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DoF hopes to tap yuan loans from AIIB, betting on strong dollar

US Dollar
BW FILE PHOTO

THE PHILIPPINES hopes to tap Chinese-currency loans from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to take advantage of favorable borrowing costs, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.
“We explored the possibility of using local currency financing using variable spreads facility in providing the loans… and also possible co-financing arrangements with other multilateral institutions,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters.
“If you take the view that dollar will strengthen against all other currencies, it makes sense to borrow other currencies,” he added.
The Philippines tapped the renminbi debt market for the first time in a March bond offer, raising 1.46 billion yuan, or about P12.01 billion.
Mr. Dominguez along with other Cabinet officials visited Beijing last week to firm up financing for various China-supported projects.
“We are quite sensitive to interest rates. Although they may seem small amounts, we do not want to reverse the trend of lowering our spreads. So it is very encouraging to consider variable spreads (over LIBOR),” Mr. Dominguez was quoted as saying to AIIB President Jin Liqun, referring to the London Inter Bank Offered Rate.
“As much as possible we will do co-financing using partly lower-cost ODA (official development assistance) funds and blending it with long-term multilateral funds which are generally more expensive. We (want to) bring down the average cost and stretch our money with the low-cost financing,” said the Finance chief.
Finance Assistant Secretary Mark Dennis Y.C. Joven said that AIIB will send a mission to Manila this year to review possible financing deals for infrastructure projects.
“They will send people here for study. During our discussions, they will limit the prospective projects to physical infrastructure,” he said, but noted that there is “nothing firm yet” specific project details.
The AIIB is currently co-financing the $500-million Metro Manila Flood Control Management Project with the World Bank.
Among the projects that are lined up for China ODA are the Chico River Pump Irrigation Project, New Centennial Water Source-Kaliwa Dam Project, the Philippine National Railways’ South Long Haul Project, and the Davao-Samal Bridge Construction Project.
The second basket of projects include the Ambal-Simuay River and Rio Grande de Mindanao River Flood Control Projects, the Pasig-Marikina River and Manggahan Floodway Bridge Construction Project, the Subic-Clark Railway Project, the Safe Philippines Project Phase 1, and the Rehabilitation of the Agus-Pulangi Hydroelectric Power Plants.
China grants already provided cover the Binondo-Intramuros and Estrella-Pantaleon bridges, and other technical assistance. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan

BSP seen needing two more rate hikes in 2018

THE CENTRAL BANK will need at least two more rate hikes this year to keep local yields competitive and address inflation concerns “nervousness” in the global markets, a Danish international banker said.
Peter Lundgreen, founding chief executive officer at Lundgreen’s Capital, said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) runs the risk of remaining behind the curve with further rate hikes from the United States Federal Reserve.
“There’s a lot of argument now that the central bank is still behind the curve. It’s still valid,” Mr. Lundgreen told BusinessWorld in an interview in Manila. “Of course the Philippines runs its own independent monetary policy, although an emerging market is always more dependent on what happens in the US.”
“Just to keep up with the US for the coming rate hikes is another 50 basis points (bp) and BSP is behind already, so there’s actually more than 100bp still to go just to sort of cope with the environment.”
Mr. Lundgreen said the Fed is expected to raise rates by 25bp each in September and December, which will follow two increases of the same magnitude in March and June. The Fed raised rates once in 2015 and 2016, and three times in 2017 en route to a “gradual” rate normalization.
Mr. Lundgreen believes the central bank should have raised rates in 2017 as a preemptive move.
BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. has acknowledged that policy makers did not see the need to raise rates when 2018 opened, but eventually saw the need to rein in inflation.
The central bank has raised rates by 100bp so far this year, capped by an aggressive 50bp increase on Aug. 9 which was the strongest move in a decade. Mr. Espenilla has said that the bank is keeping the door open for further rate hikes as needed.
Goods prices have been on the rise since the year opened as the first package of the tax reform law took effect. This was later on aggravated by the sharp rise of oil prices in July. This pushed the seven-month inflation tally to 4.5%, well beyond the 2-4% central bank target.
Mr. Lundgreen added that financial stress “has gone up” recently amid domestic and external events. In particular, the exchange rate will bear the brunt of these developments.
The Danish financial advisory firm still sees the peso trading as weak as P55 against the dollar by year’s end.
“There’s no reason to change that view. In the next six months, nervousness will increase,” Mr. Lundgreen said. “The risk for the peso is increasing, but it’s still not alarming.”
A widening trade deficit will largely drive a weaker currency, although additional rate hikes from the BSP could help temper these pressures. However, Mr. Lundgreen said that the Philippines is not likely to suffer from contagion amid the Turkish lira crisis, but acknowledged that this adds to current headwinds faced by emerging markets.
The BSP’s Mr. Espenilla has said that the bank will let the market determine exchange rates, as prescribing a fixed level for the peso could do more harm than good to the economy. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

