Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 10091

Warriors earn top seed in West

LOS ANGELES — The Golden State Warriors celebrated their final regular-season game in Oracle Arena with a third-quarter explosion Sunday night, producing a 131-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in Oakland, Calif., that clinched top seeding throughout the Western Conference playoffs.

The win was Golden State’s fifth in a row and 30th of the season at home. The Warriors’ first-round opponent, which will be the eighth seed in the West, has yet to be determined. The playoffs begin next Saturday.

The Clippers’ third straight loss dropped them to 47-34 and closer to a first-round matchup with the Warriors. The Clippers are battling Oklahoma City (47-33) and San Antonio (47-34), both of which won Sunday, for the sixth, seventh and eighth playoff spots in the West.

Curry finished with a game-high 27 points for the Warriors, who improved their all-time regular-season record at Oracle Arena to 1,166-770. Like the Warriors, all five Clippers starters scored in double figures, led by Landry Shamet with 17. All but two of Shamet’s points came on 5-for-6 3-point shooting.

TRAIL BLAZERS 115, NUGGETS 108
Damian Lillard scored 30 points, and Al-Farouq Aminu added a season-high 23 points and 11 rebounds as Portland rallied for a victory over visiting Denver.

The Trail Blazers closed the game on a 17-3 run to register their ninth win in the last 11 games. CJ McCollum made his return to the Portland lineup after missing 10 games with a knee injury. McCollum collected nine points, six rebounds and six assists in 25 minutes.

Gary Harris scored 18 points to lead Denver, which won the season series with Portland 3-1. The Nuggets played without center Nikola Jokic, forward Paul Millsap and guard Jamal Murray, all given the night off for rest. They need to win their final two games, or get one win and a Rockets loss in their finale at the Thunder, to secure the West’s No. 2 seed.

BUCKS 115, HAWKS 107
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 30 points with nine rebounds, and Khris Middleton added 21 as Milwaukee recorded its first 60-victory season since 1980-81 in beating visiting Atlanta.

Antetokounmpo, who is now six points away from 2,000 for the second consecutive season, was back on the court for the Eastern Conference champions after missing Saturday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets because of a sore left calf.

Alex Len scored a career-high 33 points for the Hawks, who were playing without starters John Collins (ankle) and Trae Young (wrist). DeAndre’ Bembry added 13 points for Atlanta, which already has been eliminated from playoff contention.

NETS 108, PACERS 96
D’Angelo Russell scored 20 points, and Brooklyn clinched its first playoff berth since 2015 by leading most of the way in a win over host Indiana.

The Nets clinched at least the seventh seed after the Detroit Pistons lost to the Charlotte Hornets earlier Sunday, and could have secured the No. 6 seed if Orlando had lost its game at Boston later on Sunday. Russell shot 7-for-15 and made a 3-pointer for the 60th straight game.

The Pacers lost for the ninth time in 12 games and officially are locked into the fifth seed. Even if Indiana and Boston finish tied, the Celtics own the head-to-head tiebreaker. Domantas Sabonis led Indiana with 17 points and Thaddeus Young — who was a starting forward in 2015 for the Nets — added 16.

MAGIC 116, CELTICS 108
Orlando clinched its first postseason berth in seven years with a road win against Boston, ended the Magic’s longest playoff drought in franchise history

Terrence Ross scored 14 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and Nikola Vucevic had 25 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic, who were perfect (22-for-22) from the free-throw line. The Magic are tied with Brooklyn for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference with one game left in the regular season.

Kyrie Irving led the Celtics with 23 points, and Al Horford added 18.

RAPTORS 117, HEAT 109
Danny Green scored 21 points — including seven in overtime — as Toronto defeated visiting Miami, sweeping the four-game season series.

Miami’s playoff hopes were severely damaged by the loss. The Heat are now one game behind the Pistons — and tied with the Hornets — in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.

Pascal Siakam added 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Norman Powell also had 23 points off the bench for the Raptors. Dwyane Wade scored 21 points for the Heat, who have lost four in a row.

HORNETS 104, PISTONS 91
Kemba Walker scored 31 points, Frank Kaminsky added a season-high 24 and Charlotte kept its playoff hopes alive in beating host Detroit for its third straight win, clinching a four-game sweep of the season series.

The Hornets (38-42) moved into ninth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race and are one game behind the No. 8 Pistons (39-41). Charlotte holds the tiebreaker edge over both the Heat and the Pistons.

Walker added eight rebounds and seven assists and the Hornets also got 17 points from Jeremy Lamb. Detroit has now lost four straight. — Reuters

Mateo wins MAPPA Predator-Wilde Blu 8-Ball Cup

FRANCIS MATEO pulled off a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Geona Gregorio in the finals of the Makati Pool Players Association (MAPPA) Predator-Wilde Blu 8-Ball Cup Sunday night was held at the AMF-Puyat Superbowl and Billiards Center, Makati Cinema Square in Makati City.

The Dasmariñas City, Cavite bet Mateo, fought back from 1-3 down by winning three straight racks to frustrate Gregorio and complete the stirring victory.

