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FEU cognizant of balanced UAAP competition and need to deliver

WITH COMPETITION in the ongoing season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines stiffer than ever, the Far Eastern University Tamaraws recognize that they have to adjust accordingly and deliver.

Currently in the middle of the pack with a 2-2 record following their 66-55 win over the De La Salle Green Archers on Wednesday, the Tamaraws said they expect the road in UAAP Season 82 to continue to be challenging as all teams are capable of winning at any given time, a testament to the kind of parity the league has right now.

“Competition this season is so balanced. All the teams are capable of winning at any given moment, at any given time,” said FEU coach Olsen Racela after their win over La Salle.

The win was a bounce back for the Tamaraws, who lost in their previous game against the defending champions Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Against La Salle, FEU had to dig deep, relying on the plays of veteran Wendell Comboy down the stretch and Cameroonian big man Patrick Tchuente.

“I’m just happy with the way we responded today especially coming off that loss to Ateneo,” said Mr. Racela of their showing in their last game.

Tchuente had a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three blocks with Comboy scoring five of the last seven points of his team on his way to 11 points, and going 3-of-9 from three-point land.

Mr. Racela said they hope to sustain such level of play when they take on the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers next.

“The schedule is a bit tricky as we play almost in bunches and preparation is a challenge. But I’m looking forward to that game (UST). I always tell the players that every game is different, every UAAP game is different. It’s been showing this season. The favored teams are losing while those deemed in the disadvantage are winning. It’s like that this year. We have to be ready each time,” said the FEU coach.

FEU battles UST on Sunday, Sept. 22, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

2K announces inaugural NBA 2K20 Global Championship

NEW YORK — 2K is excited to announce it is partnering with the National Basketball Association (NBA), National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), and ESL, the world’s largest esports company, to create the NBA 2K20 Global Championship. Featuring more than $100,000 in prizes, the NBA 2K20 Global Championship is a new competitive tournament designed for aspiring NBA 2K20 players worldwide. The global tournament will feature head-to-head competition in a series of online and offline events that will take place from October 2019 to February 2020, culminating in a final event in the United States to crown the first-ever NBA 2K20 global champion. Registration is open today at www.nba2kgc.com.

“We’re excited to partner with the NBA, NBPA and ESL to create this first-of-its-kind tournament for NBA 2K,” said Jason Argent, Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations at 2K. “For anyone who is interested to test how their skills match up on a global scale, we encourage you to register and see if you truly have what it takes to become the best head-to-head player in the world.”

“The global scale of the tournament reflects the incredible growth of basketball around the world,” said Matthew Holt, NBA Senior Vice President, Consumer Products & Gaming Partnerships. “The NBA 2K20 Global Championship offers a chance for anyone in the world to compete.”

“We are thrilled to be working with these partners in creating this milestone event in gaming,” said Josh Goodstadt, EVP of Licensing for the NBPI, the commercial arm of the NBPA. “Our players come from all over the world and this is a unique experience which will allow fans from every corner of the globe to engage and compete with them through NBA 2K.”

From Oct. to Nov. this year aspiring NBA 2K20 players will compete in local online qualifiers in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions that will lead to online playoffs, which will determine who advances to the regional finals. Regional finals will be hold as live events at the ESL studios in Los Angeles, Paris and Sydney, where each winner will receive $15,000 and other prizes from the NBA and 2K.

The Global Finals will hold on February 22, 2020 at the ESL studio in Los Angeles, where eight finalists will compete to determine who will be crowned the first-ever global champion. The winner of the NBA 2K20 Global Championship will receive $100,000 in prizes.

Follow NBA 2K on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook for the latest NBA 2K20 news.

Isaiah Thomas

Isaiah Thomas just can’t seem to catch a break. Just when he looked primed for a comeback season with the Wizards, he found his preparations derailed by an injury during an otherwise-routine workout early this week. Tests revealed him to have torn the radial collateral ligament in his left thumb, requiring surgery and convalescence for the next eight weeks. Nonetheless, he was typically upbeat, noting in a tweet that he “[h]urt my damn thumb tryna play defense… Never again lol never again!” No doubt, his positive disposition was likewise spurred by prognoses that he, in general manager Thomas Sheppard’s words, will “make a full recovery.”

Which is all well and good. Thomas certainly deserves some news countering all the tough times he has gone through in the last two years. Not too long ago, he was an All-Star for the highly regarded Celtics; he finished the 2016-17 season norming 28.9, 2.7, and 5.9 in nearly 34 minutes of play. And he shone in the playoffs as well; among his highlights in the same campaign for the top seeds was a gutsy 53-point effort in Game Two of the East semifinals against, well, the Wizards on the natal day of his sister Chyna, who died in a car accident a month before.