Philippines channels India with ID system to get poorest on map

MAYALYN MAGRACIA is one of millions of undocumented Filipinos.
“Like an alien,” is how the housekeeper in Manila describes what she felt when she discovered she had no birth record.
That was over a decade ago, when Magracia hoped to find work in a factory or restaurant. Having no birth certificate made it impossible to apply for a government-issued identity card to land a regular job.
President Rodrigo Duterte’s solution to this is a new biometric system that will give Filipinos like Magracia a national identity card, opening up access to everything from government services to bank accounts and jobs.
As head of the statistics office, Lisa Grace Bersales is in charge of rolling out the P30 billion peso program, which was signed into law earlier this month.
“Everyone will be in the picture,” she said in an interview at her office in Manila. “No one will be left behind.”
The first step, 60-year-old Bersales said, will be collecting data, such as eye scans, fingerprints and facial images, from one million beneficiaries of state cash handouts in the fourth quarter. Undocumented individuals and minority ethnic people will be targeted next, with the goal of registering and assigning a permanent ID number to all 106 million Filipinos by 2022.
INDIA’S SUCCESS
The aim is to replicate the success of India’s biometric ID program, the largest in the world, which has enrolled about 1.2 billion people since its launch in 2009.
Known as Aadhaar, or foundation, the ID is used for everything from opening a bank account to registering a marriage.
In the Philippines, Southeast Asia’s worst saver, the program is key to the central bank’s financial inclusion push, which centers around using mobile-phone applications and online payments systems to draw more people into the banking system. At least 10 million people can’t open bank deposit accounts because they don’t have identity documents and cards.
For many Filipinos, it’s a nightmare to transact with formal financial institutions, which require at least two government-issued ID cards and other documents. About 7.4 million Filipinos don’t even have the most basic record of identity, a birth certificate, the statistics authority estimates. A reliance on cash means many of them turn to loan sharks and pawnbrokers for loans that carry interest rates of as much as 20% a month.
FINTECH BOOST
For financial technology companies like Globe Telecom Inc. and Jack Ma’s Ant Financial, the national ID system — known as Phil-ID — is a boon in a country where 70% of the population own a mobile phone.
“This legal recognition is essential to citizens, assuring them of their most basic human rights such as their right to access financial services,” said Lito Villanueva, managing director at FINTQnologies Corp., the financial technology unit of PLDT Inc.-backed software company Voyager Innovations Inc.
A nationwide ID program will reduce the company’s risk and transaction costs and help its goal of bringing 30 million people into the formal financial system by 2020, he said.
Businesses like Ayala Corp. and Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. also see opportunities, submitting a proposal to the statistics agency to collect, manage and authenticate identity information of individuals.
Bersales said the government prefers a competitive auction, but will consider the proposal along with about 40 other companies that have submitted informal plans. The contract will be awarded in November.
The biometric system isn’t without its critics. Religious groups, the media and data privacy watchdogs have raised concerns that the ID can be used to centralize and monitor transactions. Leftist lawmakers who objected to the bill said it can be used to harass opponents of Duterte.
Bersales said the concerns were unfounded and any data collected will be subject to existing privacy laws.
For the 31-year-old housekeeper Magracia, it’s all about finally becoming official.
“People say a birth certificate is important and more especially so when you die,” she said. “They say you can’t be buried without it, so I’m still hoping to get one someday if given the chance.” — Bloomberg

