrity issues said that players in the lowest tiers were susceptible to being corrupted because of the difficulty of making a living, with only 250–350 players earning enough money to break even.

The International Tennis Federation last week announced a series of measures as part of its fight against corruption in the sport’s lower levels. — Reuters

Filipino fighters to see action at Brave CF 33

BRAVE Combat Federation returns to Saudi Arabia this weekend for “Brave CF 33” which has Filipino fighters part of the card.

Happening on Dec. 27 in Jeddah, Brave CF 33 will see Jeremy “The Juggernaut” Pacatiw, Rolando “The Incredible” Dy and Harold “The Artist” Banario take on separate opponents in an event which Brave touts as an event that has a card that is truly global.

Mr. Pacatiw (5-4) of Team Lakay will clash with Brazilian Felipe Efrain in a bantamweight clash in the main card.

He is coming off a unanimous decision loss against Ali Al Qaisi of Jordan last month that saw his winning streak stopped to three.

The Team Lakay member gave his all and fought hard against his opponent but just did not get the nod of the judges, who all went Mr. Al Qaisi’s way.

Despite the loss, Mr. Pacatiw nonetheless made history in said event as the fighter with the most appearance in the three-year-old promotion with nine fights, surpassing Brave welterweight world champion Jarrah Al-Selawe, who has eight.

He is now looking to bounce back against Mr. Efrain (13-5), who has lost back-to-back entering the contest.

Mr. Dy (12-8-1) will battle Russian Anzor Abdulkhozhaev in a featherweight encounter in the preliminary card.

In his lone fight in Brave so far, held here in Manila in March, Mr. Dy defeated Mahmosh Raza by knockout in the first round.

Mr. Abdulkhozhaev, for his part, is making his Brave debut and holds a record of nine wins and a loss.

Mr. Banario (5-1), meanwhile, takes on Russian Gamzat Magomedov in a preliminary bantamweight joust.

Also fighting out of Team Lakay, Mr. Banario last saw action in Manila in March and was a first-round submission winner over compatriot Ariel Oliveros.

Out to take him down is Mr. Magomedov, who won in his last fight in July by way of unanimous decision.

Headlining Brave CF 33 is the middleweight battle between Ikram Aliskerov of Russia and Diego Gonzalez of Sweden.

In the co-main event, local hero Abdullah Al-Qahtani will face off with Pakistan’s Zia Mashwani.

For Brave CF 33, athletes from Latin America, Caribbean, Europe, Southeast Asia, Subcontinent, North Africa, and Middle East will be in action. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Barcelona best-paid sports team in the world — study

BARCELONA HAS RETAINED its position as the world’s best-paid professional sports team while National Basketball Association (NBA) sides took seven out of the top 10 places this year, a study by research body Sporting Intelligence revealed.

Data from the annual Global Sports Salary Survey shows the average basic pay at the Spanish giant this season is 9.8 million pounds ($12.75 million), dipping slightly from last year’s 10.5 million pounds.

Barcelona holding onto top spot is largely down to Argentina forward Lionel Messi’s gross basic annual pay of more than 50 million pounds including guaranteed image rights fees.

Real Madrid is second on the list with an average basic pay of around 8.9 million pounds while Serie A champion Juventus — who signed Messi’s great rival Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018 — is in third place.

The Portland Trailblazers are fourth with an average pay of 8 million pounds, ahead of fellow NBA sides Golden State Warriors, Orlando Magic, Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers.

English soccer champion Manchester City is 13th at 6.9 million pounds — below France’s Paris St. Germain in 12th (7.1 million pounds) — but ahead of local rival Manchester United who are 33rd (6.1 million pounds).

The average annual salary of a Premier League player climbed over 3 million pounds for the first time — a rise of 6.1% from last year — making the competition the highest-paying soccer league, while the NBA was first overall.

Major League Baseball teams experienced mixed fortunes on the list.

The New York Yankees, who last week signed pitcher Gerrit Cole to a nine-year deal worth a reported $324 million, are 32nd while the Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals and Arizona Diamondbacks were among the biggest fallers.