In truth, Thomas played hurt for the Celtics then. He aggravated a right hip injury in Game Six of the same series against the Wizards, but soldiered on until Game Two of the conference finals versus the Cavaliers. And, with reason, he thought his above-and-beyond effort for the green and white would be reciprocated in kind. “My time is coming. They know they have to bring the Brinks truck out,” he said a month and a half later in reference to his expiring contract and his expectations of an extension at maximum salary.

Thomas was wrong. The Celtics dealt him to the Cavaliers the next month, a trade that was nearly scuttled in light of questions on the state of his health. And, since then, his career has been up and down — okay, mostly down. Between abbreviated stints with the Lakers and Nuggets, all that remained of the Brinks truck was his quote. The Hancock he has affixed on his deal with the Wizards puts him in line for a $2.32-million payday through the next year, just a tad higher than his previous one.

How good Thomas can still be at a seemingly broken-down 30 remains to be seen. He continues to hold a glass that’s half full to him, and possesses a resolve that keeps him reaching for the stars. It’s how he has always been, and why he thrived even at a diminutive 5’9”. And it’s how he will always be, and why he can’t ever be counted out.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing 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.

Palace says unfazed by brokers’ threat

THE PRESIDENTIAL palace said it is unfazed by customs’ brokers’ threat to fight President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s plan to remove them from the Bureau of Customs as a way to cut corruption, his spokesman said yesterday.

“Even if they want to fight, the president is mandated by the Constitution to serve the people and to protect the people,” presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo told reporters on Wednesday.

Adones S. Carmona, president of the Chamber of Customs Brokers, told ABS-CBN News that the country’s almost 12,000 brokers will fight the plan.

Norberto V. Castillo, president of the Philippine Association of Customs Brokers in Education, said the government should upgrade the bureau’s technology and professionalize its ranks.

He said Mr. Duterte could not just order the removal of brokers because the government is mandated to enforce the Customs Brokers Act of 2004.

Customs brokers have rejected claims that they were to blame for corruption at the Customs bureau. The chamber said it would defend the livelihood of its nearly 12,000 licensed members, adding that the palace should instead modernizing Customs.

Albay Rep. Joey S. Salceda on Wednesday said his ways and means committee would study the Customs Brokers Act to see if Mr. Duterte’s wish to expel brokers from the bureau could be accommodated. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Polio resurgent, Health dep’t says

THE DEPARTMENT of Health reported a case of polio this year after almost two decades of being free from the disease.

In a statement, the agency confirmed that the crippling and potentially deadly infectious disease is “re-emerging in the Philippines, 19 years after the country was declared polio-free by the World Health Organization (WHO).

One polio case was confirmed in Lanao Del Sur in southern Philippines, while the virus has been detected in samples tested from Manila sewages. Another case of polio was still being confirmed in Davao, it said.

Plio is caused by the poliovirus, which infects the brain and spinal cord, causing paralysis or even death. There are vaccines for polio but there are no known cures.

The WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released a joint statement on Thursday saying local government units must “ensure that vaccination campaigns are planned and implemented effectively.”

“Every community leader, religious leader and celebrity must mobilize their communities to participate in immunization activities,” they said. — Gillian M. Cortez

Manila law mandates clean front

A MANILA City ordinance will require homeowners and local businesses to keep their surroundings clean or face fines, according to a draft copy of the law.

The ordinance will ban hanging clothes on electrical wires, washing and drying of clothes and and leaving trash along the gutters.

Residents must not leave their pets animals to defecate or urinate outside their property line.

Violators will be fined P500 to P5,000 or jailed for a month, or both — Marc Wyxzel C. Dela Paz

City eyes PPP for sidewalk vendors

THE CITY government is preparing long-term development plans for sidewalk vendors who recently got evicted from the metro, according to Jeck C. Conlu, who heads the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office.

The local government will seek partners under the Public-Private Partnership program for the development of a relocation site along JM Basa Street where the vendors have been transferred, he said.

“There are a lot of private individuals and other entities that want to help,” Mr. Conlu said. “We are just finalizing the arrangements.”

The city is planning to develop the area into a souvenir site and make it part of tourists’ itinerary, he said.

The 2,700-square-meter property can only fit about 250 vendors who have drawn lots to occupy a space. — Emme Rose S. Santiagudo

Suspects in anchor’s death charged

CITY PROSECUTORS have indicted three suspects in the murder of broadcast journalist Eduardo Dizon, according to the Presidential Task Force on Media Security.