Galunggong imports seen threatening1.5M fisherfolk

THE importation of round scad, or galunggong, will affect the livelihoods of 1.5million fisherfolk, according to Senator Cynthia A. Villar, who chairs her chamber’s committee on agriculture and food.
“There is a need to help fisherfolk to produce more fish rather than import. Imports compete with the fish sold by one and a half million fisherfolk using municipal waters, who are very poor,” Ms. Villar told reporters on Thursday on the sidelines of the 14th Agriculture and Fisheries Technology Forum and Product Exhibition in Mandaluyong.
“We should not always think of importing, we should think of empowering our fisherfolk to produce more,” Ms. Villar added.
Agriculture secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said that the Philippines has long been importing round scad to augment supply during the closed fishing season between November and March, noting that 130,000 metric tons of the fish was imported in 2017.
“We have been importing,” he said, while downplaying the idea of “Chinese galunggong, Taiwan galunggong, Vietnamese galunggong — galunggong doesn’t have nationality,” Mr. Piñol said.
The closed fishing season is implemented to allow fish stocks time to regenerate. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio

Peso up on US trade talks

THE PESO strengthened a tad against the dollar on Thursday as risk appetite improved on the back of trade negotiations between the United States and Canada.
The local unit closed Thursday’s session at P53.43 versus the greenback, three centavos stronger than the P53.46-per-dollar finish on Wednesday.
The peso opened the session stronger at P53.43 versus the dollar, climbing as high as P53.405 intraday. Its worst showing for the day stood at P53.485 against the US currency.
Dollars traded slipped to $501.28 million from the $527.3 million that exchanged hands the previous day.
A foreign exchange trader said the peso mostly moved sideways, tracking the dollar.
“The peso is still range-bound as we tracked the move of the dollar for the day since we’re not anticipating any key data,” the trader said by phone.
Reuters reported that the dollar index was at its one-month low of 94.52 against a basket of major currencies as some investors bet a likely trade deal between the United States and Canada.
“The peso appreciated amid market optimism on a possible trade deal between US and Canada with the two countries starting their discussion [on Wednesday],” another trader said in an e-mail.
US President Donald J. Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed confidence that they could reach a new deal on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by Friday.
“We recognize that there is a possibility of getting there by Friday, but it is only a possibility, because it will hinge on whether or not there is ultimately a good deal for Canada,” Mr. Trudeau said.
Canada rejoined the talks to overhaul the 24-year-old NAFTA after the US and Mexico reached a bilateral deal on Monday.
“The main contribution of the trade negotiations for the peso would be the risk-on sentiment it brought,” the first trader said.
For Friday, the first trader sees the peso moving between P53.30 and P53.55 against the greenback, while the other gave a P53.35-P53.55 range.
“The local currency, however, might erase some of its gains ahead of major economic data from the US which might be favorable towards the greenback,” the second trader noted. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal with Reuters

PHL stocks rebound ahead of MSCI rebalancing

LOCAL EQUITIES staged a gradual climb on Thursday, as investors looked forward to the MSCI rebalancing on Friday and amid positive sentiment across international markets.
The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 0.28% or 22.20 points to 7,853.16, bouncing back from the previous session’s decline. The broader all-shares index also firmed up by 0.21% or 10.04 points to 4,760.90.
“For our local bourse today, it is our view that it is still on consolidation mode still waiting for a major catalyst such a MSCI rebalancing which will take effect [on Friday],” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Piper Chaucer Tan said in a text message on Thursday.
Mr. Tan added that there was positive sentiment on the back of the infrastructure push of the government.
The government unveiled last Tuesday P36.23 billion worth of large-scale flood control, road and railway projects which form part of the flagship infrastructure projects for 2019.
Most of the projects will be funded through a hybrid framework with initial funding by state budget or official development assistance for the construction phase, while opting for public-private partnerships for operation and maintenance.
Another analyst also attributed the performance to window dressing ahead of the last trading session of August.
“The local market closed slightly with early window dressing, with the Nasdaq surging to a new high and a possible soft Brexit as drivers [Thursday, August 30],” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message. A soft Brexit means that the United Kingdom will continue to maintain ties with the European Union.
Wall Street indices also advanced overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 0.23% or 60.55 points to 26,124.57. The S&P 500 index firmed up 0.57% or 16.52 points to 2,914.04, while the Nasdaq Composite index jumped 0.99% or 79.65 points to 8,109.69.
The PSEi bucked the slower performances of its regional counterparts, as fears over the trade war between the United States and China pulled down most Asian indices.
Back home, four sectors moved to positive territory, led by holding firms which rose 0.82% or 63.47 points to 7,737.48, followed by financials that gained 0.52% or 9.49 points to 1,821.68. Mining and oil went up 0.3% or 29.89 points to 9,952.63, while industrials increased 0.21% or 23.76 points to 11,287.06.
On the other hand, services dropped 0.27% or 4.26 points to 1,535.34, while property slipped 0.21% or 8.37 points to 3,951.05.
Some 1.25 billion issues valued at P6.33 billion switched hands, rising slightly from the previous session’s P6.21 billion.
Advancers outpaced decliners by a slim margin, 99 to 97, while 50 names remained unchanged.
Foreign investors reversed their buying position to record net sales of P105.35 million Thursday, August 30, versus Wednesday’s net inflow of P91.21 million. — Arra B. Francia