Data revealed that Spain’s La Liga and the Premier League were joint-top in terms of social media popularity, well ahead of the NBA, National Football League and Serie A. — Reuters

Huge savings, international ranking await junior players at DreamBig tennis camp and tournament

FILIPINO JUNIOR Tennis players who join the DreamBig Gold Series Tennis Camp and Tournament at the Manila Polo Club on Jan. 9 to 12, 2020 will be able to take advantage of huge savings while being mentored by top collegiate tennis coaches from Division 1 colleges in the United States.

Three NCAA Division 1 coaches, including Rob Raines from Cornell University in New York and Jessie Freeder from Boston University, will run the three-day camp and oversee the tournament where the young athletes can showcase their talent.

Participants will also receive their Universal Tennis Ranking (UTR) at the camp without having to travel abroad for this. The UTR measures an athlete’s skill level based on objective, consistent and accurate methods and provides a benchmark of skill level compared to other players worldwide. Having a UTR gives players an edge, as international coaches use the rating for their rosters.

Each participant stands to save over $5,000 total if they join the camp in Manila as they eliminate the cost of airfare, board and lodging for both athlete and chaperone, local transport expenses and miscellaneous cost that, together with tuition, adds up to as much as $6,200. Participation fees at the DreamBig Tennis Camp in Manila costs $1,000. Hotel stay, if needed, will be minimal cost additions compared to their US equivalents.

“Joining the DreamBig Gold Series Tennis Camp in Manila will take out a huge chunk of expenses as parents need to spend just roughly $1,000 for such world-class training. This includes the opportunity to be scouted by the best collegiate coaches for almost one-fifth the cost of attending such college tennis camps in the States is more than worth it,” said Akshay Maliwal, DreamBig founder and CEO, an athlete who has himself trained abroad for his game and wants to open up the opportunity to more Asians. The DreamBig Camp is part of series starting in New Delhi followed by Singapore this January, with Manila as its last leg.

The camp has an intimate setup to ensure personalized training and guidance to each player according to his or her skill level. Limited slots are available for interested players. At the end of the camp, coaches will be able to assess the players’ readiness to join top US colleges and vie for scholarships.

“DreamBig believes there’s a wealth of young tennis talent in the Philippines. That’s why we worked really hard to bring this camp to this country. Tennis is another sport where young athletes can put their country on the map,” Maliwal said.

Interested participants aged 12–18 years old may register now at: https://dreambig.events/gold-series-tennnis-camp/.

Big win for Nepom

A quick recap of the rules. This is a Grand Prix event, a KO tournament with 16 players at the start. At each round of the tournament players compete a best-of-2 game KO match under classical time controls (90 minutes for the 1st 40 moves, then an additional 30 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1).

If the match is tied 1-1 then you go into tie-breaks: 2 games at a time limit of 25 minutes + 10 second increment. If still tied then an additional 2 games at 10 minutes + 10 second increment. If still there is no decision then 2 more games at a time limit of 5 minutes + 3 second per move increment. Finally, if all else fails then a single Armageddon chess game: white receives 5 minutes while Black only receives 4 minutes. There is a 2 second per move increment starting move 61. Black wins the match in case of a draw.

First Round:

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 2780 vs Veselin Topalov BUL 2737, 3-1

Dmitry Andreikin RUS 2724 vs Radoslaw Wojtaszek POL 2725, 2.5-1.5

Wesley So USA 2760 vs Yu Yangyi CHN 2738, 1.5-0.5

Ian Nepomniachtchi RUS 2767 vs Boris Gelfand ISR 2684, 3-1

Wei Yi CHN 2725 vs Anish Giri NED 2769, 2.5-1.5

Sergey Karjakin RUS 2754 vs Penteala Harikrishna IND 2724, 4.5-4.5*

David Navara CZE 2707 vs Wang Hao CHN 2756, 4.5-3.5

Dmitrij Jakovenko RUS 2698 vs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2772, 3.5-2.5

*Karjakin was Black in the final Armageddon game, so he was the one who advanced to the next round