In a statement, task force Executive Director Joel Sy Egco said the charges were filed at the regional trial court of Kidapawan City on Wednesday.

Charged for murder were Junell Jane Andagkit Poten, Sotero Jacolbe, Jr. and Dante Encarnacion Tabusares. Messrs. Tabusares and Jacolbe are both local broadcasters.

“The three, acting in conspiracy with treachery and evident,” Mr. Egco said.

The Philippines is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for journalists, with 186 people who worked for media companies killed since 1986, according to the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and Human Rights Watch.

Davao council seeks pork import ban

THE CITY council has approved a resolution banning pork-related products from areas affected by African swine fever.

Among the products sought to be banned are raw, processed and cooked pork and other pork by-products from affected places including Luzon, according to a copy of the resolution authored by Councilor Ralph O. Abella

Acting Davao City Mayor Sebastian Z. Duterte earlier issued an order that formed a body that will oversee measures seeking to prevent the entry of the disease that has affected some hog farms in Luzon and other countries.

Meanwhile, an order that will ban all pork products and by-products from Luzon and other countries as been submitted to the mayor’s office, Davao City chief veterinarian Cerelyn Pinili said.

Once approved, products such as longganisa, tocino and ham will be banned, she said.

Davao Oriental has already issued an order banning pork products from Luzon and other affected areas, according to Armie S. Capuyan, chief of the disease monitoring section of the Department of Agriculture in the region. — Carmelito Q. Francisco and Maya M. Padillo

Arrest of drivers without license sought

A CITY councilor wants drivers caught driving without a license arrested and jailed and not just fined.

Councilor Conrado C. Baluran said the offense is only punishable with a P1,500 fine. The amount could go down to P500 if the arrest was made by city traffic enforcers.

About 9,000 drivers were caught for the offense in two years since Sept. 2017, the official said, citing data from the City Transport and Traffic Management Office.

He said driving is a privilege given to those who have promised to follow road rules. — Carmelito Q. Francisco

Nationwide round-up

Separate jail for top offenders pushed

A JOINT Senate committee has approved a bill seeking to set up a separate jail for felons convicted of heinous crimes.

Senate Bill 1055 will transfer high-level offenders toa maximum penal institution.

This follows a Senate investigation of alleged corruption in the country’s prison system. President Rodrigo R. Duterte this month fired his prison chief Nicanor E. Faeldon for allowing the illegal release for good conduct of about 2,000 inmates convicted of various heinous crimes including murder and rape.

Under the bill, the jail will be under a 24-hour surveillance using the latest security system. The Justice department must find a location of the penitentiary, “preferably within a military establishment or in an island separate from the main land,” according to the measure. — Charmaine A. Tadalan

LGUs more prone to cyberattacks

LOCAL government have become more prone to cyberattacks as data collected continually grow, according to cybersecurity company Fortinet.

“Today’s cybercriminals are savvy and well aware that local governments hold massive amounts of data,” the company said in a statement.

“They’re readily equipped to exploit that data’s value, whether by selling it on the dark web, or through extortionary tactics like ransomware attacks,” it added.

Ransomware attacks are one of the top threats that local governments face and their chief information security officers must identify and deploy solutions while making the best use of their limited resources, Fortinet said. — Marc Wyxzel C. Dela Paz

Free legal aid to poor to continue

THE Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) said it would continue to support rookie lawyers who wish to help poor clients after the Supreme Court suspended a program requiring novices to provide free service.

“We will work with you in the true spirit of volunteerism so that those who have less in life may possibly have more in law,” IBP National President Domingo Egon Q. Cayosa said in a statement. “We look forward to your continuing participation in the pro bono programs and activities of the IBP.”

The high court on Sept. 3 stopped its Community Legal Aid Service rule in keeping with the Revised Law Student Practice rule.

The court also ordered the IBP to refer back the cases assigned to CLAS-covered lawyers to supervising IBP lawyers. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Statistics agency classifies crimes

THE Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has released a crime classification framework that will categorize offenses according to similarity.

The 2018 Philippine Standard Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes contains 11 sections that cover all acts or events.

The 11 sections are acts leading to death; those causing harm; injurious sexual acts; those against property involving violence or threat against a person; acts against property only; those involving controlled drugs; acts involving fraud, deception or corruption; acts against public order, authority or state; acts against public safety and state security; those against the environment; and other criminal acts not elsewhere classified. — Marc Wyxzel C. Dela Paz

Nation at a Glance — (09/20/19)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

Nation at a Glance — (09/20/19)

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