Nestle wants your DNA

The company that brought you milk chocolate, Maggi instant noodles and Rocky Road ice cream is worried about your health.
Nestle SA, the world’s largest food company, has joined the trend for personalized nutrition with a blend of artificial intelligence, DNA testing and the modern obsession with Instagramming food. The program, begun in aging Japan, could provide the Swiss company with a wealth of data about customers’ wellness and diet as it pivots toward consumers who are seeking to improve their health and longevity.
In Japan, some 100,000 users of the “Nestle Wellness Ambassador” program send pictures of their food via the popular Line app that then recommends lifestyle changes and specially formulated supplements. The program can cost $600 a year for capsules that make nutrient-rich teas, smoothies and other products such as vitamin-fortified snacks. A home kit to provide samples for blood and DNA testing helps identify susceptibility to common ailments like high cholesterol or diabetes.
“Most of the personalized approach is driven by smaller companies, that’s why it was fairly limited,” said Ray Fujii, a partner at L.E.K. Consulting in Japan. “Nestle is taking a further step. They’re trying to figure out the algorithm between the test results and the genetic information and what they recommend as a solution. If they could do it, it’s a very big step.”
Snacks to Supplements
Nestle’s program is part of a change in direction for the 152-year-old company, which sold off its U.S. candy unit this year amid falling demand for sugary treats. Nestle has made a spate of investments targeted at healthier options including vegetarian meal maker Sweet Earth Foods and meal-delivery service Freshly. The company bought Canadian dietary supplements maker Atrium Innovations in March for $2.3 billion, its biggest medical-nutrition purchase in more than a decade.
“Health problems associated with food and nutrition have become a big issue,” said Kozo Takaoka, head of the company’s business in Japan, in an interview in Tokyo. “Nestle must address that on a global basis and make it our mission for the 21st century.” He said the wellness segment could eventually account for half of Nestle’s sales in Japan.
The investments come with the burgeoning interest in so-called nutraceuticals — food-derived ingredients that are processed and packaged as medicine or wellness aids — among consumers that are increasingly skeptical about mass products. Nestle employs more than a hundred scientists in areas including cell biology, gastrointestinal medicine and genomics at the Nestle Institute of Health Sciences and has been developing tools to analyze and measure people’s nutrient levels.
“Decades in the future, all companies will probably have to be doing it,” said Jon Cox, an analyst at Kepler Cheuvreux. “The industry has probably had a setback as consumers also want natural and less processed products while adding supplements is seen as artificial or creating Frankenstein food.”
Some nutritionists are skeptical that tailored diet plans based around supplements are useful and that they may have more of a psychological effect than a medical one.
“Nestle’s program is designed to personalize diets in ways unlikely to be necessary,” said Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at New York University who isn’t linked to the KitKat maker. “If we think something will make us healthier, we are likely to feel healthier.”
Genetics and AI
One of the early adopters among the food companies was Campbell Soup Co., which invested $32 million in 2016 in San Francisco-based startup Habit, which uses DNA and blood profiles to make diet recommendations, as well as offering nutritional coaching and tailored meal-kits.
Big Food is tapping expertise in AI and genetics to navigate a sea change in the way consumers make choices, which has upended businesses from transportation to television.
“In the 21st century, innovation is using the internet and AI to solve problems that our customers didn’t realize they had, or problems they had given up on,” said Takaoka, who is famous in Japan for making the KitKat chocolate wafer an iconic local snack by adding green tea and other flavors.
He said big consumer companies can no longer rely on the power of their brands to woo a generation that grew up with e-commerce.
“They just search for things, they don’t pick the brand,” he said. “When people talk about brand marketing, I’m just thinking ‘what’s that?’”
Kale Smoothies
Hitomi Kasuda, a 47-year-old freelance writer, says drinking Nestle’s kale smoothie and other health drinks as much as four times a week helps her feel better about not eating enough vegetables. She gave up using the chat function on the app, but said she’s keen to get the DNA test.
“There’s probably a lot of things I don’t realize about my health that I can discover in a blood and genetics test,” said Kasuda, who lives south of Tokyo in Yokohama. “Even if I feel healthy, I’d like to know more about the quality of my health.”
In his 2016 book “Nutrition for a Better Life,” former Nestle chief Peter Brabeck-Letmathe proposed that personalized diet and health programs were the future of nutrition. “Using a capsule similar to a Nespresso, people will be able to take individual nutrient cocktails or prepare their food via 3-D printers according to electronically recorded health recommendations,” he wrote.
Two years later, Japanese subscribers in the wellness program now drink nutrient-fortified teas dispensed in capsules using a product similar to Nespresso, Nestle’s trademark coffee machine.
“We’re getting consumer buy-in because we live in a hedonistic, me-first kind of world,” said Peter Jones, a nutritional scientist at the University of Manitoba in Canada. “This is going to be the manifestation of the future. The one-size-fits-all platform is a thing of the past.” — Bloomberg