Quarterfinals:

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 2780 vs Dmitry Andreikin RUS 2724, 2.5-1.5

Ian Nepomniachtchi RUS 2767 vs Wesley So USA 2760, 2.5-1.5

Wei Yi CHN 2725 vs Sergey Karjakin RUS 2754, 3.5-2.5

David Navara CZE 2707 vs Dmitrij Jakovenko RUS 2698, 1.5-0.5

Semifinals:

Ian Nepomniachtchi RUS 2767 vs Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 2780, 1.5-0.5

Wei Yi CHN 2725 vs David Navara CZE 2707, 2.5-1.5

Finals:

Ian Nepomniachtchi RUS 2767 vs Wei Yi CHN 2725, 1.5-0.5

Ian Nepomniachtchi defeated Wei Yi 1.5-0.5 in the final match and won the Jerusalem Grand Prix, at the same time assuring himself of a spot in the Yekaterinburg Candidates tournament scheduled for March 2020.

The former European champion looked a bit shaky in the first round. He defeated Boris Gelfand 3-1 but the score doesn’t tell the real tale. Actually it was Gelfand who was playing to win in 3 out of their 4 games. Nepomniachtchi proved to be a resourceful defender though and kept slipping out of his opponent’s clutches and forcefully counter-attacking.

In round 2, taking into consideration current form, I thought Wesley So would take Nepomniachtchi’s measure but the Fil-Am fell for some high-level opening preparation and found himself eliminated after 4 games.

The semifinal match between Nepomniachtchi and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave was the most awaited match in the event. Both players wanted to qualify for the Candidates tournament and they could only accomplish this by knocking the other out.

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave has the narrowest opening repertoire among the elite players. With Black he will play the Najdorf Sicilian against 1.e4 and the Gruenfeld against 1.d4. This is both a strength and a weakness. A strength because he has studied these openings very deeply and even if you surprise him with a rare line he has a dynamic feel for the position and can orient himself even in unfamiliar waters. A weakness because there is no element of surprise in what he will do and a cunning opponent gets to choose the battlefield where the game will be fought.

And the latter was what happened. In the very first game of their match Nepomniachtchi played a noncommittal line which enticed MVL to overthink the position, seeing tactics and involved variations which took a lot of time and energy, only to have Nepom adopt a simple method of play which rendered all those calculations useless.

The clash of pieces duly came up around the 20th move but while Nepomniachtchi was fresh the French GM had already exhausted himself with all the previous calculations, which caused him to miss an important tactical point.

Nepomniachtchi, Ian (2767) — Vachier-Lagrave, Maxime (2780) [D97]
Jerusalem FIDE Grand Prix
Jerusalem ISR (3.1), 19.12.2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3 dxc4 6.Qxc4 0–0 7.e4

Black’s 5 main lines here are, in order of frequency, 7…a6, 7…Na6, 7…Bg4, 7…Nc6 and 7…c6. Bringing the knight to c6 is some sort of Vachier-Lagrave trademark. He plays it a lot and scores pretty well with it.

7…Nc6

The famous Botvinnik versus Fischer game from “My 60 Memorable Games” continued 7…Bg4 8.Be3 Nfd7 (Smyslov’s move) 9.Be2 Nc6 10.Rd1 Nb6 (Fischer comments that 10…Bxf3 followed by …e7–e5 also gives Black active play) 11.Qc5 Qd6! 12.h3 (12.Qxd6 cxd6!=) 12…Bxf3 13.gxf3 (13.Bxf3? Qxc5 14.dxc5 Nc4 Black is doing well) 13…Rfd8 14.d5 Ne5 15.Nb5 (15.f4 Nec4 16.Bxc4 Qxc5 17.Bxc5 Nxc4 18.e5 Nxb2 19.Rd4 f6! and White’s central position breaks up (Botvinnik)) 15…Qf6! 16.f4 Ned7 17.e5 Qxf4! 18.Bxf4 Nxc5 19.Nxc7 Rac8 20.d6 exd6 21.exd6 (21.Rxd6? Ncd7) 21…Bxb2 Black has won a pawn but there is still a lot of chess ahead. Botvinnik,M-Fischer,R Varna Olympiad 1962 1/2 68.