“I did not lose hope despite falling 1-3 because of the winner’s break format. I knew it can turn around the situation,” said Mateo.

Police Staff Sergeant Eric Bayhon, lone Filipino representative in the 2019 Chengdu, China World Police and Fire Games had something to say about the final match.

The race-to-4, 8-ball final match was organized by Makati Pool Players Association headed by it’s president Arvin Arceo and held in cooperation with Bilyarista.com, Pigmentation, Dubshot, Dr. Gab Bermudez, Nelson Salvanera and supported by DMC Entertainment and Production management boss Jesse Gonzales Cambosa Sr. and long-time billiards patron sportsman/businessman Aristeo “Putch” Puyat who is also the chairman of the Billiards Sports Confederation of the Philippines (BSCP).

In the battle for third and fourth, Paul McCarthy bested Jun Cornista, 4-2.

In the semifinals, Mateo toppled Cornista, 4-3, to arrange a finals date with Gregorio. Gregorio, made it to the finals by defeating McCarthy in the semis, 3-2.

Mateo pocketed the P40,000 top prize and took home the MAPPA trophy while Gregorio went home the runner-up prize of P20,000 plus trophy. McCarthy, on the other hand received P10,000 while Cornista didn’t go home empty-handed satisfied at P6,000.

Makati Pool Players Association headed by it’s president Arvin Arceo, DMC Entertainment and Production management boss Jesse Gonzales Cambosa Sr. and world renowned blogger Leslie “ Anito Kid” Mapugay led the closing rites that includes Mateo and Gregorio. — Marlon Bernardino

World-leading cliff divers looking forward to Philippine debut of Red Bull series

LATER this week, 24 of the top cliff divers in the world will descend on the Philippines to take part in the first leg of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in El Nido, Palawan.

Making its Philippine debut, the first leg will take place at the Small and Big Lagoon in Miniloc Island in El Nido. It is the first of what is a seven-stop global tour.

Among those competing are Orlando Duque of Colombia, Rhiannan Iffland and Xantheia Pennisi of Australia, who all expressed excitement over competing in the Philippines for the first time in the Red Bull series.

All three took time to meet members of the Philippine national diving team on April 4, where they got to share some tips on diving and thoughts on the upcoming event in Palawan.

“I’m looking forward to taking in the atmosphere and really enjoying the hospitality from the people of Palawan because it’s not my first time diving here in El Nido. Two years ago I was on holidays, and I remember taking a boat cruise across the lagoons and thought wow this is just so picturesque, it’s the perfect place to high dive and to cliff dive,” said Ms. Iffland, a three-time Red Bull series winner in the women’s division when asked by BusinessWorld for her thoughts on the first leg.

Adding, “When I saw that the Philippines was on the schedule for this year, I went ‘Yoohoo!’ I don’t really set much of a game plan, and it’s one of the best parts of the sport. It always feels fresh, and that makes it an all the more rewarding ending.”

For Mr. Duque, a two-time Guinness World Record holder and nine-time Red Bull series winner, he does not see unfamiliarity to be much of an issue for him as he takes the cliffs of Palawan for the first time.

“We’re kinda used to having to adapt in different conditions, which is probably one of the key elements of the sport. You have to adapt to everything pretty quick and I think that’s what makes the sport/competition that exciting,” he said in a separate interview.

Of Filipino descent, Ms. Pennisi, for her part, said to have the series pass through the Philippines gives it more significance for her.

“Now that the competition is here in the Philippines, my whole family is going to be watching me and I’m just really excited to be the first diver of Filipino descent to be in this competition. It’s going to be my first time jumping off a cliff surface, so the game plan is to play it safe, and enjoy the location because I’ve never been to El Nido before,” she said.

The three divers went on to say that Filipinos should watch the Red Bull series as they can expect top-level action in a highly conducive and fitting setting.

“[Filipino should watch] Simply because it’s the perfect location to showcase our sport, and there’s going to be a lot of excitement, and 24 of the best cliff divers in the world is going to be there in El Nido, Palawan, to show off their skills,” said Ms. Iffland.

After the Philippines, the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series will have stops in Dublin, Ireland (May 12); Polignano a Mare, Italy (June 2); Sao Miguel, Azores, Portugal (June 22); Beirut, Lebanon (July 14); Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Aug. 24); and Bilbao, Spain (Sept. 14).

Viewers in the Philippines may also watch the full event, along with the remaining six stops of the 2019 World Series on S+A and iWant Sports (iwant.ph), 5PLUS and 5plus.com.ph, FOX Sports, FOX Sports GO, FOX+ app, and online at http://www.foxsports.ph. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

PRURide PH 2019 kicks off with successful Criterium event

WHAT is being positioned as a bigger staging of PRURide PH in 2019 got off to a good start with the successful holding of its first leg Criterium in Filinvest, Alabang, on Sunday.

Part of a wider edition this year of the much-anticipated annual cycling event, which would include a UCI 2.2 Stage Race in Subic next month, the Criterium, fondly referred to as Crit, gathered cyclists of different shapes and sizes to test their skills in the day-long event.