Former Akbayan representative to represent opposition senators in ICC case

Former party-list representative Ibarra M. Gutierrez of Akbayan submitted to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, Aug. 29, a formal entry of appearance as counsel for opposition senators in their petition against the Philippine government’s withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“The undersigned lawyer respectfully enters his appearance as counsel for Petitioners-Senators Francis N. Pangilinan, Franklin M. Drilon, Paolo Benigno A. Aquino IV, Leila M. De Lima, Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, and Antonio F. Trillanes IV in the above-entitled case,” read Mr. Gutierrez’s notice, referring to the petitions by the aforementioned senators and other parties against the Office of the Executive Secretary and its head, Salvador C. Medialdea, the Department of Foreign Affairs and its head, Alan Peter S. Cayetano, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo, and Ambassador Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. of the Permanent MIssion of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations.
Reuters reported that Mr. Duterte unilaterally withdrew in March from the ICC’s founding treaty, saying it skirted due process and presumption of his innocence and sought to portray him as a “ruthless and heartless violator of human rights.” Activists and families of eight victims of the Philippines’ drug war filed a complaint on Tuesday with the ICC, the news agency reported.

What Filipino startup founders can learn from university admissions

Filipino business founders often apply a sliding scale to their hiring standards.
When it comes to executive positions, founders will settle for nothing less than the best — “rockstars” with experience, education, and accomplishments. But further down the ladder, that wish-list of requirements gets shorter and shorter.
A middle manager might get a job offer even if there are some genuine character or competency concerns, while front-line staff are welcomed into the company with little scrutiny, given how those roles tend to be a revolving door.

This sliding scale approach to hiring is deeply flawed.
Why? Front-line staff are the face of your organization. Even if your communications team pushes another executive in front of the media, it’s the front-liners that make the first, and lasting, impressions. The amount of time your fellow executives spend in front of customers over a year, your front-line staff does in one day.
If you care about your customers, you should doubly care about who you send to service them.
The key is to think like a university admissions team.
When it comes to prospective students, universities don’t have a sliding scale for quality. There is a comprehensive, rigorous process that applicants to any department or level need to undergo before joining the school’s cohort.
Why? Because even if not every student becomes an award-winning, honor-roll graduate, every one of them goes out into the world carrying that school’s name and reputation.
So why should your approach to onboarding people in your business be any different?
I founded Mober, an on-demand logistics platform, in late 2015. One of the key decisions that companies in this space have to make early on is whether they should hire their drivers in-house, or work with partners. After careful consideration, we chose to build a driver network composed of trusted partners.
This was our thought process: It would do the company no good if this driver network allowed us to expand our vehicle count and geographic reach quickly, but ultimately damaged our brand reputation through poor service or slow delivery. We needed a way to vet drivers and ultimately onboard only the best ones.