8.Be3!?

Nepom later explained why he played this move: “8.Be3 is surely not the best move, but it’s not played too often these days, and I think it could be an interesting idea, especially if the opponent faces it for the first time. Basically the idea is to prevent 8…e5 9.d5 Nd4, so now we have a better edition. So normally you play 8.Be2 and then ok, it’s a draw. Maxime played 1000 games already in this line and he never loses, he only beats someone with the initiative, and also this line became very popular because of Maxime, basically, so that’s why I decided it’s likely he’ll play 7…Nc6 and OK, I came up with this Be3 move. Of course it’s nothing serious, but it worked out pretty well.”

By the way, it is not true that MVL has never lost with this line. Magnus Carlsen beat him last August with 8.h3 Nd7 9.Be3 Nb6 10.Qc5 a5 11.Rc1 Nd7 12.Qa3 e5 13.d5 Nd4 14.Nb5 c5 15.dxc6 Nxc6 16.Be2 Nf6 17.Rd1 Bd7 18.Bc5 Black is in trouble as 18…Re8 is met by Nd6. Carlsen, M. (2882)-Vachier Lagrave, M. (2778) Saint Louis 2019. 1–0 34. Well, OK, that was only a rapid game.

8…Ng4

After 20 minutes.

9.e5

After the game MVL revealed that most of the 20 minutes he spent on 8…Ng4 had been devoted to the hyper-sharp position after 9.Bg5!? Nxd4 10.Rd1 c5! 11.Qxc5 Ne6!

9…Nxe3 10.fxe3 Bg4 11.h3 Bxf3 12.gxf3 e6 13.h4

Nepom decides to keep his king in the center rather than castle queenside.

13…Ne7 14.f4 b5

The Russian GM commented: “He chose an interesting way, but it’s strategically very dangerous, because I have this superior pawn center. I believe Maxime played in a very creative way — this b5, b4 — finally he got some counterplay, but I believe that it was more or less under control.”

15.Qc5

Whether the White captures the b5 pawn with the queen or knight, Black gets dangerous counterplay. Sample lines:

15.Qxb5 Rb8 16.Qe2 c5 17.dxc5 Qa5 18.h5 Rfd8;

15.Nxb5 Rb8 16.Qxc7 Qd5 17.Rh2 Nf5.

15…Nf5 16.Kf2 f6 17.Rd1 b4 18.Qxb4 Rb8 19.Qa3 fxe5?!

Nepom was expecting a “big clash” after 19…c5!

20.dxe5 Qe8 21.Bg2 Bxe5?!

MVL had some tactics in mind but he overlooked something …

22.fxe5 Nxh4+ 23.Kg1 Nxg2 <D>

POSITION AFTER 23…NXG2

Now MVL expected 24.Kxg2 Qc6+ with at least a draw for Black.]

24.Ne4!

This had to be calculated very carefully.

24…Rd8!

MVL: “a good try, but not enough.”

25.Rc1

The knight cannot be taken: 25.Kxg2? Qc6! How to defend the knight? 26.Qb4 Qc2+ 27.Nd2 a5! (forcing the white queen out of the 4th tank so that it cannot easily transfer to the kingside) 28.Qc3 Qf5! despite being a piece down the threats to the white king assure Black of at least a draw.

25…Qb5 26.Qe7!

[26.Kxg2?? Qe2+ 27.Kg3 Qf3+ 28.Kh2 Qh5+ 29.Kg2 Rd2+! 30.Nxd2 Qg4+ 31.Kh2 Rf2#]

26…Rd7 27.Nf6+ Rxf6 28.Qxf6 Rf7 29.Qd8+ Rf8

[29…Kg7 30.Rxc7 wins]

30.Qxc7 Rf7 31.Qd8+ Rf8 32.Qe7 h5

[32…Rf7 no longer works because the c-file is already open and White mates via 33.Rc8+ Kg7 34.Qxf7+! Kxf7 35.Rxh7#]

33.Qxe6+ Kg7 34.Rc7+ Kh6 35.Rxh5+! Kxh5 36.Qh3+ 1–0

MVL resigns as he did not want to see 36.Qh3+ Kg5 (36…Nh4 37.Rh7+ Kg5 38.Qxh4+ Kf5 39.Re7! it is either mate or give up the black queen) 37.Qxg2+ Kf5 38.Qf3+ Kxe5 39.Qxf8 White is a full rook up and Black has no available checks.