Described as a short action-packed circuit race that requires a series of strategically timed sprints and sharp turns from one lap to another, PRURide PH 2019 Crit offered high-octane categories that were arranged by bicycle types such as fixed gear, mountain bike and road bike, which were further broken down to several sub-categories.

Participants rode at top speed but instead of competing for a set distance, they raced on a point system as accumulated from intermediate sprints and the final lap sprint.

Apart from said races, last weekend’s cycling event also featured events for kids, virtual races, zumba and massage sessions and capped off by a concert boasting of some of the top bands in the land.

Pru Life UK, organizer of the event, said it was a conscious effort on its part to shore up PRURide PH 2019’s offering to communicate better its push to promote cycling and its benefits, something it said it was able to achieve.

“We are happy with this event. It has been successful and I really appreciate the reception it has gotten. Despite the blistering heat the bikers are here,” said Allan Tumbaga, Pru Life UK SVP and Chief Marketing Officer, in an interview with BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the PRURide PH 2019 event.

“It is much bigger. We made it more inclusive. We want to promote cycling and we want more people to know it,” he added.

The Crit on Sunday would be followed by the PRURide UCI 2.2 Stage Race on May 24 to 26 in Subic, Zambales, as well as a Masters Race and fun ride Gran Fondo 30, 60 and 100 kilometers on May 26.

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)accredited stage race, which is a three-stage race that will take the riders onto different roads around Bataan and up to the peak of the historic Mt. Samat, will allow professional Filipino riders and foreign international teams to collect UCI points to qualify for entry into the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Mr. Tumbaga highlighted that cycling enthusiasts should expect more come the stage race and other categories set for May.

“We are happy how the event has evolved in just three years. In Prudential we don’t do small things but we do big things. We will continue improving not only for the second leg but in the coming years as well,” the Pru Life UK official said. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Artistry

European Individual Chess Championship
Skopje, Former YUG Rep of Macedonia
March 18-29, 2019

Final Standings

1-2. GM Vladislav Artemiev RUS 2736, GM Nils Grandelius SWE 2694, 8.5/11

3-11. GM Kacper Piorun POL 2631, GM Maxim Rodshtein ISR 2673, GM Ferenc Berkes HUN 2666, GM David Anton Guijarro ESP 2643, GM Liviu Dieter Nisipeanu GER 2670, GM Sergei Movsesian ARM 2627, GM Niclas Huschenbeth GER 2594, GM Grigoriy Oparin RUS 2613, GM Eltaj Safarli AZE 2662, 8.0/11

12-26. GM Johan Sebastian Christiansen NOR 2539, GM Aleksej Aleksandrov BLR 2574, GM Ivan Cheparinov GEO 2683, IM Paulius Pultinevicius LTU 2439, GM Andrey Esipenko RUS 2603, GM Nikita Petrov RUS 2591, GM Boris Gelfand ISR 2655, GM Benjamin Gledura HUN 2630, GM Alexandr Predke RUS 2611, GM Aleksandr Rakhmanov RUS 2629, GM Mateusz Bartel POL 2609, GM Daniil Dubov RUS 2703, GM Igor Lysyj RUS 2635, GM Ruslan Ponomariov UKR 2667, GM Constantin Lupulescu ROU 2611, 7.5/11

27-35. GM Evgeny Alekseev RUS 2640, GM Vadim Zvjaginsev RUS 2642, GM Markus Ragger AUT 2696, GM Yuriy Kuzobov UKR 2644, GM Aleksey Dreev RUS 2662, GM Daniel Fridman GER 2633, GM Francisco Vallejo Pons ESP 2698, GM Haik Martirosyan ARM 2616, GM Andrei Volokitin UKR 2635, 7.5/11

Total Participants: 361 players

Tiebreaks: (1) Points scored, (2) Opponents’ rating minus the lowest, (3) Buchholz without the lowest scoring opponent, (4) Buchholz, (5) Direct encounter, (6) Rating

Time Control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1

The 20th European Individual Championship took place from 18-29 March this year in Skopje, organized by the government of North Macedonia. The prize fund is €100,000 (about P5.9 million), with €20,000 (about P1.18 million) for first prize. Aside from the prize money the first 22 placers will qualify for the next World Cup, scheduled to take place Nov. 4-30 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. The World Cup, aside from its huge money prizes (even the losers go home with around P250,000 each), will qualify its top finishers to the Candidates’ tournament, the final step in determining the challenger for the world title.

I went into detail describing the financial incentives above to impress upon our readers how important it is to qualify for the World Cup.

In the list above you can see the final standings after 11 rounds of furious battles. There was a huge logjam at 7.5/11 which extended from the 12th to 35th places. GMs Nils Grandelius, David Anton, Eltaj Safarli and Ivan Cheparinov had previously qualified for the World Cup from the European Championship last year, so that frees up 4 additional slots and everybody up to 26th place goes to Khanty-Mansiysk. I have cut-off the table at the 26th place so that you can see who qualified and who did not.