To recruit the best drivers, we established a multi-step selection process similar to what you would find at an international university. Drivers and their vehicles must first meet the basic criteria of vehicle quality and government and medical clearances.
Then they’re put through a rigorous training module built around smartphone literacy and customer service — learning to use the app and interact with customers properly. Soft skills are usually the tougher criteria to meet, but customer orientation is a non-negotiable at Mober. If a driver can’t exhibit the skills necessary to efficiently and respectfully work with customers, they can’t work with Mober.
Yes, we do onboard drivers slower than if we just let anyone with the minimum requirements join the Mober network, but we build our brand much faster. And I am proud of the results.
Because our front-liners consistently provide quality service, users not only become repeat customers, they recommend our app to their friends and family (all without any kind of financial incentives). Enterprise clients, who are satisfied with the same-day delivery we provide to their customers, also refer us to their partners and peers.
And the buzz and positive word-of-mouth attracts not only new clients, but new applicants interested in joining a company with our kind of work culture.
This kicks off the same kind of virtuous cycle that top universities around the world have been able to create through their admissions processes. The more selective they are with their students, the more that top professors want to teach there, in turn attracting more top student applicants.
You can track this lock-step growth through university rankings, but the idea itself is simple: The best people want to work with the best people, and it is as much true in a university as it is in a business.

Many businesses today have adopted a growth-at-all-costs mentality, failing to realize that short-term growth can be an illusion. When the rubber hits the road, front-line staff and partners taken on with little oversight can do more harm than good for the company.
Business founders know the gruelling amount of effort we need to put into building brands. Our businesses’ reputations are the building blocks with which we grow our networks of customers and partners. So why should we put any less scrutiny on the people who — more than anyone else in the company — cultivate that reputation?

Dennis Ng is the founder and CEO of Mober, an on-demand, same-day logistics service.

Paalam looks to sustain form heading into semis

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

FILIPINO BOXER CARLO PAALAM (fronting) looks to add to the Philippines’s medal haul at the 18th Asian Games in the semifinals of the light flyweight division today in Jakarta, Indonesia. — PSC MEDIA

MADE a solid showing in the quarterfinals of the men’s light flyweight competition at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia on Wednesday, Filipino boxer Carlo Paalam looks to sustain his fine form as he tries to add to the medal haul of the Philippines in the semifinals today at the Jakarta Expo Boxing Hall.
Showing much courage and steady form, Mr. Paalam, 20, toppled an older and more seasoned foe in Termirtas Zhussupov of Kazakhstan, 4-1, in their quarterfinal clash.
The convincing win thrust the Bukidnon native to a semifinal match with Amit of India today while also assuring himself of a bronze medal in the quadrennial continental sporting event.
“My opponent was very good and an experienced fighter but I showed that even if I’m young I could keep in step with him,” said Mr. Paalam in the vernacular following his quarterfinal victory over Mr. Zhussupov, who was 10 years his senior.
Mr. Paalam is also out to improve on his bronze medal performance in each of the 2016 Asian and World Youth Championships.
Joining Mr. Paalam in the big day for Philippine boxing in Indonesia today are teammates Eumir Felix Marcia and Rogen Ladon, who will see action in the semifinals of the middleweight and flyweight divisions, respectively.
HAPPY FOR MARGIELYN
Meanwhile, having seen his mentee Margielyn Didal blossom on her way to the Asian Games gold in skateboarding, coach Daniel Bautista said he is very happy for her.
“Winning the Asian Games gold was way beyond my wildest dreams but I knew when I first saw Margielyn she was one of a kind, that she was going to be amazing in skateboarding,” said Mr. Bautista on the heels of Ms. Didal’s gold conquest.
“This is just amazing. A couple of years back skateboarding was not in the Asian Games and now we are here. It’s official. The government is here, supporting her. We’re very happy,” he added.
Ms. Didal, a native of Cebu, added a fourth gold medal for the Philippines on Wednesday when she topped the women’s skateboarding street event head and shoulders above her pursuers.
As of 12 noon on Thursday, the Philippines stood at 17th place in the medal standings with four gold and 13 bronze medals.