A very tense and exciting fight.

 

Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant (CPA), he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas (UST) for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.

bobby@cpamd.net

Battle of Los Angeles

Make no mistake. When the Lakers face the Clippers today, they will be complete. It isn’t simply because they’re bent on arresting the only losing streak they’ve had since the start of the 2019–20 season; precisely because of their championship aspirations, they can’t be too happy they’re mired in a three-game skein that’s as much a reflection of bad timing as of their intrinsic deficiencies. More importantly, it’s due to their desire to make a statement at the expense of their fellow Staples Center tenants. And so they will “host” the set-to with All-Stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis on tap, ailments that make them legitimate candidates for load management notwithstanding.

To be sure, the Lakers can arguably deem any match a homecourt outing. They’re invariably well represented on the road; their equity in the National Basketball Association remained evident during their down years in recent memory, and is even more pronounced with James and Davis now leading the charge. At home, their advantage becomes magnified; they know Los Angeles is their town no matter how the Clippers do. Which is why Staples Center will be rocking in purple and gold today, and why the vibe will decidedly be theirs to command.

Not that the Clippers care. For the longest time, they’ve operated with chips on their shoulders. In fact, they know exactly how to forge ahead with an us-versus-the-world mentality, with their stalwarts embracing it as motivation to overachieve and exert not inconsiderable effort on both ends of the court. And, truth be told, they can’t but be deemed the favorites today — if for no other reason than because they have complementary pieces. The Lakers have superior potential, but whether or not it will — or even can — be met is another matter altogether.

Which is to say conventional wisdom has the Clippers prevailing; from Kawhi Leonard to Paul George to Lou Williams to Montrezl Harrell to Patrick Beverley, they will just keep on coming. Because the Lakers have James and Davis (and, yes, the crowd), though, there can be no gauging the outcome. Christmas Day games have been hit and miss of late, but not this one — even when nothing but pride seems to be at stake.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing the Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Gov’t to open another TPLEx segment in 1H

THE government expects to cut travel time to Baguio City by another 30 minutes with the opening of another segment of the Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway (TPLEx) in the first half (1H) of 2020.

The Sison, Pangasinan-Rosario, La Union segment of the northern highway is now on trial run, during which toll won’t be collected, Public Works Secretary Mark A. Villar said in a statement.

The four-kilometer segment could also ease traffic along the Manila North Road to Kennon Road on the way to the Philippines’ summer capital, he added.

“Considering that Baguio is a go-to holiday destination, we opened the segment to provide ease to our tourists who want to experience the beauty of the City of Pines,” Mr. Villar said.

“While significantly cutting their travel time, we also want to ensure that the expressway is in its utmost quality for their safety,” he added.

San Miguel Corp. is the private concessionaire for the 89.3-kilometer TPLEx project, which runs from Tarlac City to Rosario, La Union.

The highway is divided into three segments: the stretch from Tarlac City to Rosales, Pangasinan; then from there to Urdaneta City, Pangasinan; and from there to Rosario, La Union.

Meanwhile the Public Works department said the board of the National Economic and Development Authority was likely to approve San Miguel’s unsolicited proposal to extend the TPLEx by the first quarter of next year.

The company submitted its P23.95-billion unsolicited proposal to the DPWH in February to extend the TPLEx from Rosario to San Juan, La Union.

The 59.4-kilometer extension includes three segments: 18 kilometers from Rosario to Tubao, 23 kilometers from Tubao to Naguilian and 18.4 kilometers from Naguilian to San Juan. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Train set for LRT-1 Cavite extension to arrive next July

THE government expects the first train set for the P64.9-billion Cavite extension of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 to arrive from Spain by July.