Vladislav Artemiev has been on an upswing lately. Last December 2018 he became European Blitz Champion and from there proceeded to the island of Gibraltar to win the Gibraltar Masters, one of the strongest open tournaments in the world. He had his 21st birthday on March 5, the first day of the World Team Championship and celebrated that by playing an important role in Russia’s gold medal.

Four days later he was in Skopje opening his bid to be the next European Champion. The journalists were already calling him “the new Vlad,” destined to take over the top dog status of “Big Vlad” Kramnik who recently announced his retirement from competitive chess.

Artemiev did not disappoint. He started out with 5/6, which included wins against recent Aeroflot winner Kaido Kulaots, Lucas van Foreest and the highly-regarded Russian up-and-comer David Paravyan, which should have been good enough for the lead, but for the cutthroat nature of the competition it was not enough — both GMs Maxim Rodshtein (Israel) and Kacper Piorun (Poland, and by the way he is a double GM — he is a world champion problem solver) had 5.5/6, they only allowed one draw each.

Going at that pace Artemiev could have settled for draws in the last six rounds and still have qualified, but that was not enough — he wanted to become European Champion.

In round 8 he defeated one of the co-leaders, the Czech GM Zbynek Hracek, with a nice attack. This important victory took him into the joint lead on 6.5/8 with three rounds to go, level with Rodshtein, Piorun, Nils Grandelius and 17-year old Andrey Esipenko. An additional significance of this win is that the additional rating points gained allowed “the new Vlad” to overtake “the old Vlad” Kramnik in the world rating list.

Artemiev, Vladislav (2736) — Hracek, Zbynek (2578) [B14]
European Individual Chess Championship
Skopje (8.3), 26.03.2019

1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e3 e6 5.d4 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.Bb5 cxd4 8.exd4

With White Artemiev likes to play symmetrical positions and use White’s advantage of the first move to pressure Black’s position, at first imperceptibly, but then slowly building it up. This game is a perfect example.

8…Be7 9.0–0 0–0 10.Ne5 Bd7 11.Bg5 Rc8 12.Re1 Re8 13.Rc1 a6 14.Bxc6 Bxc6 15.Qf3 Qd6

With perfect hindsight we can say that Black should have played 15…h6! while he can.

16.h3 Bd8

GM Daniel Fernandez pointed out here that Black is already in a dangerous position. After 16…h6? 17.Bf4 Qb4 18.Rcd1 Qxb2 White already wins with 19.Bxh6! gxh6 20.Rd3! White has the very dangerous threat of Qf4 followed by Rg3+

17.Re3 Rf8 18.Rce1 Qb4

Black’s queen should not have left its position on d6.

19.Qf5 Ra8 20.Rd1

White already has 20.Bh6! gxh6 21.Qf4! with a win. A possible continuation is 21…Ne8 (21…Qd6? is too late. 22.Rg3+ Kh8 23.Nxf7+ wins the queen; 21…Be8 22.a3 Qb6 23.Rg3+ Kh8 24.Qxh6 Rg8 25.Nxd5 Qe6 26.Nxf6 Qxf6 27.Rxg8+ Kxg8 28.Ng6! Black’s bishop on e8 is free) 22.Qxh6 Bf6 23.Nxc6 bxc6 24.Rg3+ Bg7 25.Rxe8 Qxd4 26.Rxa8 Rxa8 27.Qxc6 Rd8 28.Qxa6 this endgame is easy. Artemiev probably saw this possibility but preferred a simpler solution.

20…Ne8

[20…Qxb2? 21.Rb1 Qa3 22.Nxc6 bxc6 23.Ne4! (discovered attack on the black queen) 23…Qxa2 24.Nxf6+ Bxf6 25.Bxf6 gxf6 26.Rg3+ Kh8 27.Qxf6#]

21.Bf4 Nf6 22.Rg3 Kh8 23.Rdd3 Be8 24.a3 Qxb2 <D>

POSITION AFTER 24…QXB2

25.Rxg7! Kxg7 26.Rg3+ Kh8 27.Nxd5 Nxd5 28.Bh6 Bf6

[28…Rg8 29.Rxg8+ Kxg8 30.Qg4+ Kh8 31.Qg7#]

29.Qxf6+! 1–0

After 29.Qxf6+ mate is forced: 29…Nxf6 30.Bg7+ Kg8 31.Bxf6#

Artemiev was really serious about “the advantage of having the first move.” In fact, over the entire tournament he had White 5 times and won all of them! With Black he had one win and five draws. I am going to show you an endgame win by Artemiev, but before that let us recall this famous game:

Colle,Edgard — O’Hanlon, John [D05]
Nice Masters Nice (9), 21.02.1930

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 c5 4.c3 e6 5.Bd3 Bd6 6.Nbd2 Nbd7 7.0–0 0–0 8.Re1 Re8 9.e4 dxe4 10.Nxe4 Nxe4 11.Bxe4 cxd4 12.Bxh7+ Kxh7 13.Ng5+ Kg6 14.h4 Rh8 15.Rxe6+ Nf6 16.h5+ Kh6 17.Rxd6 Qa5 18.Nxf7+ Kh7 19.Ng5+ Kg8 20.Qb3+ 1–0

White’s opening set-up is what is known as the Colle System. When he combines that with fianchettoing his bishop on b2 it is the “Colle-Zukertort System.” With that brief introduction let us get into it.