Open: Nadal speeds through, Wawrinka and del Potro too

NEW YORK — World number one and defending champion Rafael Nadal steamed into the third round on another scorching day at the US Open on Wednesday with a straight-sets win over Vasek Pospisil.
Nadal, spared the worst of the heat thanks to his late-night start on Arthur Ashe Stadium, sped past Pospisil 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
His only hiccup came in the second set, when he dropped his serve to fall 2-4 down.
“The conditions are tough,” Nadal said. “It was important to start very well with that break. To win in straight sets is always very positive, especially in these conditions. It’s almost midnight, very happy about the victory.”
Former champions Stan Wawrinka and Juan Martin del Potro also advanced, while 2012 winner Andy Murray, like Wawrinka back at Flushing Meadows after missing last year through injury, was bounced by Fernando Verdasco.
Wawrinka survived searing mid-day heat and a spirited Ugo Humbert.
“I knew it would be a difficult match,” said Wawrinka, who was pleased to find himself feeling fit after prevailing 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 in three hours and 21 minutes.
“My level is there. I’m playing really good tennis,” added Wawrinka, who was unable to defend his 2016 title after undergoing two knee surgeries last year.
“I think there is a good chance that I’m playing better in the next round,” said the Swiss, who will face Canadian Milos Raonic for a place in the last 16.
Meanwhile Murray, the 2012 US Open winner, who was playing his first Grand Slam in 14 months, is still fighting to find full fitness after hip surgery in January.
He gave himself a mixed review after a 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Spain’s Fernando Verdasco, whose only win over Murray in 14 prior meetings was at the 2009 Australian Open.
“I think some of the tennis I played today was some of the best I’ve played since I had the surgery or since I came back,” said Murray.
He was disappointed to surrender the first set after holding a set point, but pleased he had enough in the tank to push Verdasco through five break points in the final game before the Spaniard converted his third match point.
Even with his current limitations, Murray is a dangerous opponent, Verdasco said.
“He’s an unbelievable player, so talented. No matter how much his hip hurts or whatever, he’s going to fight and he’s going to put all the balls he can in and run,” Verdasco said after earning a third-round meeting with 2009 champion del Potro.
The third-seeded Argentinian, who career was nearly ended by wrist injuries after his maiden Grand Slam triumph here, defeated American Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (7/4).
Del Potro was delighted to get through in three sets, and not spend too long in the steamy sunshine.
Organizers again implemented an extreme heat policy that allowed both men and women a 10-minute heat break in matches extended beyond straight sets.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Greek 20-year-old who came in with high expectations after beating four top 10 players en route to the Toronto Masters final, said the heat took a mental as well as physical toll.
BREATHING HEAT
“You don’t have fresh air to breathe — you breathe this heat that’s coming, the moisture that’s in the air. So you feel like you are empty,” said the 15th-seed, who fell 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to Russian Daniil Medvedev.
Medvedev, who won his second ATP title of the season at Winston-Salem last week, booked a third-round meeting with 20th-seeded Croatian Borna Coric, a 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-3 winner over Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena.
Fifth-seeded South African Kevin Anderson, runner-up to Nadal last year and a runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, made quick work of France’s Jeremy Chardy, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.
Anderson next faces rising Canadian star Denis Shapovalov, who labored to a 6-4, 4-6, 5-7, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 victory over Italian Andreas Seppi. — AFP

Philippine basketball team tries to salvage fifth place in Asiad versus Syria today

JORDAN CLARKSON and the Philippine team looks to salvage a fifth-place finish at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia today.

ALREADY out of the medal running at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia, the Philippine men’s national basketball team goes for the next best thing — a fifth-place — in its game today against Syria at the Gelora Bung Karno-Istora stadium in Jakarta.
Set for 7:30 p.m. (Manila time), the Philippine Basketball Association-backed team looks to finish its campaign on a winning note and improve on the country’s seventh-place finish in the 2014 Asiad in Incheon, South Korea.
“We are assured of sixth place. But we still have to play one game against [Syria]. We want to finish our campaign here (with a win), even if we don’t have a medal,” said national team coach Yeng Guiao.
The Philippines put itself in a position to vie for fifth after routing Japan, 113-80, in their consolation battle on Tuesday where Filipino-German Christian Standhardinger had a solid 27 points and 13 rebounds.
Filipino-American National Basketball Association player Jordan Clarkson had 22 markers and nine assists.
The Filipinos saw their medal hopes crumble after they lost to South Korea, 91-82, in the quarterfinals on Monday.
Despite falling short of a podium finish, Mr. Guiao said he is very proud of the players’ efforts in the tournament despite the limited time they had in the lead-up to it.
“Our players gave a great effort and I could not have asked for more from them,” said Mr. Guiao following their game against South Korea.
In the tournament, the Philippines has chalked up a 2-2 record, winning its first game against Kazakhstan, 96-59, in preliminary play in Group D before dropping a close one against China, 82-80, to finish second in the group heading into the quarterfinals.
Syria, meanwhile, was second in Group B before losing to Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals. It defeated Indonesia to set up a meeting with the Philippines for fifth place. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

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