The train set, equivalent to four light rail vehicles of the LRT-1, will be delivered by Mitsubishi Corp. and its technical partner Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles, Transportation Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Oliveros-Libiran said in a mobile-phone message last week.

She added that 91% of the right of way for the first phase of the extension project had been acquired.

The LRT-1 Cavite Extension project is a public-private partnership (PPP) venture that the National Economic and Development Authority board first approved in November 2013.

It will add an 11.7-kilometer segment from Baclaran, Pasay City to Bacoor, Cavite to the existing 18.1-kilometer train line. The new stretch will have eight stations.

The government of former President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III awarded Light Rail Manila Corp. the P65-billion public-private partnership (PPP) project in September 2014. The company was allowed to take over the operations and maintenance of the LRT-1 system in September 2015.

The first phase of the extension consists of a seven-kilometer stretch with five stations between Redemptorist Church in Baclaran and Dr. Santos Avenue in Parañaque City.

Ms. Libiran said the first phase will start operating by the fourth quarter of 2021. The remaining stations between Las Piñas and Niog in Bacoor, Cavite will be completed a year later.

The Transportation department expects travel time from Baclaran to Bacoor to be cut to 25 minutes from up to two hours now once LRT-1’s Cavite extension opens to the public. The train line’s daily ridership is expected to increase to 800,000 passengers from 500,000.

Light Rail Manila, which operates the LRT-1, is a joint venture of Ayala Corp., Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. and Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte. Ltd.

The company holds a 32-year PPP contract to operate LRT-1 and build its extension to Cavite.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Typhoon Ursula maintains strength after battering eastern, central parts of Visayas

TYPHOON URSULA (international name: Phanfone) swept through the Eastern and Central Visayas regions over the Christmas holidays, leaving several towns flooded and houses damaged, and has maintained its strength while traversing the northern tip of Aklan and Antique provinces in Western Visayas, weather bureau PAGASA reported on Wednesday. Ursula, 21st typhoon to hit the country this year, was packing maximum winds of 140 kilometers per hour (km/h) near the center and gustiness of up to 195 kp/h. Typhoon Ursula is “bringing very destructive winds and intense rainfall over Aklan, northern portion of Antique, and Romblon,” PAGASA said in its 11 a.m. Wednesday update. “The southern portion of Mindoro Provinces will be affected by the eyewall in the coming hours.

In case of the passage of the eye in some of the aforementioned areas, calm conditions will be experienced. However, as soon as the eye moves out of the area, violent conditions associated with the eyewall will resume,” the weather bureau said. By Thursday, the typhoon is expected to be 215 km west-northwest of Coron, Palawan. Typhoon signal numbers 1 to 3 was up in various parts of the Visayas, southern Luzon areas, Metro Manila, and Bataan province. Ursula is forecasted to remain within the Philippine area by Friday and be out by Saturday morning. — Genshen L. Espedido

Nueva Ecija rice farmers to get P219M assistance

A TOTAL of P219 million under the Rice Farmers Financial Assistance Program (RFFAP) will be released to growers in Nueva Ecija, the Department of Agriculture (DA) announced. The RFFAP, a DA program in partnership with the Land Bank of the Philippines, was rolled out Dec. 23, according to a DA statement. During the launch, a P5,000 financial assistance was given to each of the initial 500 farmer beneficiaries from the municipalities of Cuyapo, Guimba, Quezon, Talugtug, and Nampicuan, as well as in the Science City of Muñoz. Another 43,845 farmers would be given the assistance. The RFFAP will cover 33 provinces where rice farmers were affected by the drop in the price palay, or unmilled rice. A P3 billion budget has been allocated for the program, which is an unconditional cash transfer to 600,000 small-scale farmers tilling 1.5 to two hectares. Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said the DA is also looking into giving the same financial assistance to provinces that have helped the government achieve food security. “We will be providing the same grant to other areas as an incentive,” he said. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

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