Artemiev, Vladislav (2736) — Van Foreest, Lucas (2515) [E14]
20th ch-EUR Indiv 2019 Skopje MKD (4.4), 21.03.2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 b6 5.0–0 Bb7 6.Nbd2 Nbd7 7.b3 Ne4 8.c4 Bd6 9.Bb2 0–0

The tabiya, or battle formation, you see on the board is also basically a symmetrical one. When both sides are trying to get in a kingside attack it is important who strikes first.

10.cxd5 exd5 11.Ne5 Qe7

I cannot resist showing you Darwin Laylo’s inspiring win vs. the Russian GM Pavel Smirnov from the 2015 Subic Bay International: 11…Re8 12.f4 Ndf6 13.Ndf3 Qe7 14.Rc1 c5 15.Qe1 Rac8 16.Qh4 cxd4 17.exd4 Rxc1 18.Bxc1 Bc8 19.Ng5 Rf8 20.Be3 h6 21.Nxe4 dxe4 22.Bc4 Be6 23.Bxe6 Qxe6 24.f5 Qd5 25.Ng4 Be7 26.Nxh6+! gxh6 27.Bxh6 Qxd4+ 28.Kh1 Nd5 29.Qg4+ Kh7 30.f6! Bxf6 31.Bxf8 Ne3 32.Qh3+ Kg8 33.Re1 Nc2 34.Qg4+ Kxf8 35.Qc8+ Kg7 36.Qxc2 Darwin has a decisive advantage. Laylo,D (2471)-Smirnov,P (2617) Olongapo City 2015 1–0 48.

12.Ndf3 Nb8 13.Be2 f6 14.Nd3 a5

White’s attack has been rebuffed and now it is Black’s turn to advance on the queenside.

15.Re1 a4 16.Rc1 a3 17.Ba1 Na6 18.Bf1 b5

Perhaps 18…Rac8 going for …c7–c5 is a better plan

19.Bc3 Nxc3 20.Rxc3 Nb4 21.Qb1 Bc8 22.Nc5 Bg4 23.Nd2 c6 24.Be2 Bxe2 25.Rxe2

Black now has a weakness on c6 which White pounces upon.

25…Qf7 26.Nf3 Bxc5 27.Rxc5 Rfe8 28.Qd1 Re6 29.Qd2 Na6 30.Rc1 Qe7 31.Ne1 Nb4 32.Rc5 Na6 33.Rc1 Nb4 34.Nd3 Nxd3 35.Qxd3 g6 36.Rec2 Ra6 37.g3 f5 38.Rc5 h5 39.b4 h4 40.R1c3 Ra4?

Black swaps his weak c6–pawn for its counterpart on b4. This is a mistake as you will soon see.

41.Rxc6 Rxc6 42.Rxc6 Kg7 43.Qc2 Qxb4 44.Kg2!

Eliminating the threat of …h4–h3 with possible back-rank mate-themed tactics.

44…Ra7 45.gxh4 Qe7 46.Qc5 Qe4+ 47.f3 Qe7 48.Qxe7+ Rxe7 49.Kf2 b4 50.Rb6 Rc7 51.Rxb4 Rc2+ 52.Kg3 Rxa2 53.Ra4 Ra1 54.Kf4 a2 55.Ra6 Kf7 56.Ke5 Re1 57.Ra7+ Ke8 58.Rxa2 Rxe3+ 59.Kf6!

[59.Kxd5 Kf7! makes it harder for White]

59…Rxf3 60.Kxg6 Rf4 61.h5 Rg4+ 62.Kf6 Rh4 63.Ra8+ Kd7 64.Kg5 Rxh2 65.h6 Kc6 66.Kg6 Rg2+ 67.Kxf5 Rf2+ 68.Kg4 Rh2 69.Ra3! 1–0

Beautiful! Black cannot take the pawn because of 69…Rxh6 70.Ra6+, and White’s coming Rh3 will queen his pawn.

This last move is the reason why I entitled this column “Artistry.”

 

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

Playoff tickets

It’s the last week of the regular season, and the top of the pecking order couldn’t be clearer. The Bucks are proud owners of the best record in the National Basketball Association, while the Warriors have clinched the Number One spot in the West. Yesterday’s runaway triumph over the Clippers ensured the standing of the defending champions, holders of a tiebreaker against the second-running Nuggets. For those still angling to claim playoff seedings, however, the outcomes of the games still to be played out remain relevant.

Take the case of the Heat, who could well have been on the way to an outright postseason berth with a victory. Instead, they lost in overtime off an unfortunate turn of events at the close of their match yesterday. With the score tied and 10 ticks left in regulation, referee Eric Lewis blew his whistle even though Dion Waiters, designated to inbound, didn’t have the ball yet. The sound naturally had the other players moving into position — too early, as things turned out. The result was a broken set that saw Dwyane Wade, who was supposed to take the last shot, unable to even be part of it.

Just like the Hornets, the Heat remain in contention for a playoff ticket, but just barely. Even if they wind up winning their last two outings, their fate isn’t entirely in their hands. The Pistons are ahead of them in the standings, and would need to lose against the Grizzlies and Knicks in order for them to squeak through. As head coach Erik Spoelstra admitted in the aftermath, “we’ll need some help. The only thing we control is what we do. We’ve got to dust this one off, get back to Miami, and win the next game.”

Not coincidentally, that next game will be Wade’s last at the American Airlines Arena. Even as his retirement tour has invariably been a wellspring of good vibes, its next stop figures to be a bittersweet spectacle that may yet overshadow the set-to against the Sixers. The best outcome, needless to say, is a victory after the fitting send-off — with him making the winning basket as a bonus. The hope is that he’ll have the opportunity to do so, and that no referee will blow an inadvertent whistle to scuttle it prematurely.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

PSEi climbs to 7,900 to track Wall Street’s gain

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter

THE MAIN INDEX breached the 7,900 level on Monday, tracking Wall Street’s gains last Friday.

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed 0.53% or 42.45 points to close at 7,915.63. The broader all- shares index likewise rose 0.41% or 19.97 points to end at 4,866.96.

“Several factors may have influenced the index’s move today, namely: US indices continuing to close in the green last Friday night, Trump calling on the Fed to cut rates, and some late reaction to March’s below-expectation inflation figure (3.3% vs. 3.5% consensus),” Papa Securities Corp. Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez said in an e-mail on Monday.

The PSEi tracked the positive performance seen in Wall Street last Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 0.15% or 40.36 points to 26,424.99. The S&P 500 index rallied 0.46% or 13.35 points to 2,892.74, while the Nasdaq Composite index advanced 0.59% or 46.91 points to 7,938.69.

This came after US President Donald J. Trump’s plea to the Federal Reserve last Friday to cut interest rates in order to boost the economy.

Meanwhile, Asian markets ended mixed as they digested better-than-expected jobs data in the United States alongside reports on progress between the US-China trade war. US government data released last Friday showed that it added 196,000 jobs in March, beating economists’ forecast of 175,000 jobs.

Despite this, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.21% or 45.85 points to 21,761.65. The Shanghai Composite went down 0.05% or 1.76 points to 3,244.81, while the Kospi Index eked out gains of 0.04% or 0.99 points to 2,210.60.

Eagle Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun attributed Asian markets’ performance to fears of a “tough US earnings season,” while noting that the PSEi continues to move sideways.

“The main index continues sideways within our range. Investors are still on the sidelines and may remain there due to the shortened trading week,” Mr. Mangun said in an e-mail.

Four sectoral indices moved to positive territory, led by services which jumped 1.41% or 22.50 points to 1,613.97. Industrials gained 0.64% or 75.45 points to 11,816.43; holding firms advanced 0.51% or 40.10 points to 7,772.96; while property added 0.44% or 17.91 points to 4,092.98.

In contrast, mining and oil dropped 0.24% or 18.65 points to 7,715.64, while financials dipped 0.13% or 2.37 points to 1,739.80.

Some 679.44 million issues valued at P5.40 billion switched hands on Monday, higher than the P5.04-billion turnover seen last Friday.

Advancers slightly outpaced decliners, 107 to 91, while 50 names were unchanged.

Foreign investors remained in a net buying position at P496.59 million, up from the P455.77 million in net purchases seen in the previous session.

Financial markets are closed today in commemoration of Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor).

Peso declines on US jobs report

THE PESO dropped on better-than-expected US payrolls data. — BW FILE PHOTO

THE PESO declined against the dollar on Monday following the better-than-expected jobs report in the United States.

The local unit ended Monday’s session at P52.14 versus the greenback, down four centavos from the P52.10-per-dollar finish last Friday.

The peso traded weaker the whole day, opening the session at P52.20 per dollar and climbing to a high of just P52.11 intraday. Meanwhile, its intraday low stood at P52.245 versus the US currency.

Dollars traded thinned to $873.93 million from the $964.52 million that switched hands the previous session.

“The peso weakened today following the relatively firm US jobs data last week which tempered some dovish pressures on the greenback,” a trader said in an e-mail on Monday.

On Friday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the US economy added 196,000 jobs in March. This was better than the 175,000 jobs expected by the market.

On the other hand, the unemployment rate was steady last month at 3.8%, sitting below the 5% upper threshold considered as strong by the US Federal Reserve.

Meanwhile, another trader said the peso moved sideways yesterday as it opened the session weaker due to the better non-farm payrolls data.

The second trader added that the local unit rebounded in the afternoon session due to the “risk-on sentiment in the market.”

“There was also a risk-on sentiment in the market, that’s why we saw stronger peso in the afternoon session. Somehow, we saw dips and highs for today,” the trader said.

Trading is suspended today in commemoration of Araw ng Kagitingan.

Other Asian currencies also faltered on Monday as the rebound in US payrolls data supported the greenback, offsetting optimism of a Sino-US trade deal and further China policy stimulus.

Leading declines in the region, the South Korean won weakened as much as 0.7% to 1,144.0 per dollar, sliding to a more than five-month low.

“It appears that underlying caution may resurface and prevail over exuberance; keeping emerging Asia forex and asset markets reined in; even if not on the back foot,” said Vishnu Varathan, senior economist at Mizuho Bank in a note.

Washington and Beijing wrapped up their latest round of trade talks on Friday and are scheduled to resume discussions this week to try to secure a pact to end their bitter tariff war. — KANV with Reuters

Palace bares Floirendo to join speakership race

By Arjay L. Balinbin, Reporter

ANTONIO R. FLOIRENDO, JR. — WWW.CONGRESS.GOV.PH

MALACAÑANG on Monday announced that Davao del Norte (2nd District) Rep. Antonio R. Floirendo, Jr. will join the speakership race in the next Congress.

“You might be interested. I don’t know if you know this already. I received a text message, I don’t know where it came from, but it seems… it appears that the Congressman from—I don’t know what district he is representing in Mindanao — Davao — Antonio Floirendo, is throwing his hat into the speakership,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said at a news conference at the Palace on Monday, April 8.

Mr. Panelo noted that the Palace “never intrudes into the other branches” of government.

Asked if the President favors certain individuals for the speakership, Mr. Panelo said: “Oh, he never does that. He allows everybody to seek whatever positions they want and let the constituency of that class decide.”

In his statement on Facebook, Mr. Floirendo said: “I indeed met last night with some very important personalities of the land to talk on some important matters regarding the mid-term elections and the 3 remaining years of the Duterte administration. Among those we discussed was the importance of ensuring a stable administration under President Rodrigo Duterte.”

He added: “Part of the 17th Congress under then House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez was far from the kind of Congress that everybody wanted. Alvarez was dictatorial, vindictive and (a) divisive leader in Congress that resulted in his abrupt ouster. And with incumbent Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on her last term as congresswoman, many fellow lawmakers have expressed their interest in the House Speakership position, including again Alvarez.”

“Thus I have decided to join the fray not for my own political ambitions but to ensure that President Rodrigo Duterte gets a solid support from the House leadership. Also, I wanted to correct a big mistake I committed when I emphatically endorsed Alvarez as Speaker to President Duterte,” he said further.

Mr. Floirendo said he wants “to unite the Lower House in fully backing the Duterte administration [in its bid to] realize its dreams for the Filipino people in the three remaining years.”

“And who could better understand and harmoniously work with a Dabawenyo President than a Dabawenyo congressman?” he also said.

BusinessWorld reported in June 2016 that, based on Mr. Duterte’s required Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCE) submitted to the Commission on Elections at the time, Mr. Floirendo, chairman of the Davao-based Anflo Management and Investment Corp. (Anflocor), “gave a P75-million contribution, given in two tranches of P25 million in early March and P50 million in early April, representing 20% of total contributions.”

Mr. Duterte has said that his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio, “maneuvered” the ouster of Mr. Alvarez as speaker on the day he delivered his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July 2018.

Last February, Ms. Duterte-Carpio said of Mr. Alvarez’s planned comeback in the next Congress, Siguro ‘yung nasubukan na at hindi naging successful ‘wag na siguro, pero of course, PDP-Laban (Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan) ‘yan, HNP (Hugpong ng Pagbabago) naman kami” (Perhaps those proven to be not successful shouldn’t [seek the speakership], but, of course, they’re PDP-Laban and we’re HNP).

Sought for comment, Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) sociology professor Louie C. Montemar said in part, “Let us not forget that his family compromised to return at least 70 million pesos in ill-gotten wealth to the PCGG.” This is in reference to a March 1987 compromise agreement between Mr. Floirendo’s father, the late businessman and alleged Marcos crony Antonio Floirendo Sr., and the Presidential Commission on Good Government.

“We will have the same Banana with the Son of the Banana King,” Mr. Montemar also said.

SC reinstates criminal charge against ex-Sulpicio Lines official

By Vann Marlo M. Villegas, Reporter

THE SUPREME Court (SC) ordered the reinstatement of the criminal charge of reckless imprudence regarding an official of the former Sulpicio Lines, Inc. (SLI), in connection with the 2008 M/V Princess of the Stars sea tragedy which resulted in the deaths of more than 227 passengers.

In its 20-page decision dated Dec. 10, 2018, the SC third division reversed the March 22, 2013, decision and January 8, 2014, resolution of the Court of Appeals that ruled in favor of Edgar S. Go, then SLI first vice-president for administration and team leader of the Crisis Management Committee, and ordered the Manila regional trial court Branch 5 to reinstate the case against him.

The high court ruled that the Department of Justice (DoJ) did not commit grave abuse of discretion in finding probable cause to indict Mr. Go of reckless imprudence.

“The DoJ Panel, in arriving at such conclusion, did not just rely on the affidavits of the complainants and the respondents as well as their respective witnesses. It also conducted clarificatory hearings on March 13 and 20, 2009 wherein respondent…appeared and testified,” the SC said in its decision penned by Associate Justice Jose C. Reyes, Jr.

“The DoJ Panel merely acted on the belief that respondent’s acts or omissions constitute the offense of reckless imprudence,” the SC said, noting that it only determined whether the DoJ acted with grave abuse of discretion and did not act on evidence presented by petitioners.

In its resolution on June 22, 2009, the DoJ indicted Mr. Go as he was “unarguably involved” in deciding whether the vessel should be allowed to sail, as both captain Benjamin Eugenio and SLI Safety officer Ernelson Morales reported directly to him. The prosecution said that his allowing the captain and safety officer to decide among themselves “bespeaks of his failure to exercise extraordinary care and precaution.”

Mr. Go appealed the DoJ’s resolution but this was denied. He then elevated the resolution to the Court of Appeals (CA).

The CA, in its March 22, 2013 decision, said Mr. Go’s act of allowing the officers in charge of the vessel to decide on its sailing did not make him criminally liable, as it is within the captain’s authority, in coordination with the Philippine Coast Guard.

The appellate court also said it found erroneous the finding of the DoJ panel that Mr. Go is liable for not instructing the vessel to seek shelter or drop anchor due to the storm. Petitioners appealed the CA decision but were denied.

“In this case, the criminal action instituted against respondent involved exclusively the criminal and civil liability of the latter arising from his criminal negligence as responsible officer of SLI,” the SC said.

It added: “It must be emphasized that there is a separate civil action instituted against SLI based on culpa contractual incurred by it due to its failure to carry safely the passengers of Stars to their place of destination. The civil action against a shipowner for breach of contract of carriage does not preclude criminal prosecution against its employees whose negligence resulted in the death of or injuries to passengers.”

In June 2008, SLI’s passenger/cargo vessel, M/V Princess of the Stars, capsized in the waters off Sibuyan Island in Romblon during the onslaught of Typhoon Frank. The ship was bound for Cebu from Manila. Only 32 passengers survived, 227 died, and 592 were reported missing.

SLI, now Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp., is no longer allowed to transport people with its 13 vessels and is limited to cargo operations, following the Maritime Industry Authority’s 2015 cancellation of its certificate of public convenience for the transport of persons.

Five of SLI’s vessels sank in the period between 1980 to 2008: Sulpicio Container I in 1980, Doña Paz in 1987, Doña Marilyn in 1988, Princess of the Orient in 1998, and Princess of the Stars in 2008.

Palace: Motorbike plates law may be remedied in IRR

MALACAÑANG on Monday said the new law on motorcycle plates, which President Rodrigo R. Duterte wants suspended, may still be implemented after all.

At a news conference at the Palace on Monday, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said the concerns of motorcycle riders regarding the new law that requires the placement of bigger and color-coded number plates on both the front and the back sides may be addressed in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

Mr. Duterte, in his speech in Iloilo City last Saturday, said that placing number plates on the front side of motorcycles would be “dangerous” because of their “sharp edges.”

According to Mr. Panelo, “Kung ang danger ay ito ay puwede namang gamutin doon sa IRR, ‘di gamutin natin (If the danger can be remedied by the IRR, then let us remedy it).”

“Baka naman doon sa implementing rules and regulation nakalagay ay sticker (Perhaps what is being stated in the IRR is the use of stickers),” he said. “So it will not endanger.”

However, the riders’ concerns on the prescribed fine of P50,000 up to P100,000 can only be addressed by Congress by amending the law.

“The Congress can always amend and reduce the penalty,” Mr. Panelo said.

Last Saturday, Mr. Duterte suggested that the size of the number plates may be increased by “one-fourth to make the numbers more visible,” noting that the back plates are “more important.”

Mr. Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11235, or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act, on March 8.

The law is intended to prevent and penalize the use of motorcycles in the commission of crimes by requiring bigger, readable and color-coded number plates and identification marks.

Under the law, the LTO is tasked to issue a readable number plate for every motorcycle.

Senator Richard J. Gordon, the principal author and sponsor of the law, said last Sunday that he would explain to Mr. Duterte that the intention of the law is “to give justice to the victims of riding-in-tandem shooters who could no longer seek justice themselves because ‘dead men tell no tales.’” — Arjay L. Balinbin

Duterte spokesman scoffs at 5 US senators

PRESIDENTIAL Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo on Monday scoffed at five US senators who called for the release of Senator Leila M. de Lima and the dropping of charges against online media group rappler.com’s chief executive officer, Maria A. Ressa, saying they should “mind their own business.”

“(T)heir country has enough problems and they should focus on them,” Mr. Panelo said.

The spokesman also clarified President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s threat to declare a revolutionary war, saying it was just “an expression of frustration.”

“The threat, if it is a threat, is not against the people but precisely against their enemies, the criminals, the people manning the illegal drug industry, the corrupt bureaucrats, the greedy politicians, the communist rebels, foreign and local terrorists, and other enemies of the state,” he said. — Arjay L. Balinbin

1...10,09010,09110,092...13,193Page 10,091 of 13,193
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube