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Price manipulation not at farmgate level, Agriculture department says

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said prices of produce are stable at farmgate level and any irregular price movements are taking place at the distribution and retail levels.
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Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said prices at farmgate are stable and that he expects “the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to strengthen its price monitoring. Even the DA, with the help of the DTI, should intensify price monitoring.”
Mr. Piñol, in a social media post on Tuesday, also reiterated that the rising prices are due to speculation of inadequate supply.
“What needs to be done now is for government to exercise its full powers in checking profiteering and price manipulation in the market,” he said.
Both the DTI and the DA began joint market monitoring in wet markets after the DA imposed suggested retail prices on eight farm goods in June.
Among the measures pursued by the DA were the importation of 117,000 metric tons (MT) of round scad, or galunggong, to be directly sent to wet markets, and the lifting of the security safeguard measures for poultry to lower chicken prices.
A security safeguard measure is intended to protect domestic producers by temporarily restrict imports of a commodity.
“Shortly after the lifting of the SSG for poultry, the farm gate prices of broiler chicken which was at P95 per kilo a week before, steadily went down,” Mr. Piñol claimed.
“Poultry raisers rang alarm bells as the farm gate price plummeted to P77 per kilo [on Tuesday], threatening the profitability of the industry,” he added, noting that the retail price for chicken as observed by DTI, however, remained unchanged.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that both chicken and hog posted increase in production to by 4.47% to 462,335 MT and 2.81% to 557,270 MT, respectively, in the second quarter.
This was attributed to better facilities in broiler farms for poultry and better farmgate price for pork.
Average farmgate price for live hogs for slaughter went up by 7.65% to P117.88 per kilogram (kg) while average farmgate price for broiler chicken posted a 0.45% increment to P86.76 per kg.
The two commodities are seen to have a steadily increasing demand by the last quarter, spurred by the holiday season.
The DA gave importers who did not utilize their Minimum Access Volume allocations the ultimatum to bring in their goods before August ends to avoid further increase of prices in the market.
Despite this, the DA junked the proposal to lower tariffs which Mr. Piñol earlier said can be detrimental in the long term as it would put local production at risk of lower priced imports.
Instead, the DA will be adding more commodities in the list of other farm goods with SRPs.
“This would be [imposed] before the “-ber” months [hit],” Mr. Piñol added.

Hidilyn Diaz gives Philippines first gold medal

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
TOP Filipino weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz broke the gold medal drought for the Philippines at the18th Asian Games in Indonesia on Tuesday night, topping the women’s 53 kg weightlifting event at the Jakarta International Expo.
A silver medallist at the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, Ms. Diaz delivered the golden performance in the ongoing Asiad by edging out Kristian Shermetova of Turmekistan for the top spot.
Ms. Diaz lifted a total of 207 kg to Ms. Shermetova’s 206 on the strength of a 115-kg lift in the clean and jerk to overhaul her deficit in the snatch where she lifted 92 kg to the Turkmenistan lifter’s 93 kg.
Ms. Shermetova initially lifted 113 kg in the clean and jerk and tried to salvage the win by attempting to lift 116 kg in her third and final attempt but could not pull it off, handing the victory to Ms. Diaz.
Ms. Diaz’s gold was in addition to the four bronze medals Team Philippines won earlier, one each from the men’s and women’s poomsae teams, taekwondo jin Pauline Lopez (women’s -57 kg event) and wushu’s Agatha Wong.

China survives PHL, 82-80

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
CHINA survived a spirited challenge from the Philippines in their preliminary Group D match at the 18th Asian Games on Tuesday, winning, 82-80, at the Gelora Bung Karno Basketball Hall in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Regaining their composure just in time to snatch back the win, the Chinese avoided opening their Asiad bid with a disaster as they held on for the win in a game that proved to be too close for comfort for them.
The Philippines got off to a fast start as JP Erram and Jordan Clarkson helped their team to an early 5-0 lead in the first minute of the opening quarter.
China though would go on a 7-0 blast in the next two minutes as big man Zhou Qi waxed hot to help overtake the Philippines, 7-5.
It would use it as a springboard to build a 20-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The Chinese continued to dominate to start the second quarter, outscoring the Philippines, 7-3, to extend their lead to 12 points, 27-15, at the 7:16 mark.
But led by Mr. Clarkson and Paul Lee, the Filipinos would make headway in its attempt to rally back, coming to within six points, 31-25, with two minutes remaining and slashing their deficit some more to 36-31 by the halftime break.
The two teams jostled to begin the third quarter.
The count stood at 47-42 with 6:17 remaining before China went to score five straight points to make it a 10-point lead, 52-42, after a minute.
But Mr. Clarkson, getting it done beyond the arc, would not allow the Philippines to lose further ground after, towing his team to level the count at 55-all at the 2:36 mark.
The Chinese though eventually survived the Philippine charge back, holding a 59-57 lead after three quarters.
In the fourth period, Abudurexit Abudushalamu would jump-start China’s offense, helping his team create further distance, 74-66, midway into the frame.
Messrs. Erram, Pringle and Lee then conspired to rack up eight straight points to tie the count anew at 74-all with 3:46 to go.
The Philippines went on to seize the lead, 76-74, after two free throws by Christian Standhardinger at the three-minute mark.
A basket by Pringle with 2:38 left on the clock to extend the Philippines’ lead to three, 78-75. The Filipinos held a two-point cushion, 80-78, entering the final minute before Zhao Rui rallied his team back, scoring off the break to tie the score at 80-all and hitting crucial free throws with 13 seconds to go to get the lead back, 82-80.
Mr. Lee had a chance to win the game for the Philippines but his three-point heave failed to connect, preserving the win for the Chinese.
Mr. Zhou led China with 25 points while Wang Zhelin had 13.
Messrs. Abudurexit and Zhao finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Mr. Clarkson had 28 points with Mr. Stanhardinger adding 18 and Mr. Pringle 14.
Despite the loss, it is highly likely that the Philippines will advance to the quarterfinals after drubbing Kazakhstan, 96-59, in its tournament opener.
China and Kazakhstan play their Group D match today.

Clarkson gives added dimension to PHL’s Asiad bid

JAKARTA — Al Panlilio has had his share of challenging moments early in his tenure as president of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).
From the crisis the local governing body in basketball encountered brought about by the free-for-all incident during the game of Gilas Pilipinas and Australia and the consequent suspension of the players and coaches of our national squad, to the initial decision to pull out from the basketball competition in the Asian Games before reconsidering and eventually forming a team formation of the team, the SBP has had it rough of late.
But all these things were overshadowed when Philippine basketball was able to bring in National Basketball Association player Jordan Clarkson in the Asian Games.
Suddenly, Philippine basketball has put itself at the forefront of the regional international competition with Mr. Clarkson serving as the face of the Filipino contingent here and becoming the event’s biggest star.
Mr. Clarkson was the Philippines’ flag-bearer and from the moment he arrived in Indonesia he had drawn international attention.
“I think it’s the first time we’re going to have an active NBA player as part of the Philippine national team. It’s very common for the other countries, but for the Philippines, it’s very rare,” Panlilio told BusinessWorld in an interview.
According to Mr. Panlilio, the SBP moved heaven and earth just to convince the NBA to allow Mr. Clarkson to participate in the Asian Games.
The NBA gave Mr. Clarkson a one-time exemption to compete in the Asian Games as the league only allows its players to join the qualifying tournaments for the World Cup and the Olympics.
“We would like to thank the NBA for allowing Clarkson. Jordan really wanted to carry the Philippine jersey. We were able to meet his fanily and it’s very supportive also. As for the SBP, we’re hoping to bring in Jordan in more competitions,” added Mr. Panlilio.
“We just have to work on his schedules. I know he has commitments in the NBA.”
If available in the future, the SBP could bring in Mr. Clarkson to play either as a naturalized player or as a local and that is something the SBP is working on, according to Mr. Panlilio.
“From a FIBA standpoint, Jordan is considered a naturalized player. The SBP is working, but it might take some time, for FIBA to reconsider because the situation of the Philippines is different. By law, under our Constitution, if you are born or one of your parents is a Filipino, and you were born anywhere else in the world, you are still considered a Filipino at the time of birth,” said Mr. Panlilio.
“In the US, if you’re born in the US, you are a US citizen. What we’re trying to do is discuss with FIBA that they would give consideration to the Philippines, our nature, because there are 10 million Filipinos working abroad and for sure, they will have kids abroad. By blood, their lineage is Filipino. We’re hoping FIBA would adjust their rules and allow certain Filipinos to become real Filipino players, not naturalized.” — Rey Joble

Lopez adds fourth bronze medal to haul

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE PHILIPPINES’ medal haul at the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia is now up to four bronzes after Pauline Lopez threw in her share of hardware in the Women’s -57kg taekwondo event on Tuesday at the Jakarta Convention Center.
Losing, 11-4, to Luo Zongshi of China in the semifinals, Ms. Lopez saw her impressive run in the event come to an end and settle for bronze.
In the lead-up to semifinals, 22-year-old Lopez was on a fiery roll, taking down her opponent in solid fashion.
She first shut out Feng Xiao of Macau, China, 8-0, in the round of 16 before lording it over Chunara Gyani of Nepal, 20-0, in the quarterfinals to book her place in the semifinals.
Ms. Lopez kept the match close in the first two rounds against Ms. Luo but just could not keep in step with her opponent in the final round to slump to the loss.
The bronze from Ms. Lopez is the third medal from taekwondo after the Philippines’ poomsae men’s and women’s teams bagged a bronze each on Sunday.
Wushu’s Agatha Wong accounts for the other bronze medal of the country as of this writing.
As of 5 p.m. yesterday, China continues to lead in the medal standings with 20 gold, 14 silver and 10 bronze medals followed by Japan (8-12-12) and Korea (5-10-11).
Scheduled to see action later yesterday, meanwhile, was Olympic silver medallist Hidilyn Diaz, who was to compete in the 53kg event, while wushu artists Divine Wally and Jean Claude Saclag were to compete in the quarterfinals of their respective events.
PHILIPPINE BLU GIRLS
Meanwhile, the Philippine women’s softball team plunges into another double-header today at the Gelura Bung Karno diamond.
The Philippine Blu Girls will take on host team Indonesia at 1:30 p.m. (Manila time) before facing Chinese Taipei at 9 p.m.
The team is hoping to sustain its fine form to date in the Asiad where it won its first three games, beating Hong Kong, 8-0, Korea, 5-3, and China, 1-0, in that order.
It was set to face Japan late yesterday seeking to win four straight.
The Japan game was something the team was looking forward to as it tries to avenge the 7-0 loss it absorbed to the Japanese at the Asian Championship last December.
The Blu Girls try to go for a sweep of their remaining games in the classification phase to book a spot in the next round.
“We hope to continue winning to earn a spot in the next round,” said national coach Venerando Dizer said.
Tournament format will see the top four teams advancing to a page system semifinal to determine the protagonists for the gold medal. The losers will square off for the bronze.

NLEX Road Warriors try to cop third win in a row

EARLY Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup leaders NLEX Road Warriors gun for their third win in a row when they play tournament-debuting Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok in the main game today at 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Hot off the starting blocks notwithstanding the absence of key personnel for varying reasons to begin their campaign in the season-ending PBA tournament, the Road Warriors look to sustain their good form to date and stack up victories to give themselves more ground until they are back with a full complement.
Playing sans head coach Yeng Guiao and veteran big man Asi Taulava who are in the Asian Games in Indonesia right now and guards Kevin Alas (injury) and Kiefer Ravena (FIBA suspension), NLEX is managing to rack up victories with a total team effort under the baton of interim coach Jojo Lastimosa.
In their most recent victory, a 123-107 mastery of NorthPort Batang Pier on Aug. 19, the Road Warriors saw eight players score eight points or more, which proved to be too much to handle for their opponents.
Import Olu Ashaolu led the way for NLEX with 27 points and 13 rebounds with Larry Fonacier and Mark Tallo adding 14 points apiece.
JR Quinahan had 12 while Kenneth Ighalo had 11, and Juami Tiongson and Alex Mallari with 10 each.
Cyrus Baguio had eight points off the bench.
NLEX, however, will be playing with a replacement import in Aaron Fuller against Magnolia as Mr. Ashaolu rehabs his injured right knee.
Mr. Fuller will take over for Mr. Ashaolu until the latter is ready to play once again in the tournament.
In the absence of their original import, the Road Warriors will be banking on NLEX-returning Fuller and the rest of their local crew, including Mr. Tallo, who was named player of the week for his splendid play so far under NLEX.
Picked up from the free-agent pool by the Road Warriors, Mr. Tallo has been steady for 15 points, 2.5 rebounds and two assists per game in his new team’s first two assignments.
Out to put a stop to NLEX’s streak, meanwhile, are the Hotshots, who are off a disappointing finish in the previous tournament where they were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Magnolia will be bannered by import Romeo Travis, who previously played for the Alaska Aces in 2015 and posted numbers of 24.1 points, 12.6 rebounds and three assists en route to winning the best import award in the Governors’ Cup.
Like NLEX, Magnolia will be without a key piece to start its campaign as guard Paul Lee, too, is playing in the Asiad.
Opening PBA action today at 4:30 p.m. is the clash between the Phoenix Fuel Masters and Columbian Dyip.
The game will mark the Phoenix debut of All-Star forward Calvin Abueva, who the team got in the in-between conference break from Alaska.
Columbian (0-1), meanwhile, seeks to bounce back after opening its tournament bid with a loss. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Son warns of tough route for South Korea football

JAKARTA — Son Heung-min has warned South Korea face a tough run to the Asian Games final after failing to top their group, as he bids for a gold that could save his career from being derailed by military service.
Son’s volley in a 1-0 win against Kyrgyzstan fired his team into the last 16 of the regional Olympics Monday, setting up a clash with fellow heavyweight Iran — the tournament’s top-ranked team.
Nothing less than gold will be enough to exempt Son, 26, from his 21-month compulsory military service, and he warned his young teammates they will need to be more clinical in front of goal.
“The Iran team is very strong. We need to prepare very well,” said Son.
“We are all professional players, so I think they should learn by themselves — I don’t think I need to say anything to them.
“But we know what we need to improve on for the next game.”
South Korea finished second in its group after a shock loss to Malaysia.
Victory against Iran on Thursday would likely see South Korea face a highly rated Uzbekistan side in the quarterfinals.
“Iran and another strong team Uzbekistan could both be the champion for this tournament,” Son added. “We all have the chance to get the gold medal.”
Son is playing at the Asian Games after being granted special permission by Spurs, with whom he signed a new, five-year contract last month.
He is one of three wild cards — players aged over 23 — selected to play in the U23 tournament.
Iran’s senior team is Asia’s top-ranked side, standing at 33 in FIFA’s rankings, and impressed in a tough World Cup group featuring Spain and Portugal.
Uzbekistan, who won Asian Games gold in 1994, have a promising young crop of players coming through, and won every group game without conceding a single goal.
South Korea coach Kim Hak-bum echoed his star forward’s warnings, describing Iran as “quite powerful.” — AFP

NCAA: Letran Knights back on the winning track

THE Letran Knights are back on the winning track in Season 94 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) after they defeated the Mapua Cardinals, 84-63, in opening seniors play on Tuesday at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Lost their previous two assignments, the Knights recovered their footing against the Cardinals, dominating from the start to book the victory and halt their losing skid.
Showing better ball movement, Letran was in its offensive element right from the get-go, racing to a 13-8 lead in the first five minutes of the opening quarter before settling for a 23-13 advantage at the end of the period.
In the second quarter, the Knights continued to pound it on the Cardinals, with veterans Bong Quinto and JP Calvo leading the charge.
Letran would extend its lead to 17 points, 42-25, by the halftime break.
Mapua tried to gain some ground to start the third period but only saw matters turn for the worse with the Knights maintaining their go-getting mindset.
Letran’s lead stretched to 26 points, 59-33, midway into the third frame and stayed commanding the rest of the way, holding a 63-39 cushion heading into the final 10 minutes.
With the ball game pretty much under control, the Knights spent the fourth quarter just fending off the fight being put up by the Cardinals.
Former University of the East player Bonbon Batiller provided much of the firepower for the Knights as they sped to the skid-busting victory.
Calvo had 20 points to lead the Knights, who improved to 5-3 for the season after the win over Mapua.
Larry Muyang had 15 points while Quinto had a triple-double of 12 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
Batiller had 11 points with Chris Fajarito adding 10 for the Knights.
Arvin Gamboa was the lone Cardinal in double digits with 13 points.
“In our last game [against Lyceum] we had a tough loss. So coach [Jeff Napa] just told us to let it sink in and use it as motivation to bounce back in this game,” said Calvo following their victory. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Red Bull challenges gamers with Kumite tourney

RECOGNIZING the burgeoning gaming scene in the country, energy drink maker Red Bull is bringing to the Philippines for the first time the Red Bull Kumite tournament.
Red Bull Kumite is a showdown between the best Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition players in the world.
The contest has reached gamers all over the world, with qualifications now open across new territories. Each game takes place inside a cage until only one player is left standing.
This will be the first time that the Philippines will be holding a regional tournament, which will happen on Sept. 29 at Chaos Nightclub, City of Dreams in Manila, with one winner to be flown to Paris, France, to represent the country on Nov. 10 for the Last Chance Qualifier.
The global e-sports tournament is now on its fourth straight year of staging.
Qualifiers have been taking place all over the world since April, with national qualifiers expected to finish in October.
In the Last Chance Qualifier, 256 players will battle for the last two remaining spots in Kumite World Championship.
A total of 16 players, two from the Last Chance Qualifier and 14 of the best Street Fighter V players invited by Red Bull, will square off in a series of head-to-head battles on Nov. 11 to determine the 2018 Red Bull Kumite Champion.
Those interested in joining the Philippine leg of the Red Bull Kumite tournament must pay a registration fee of P250.
Interested participants may enter at win.gs/kumiteph. — MASM

Barbosa expresses desire to still represent Philippines

UNITED States-based Grandmaster Oliver Barbosa is dreaming of representing the country again in the World Chess Olympiad someday.
While he will not be part of the five-man team the Philippines is sending to the biennial chess conclave in Batumi, Georgia, next month, Mr. Barbosa, 31, said it is still in his heart to play for country and flag in international competitions like the Olympiad.
And Mr. Barbosa, who left the country five years ago in disgust of the politics and little financial support, showed he still has it as he recently topped the 48th Continental Open in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and remained the country’s second highest rated chesser with a FIDE rating of 2545.
Mr. Barbosa downed FIDE Master Aravind Kumar of the US in the ninth and final round and then edged GMs Pavlo Vorontsov of Ukraine and Andrey Gorovets of Belarus on tiebreaks to clinch the title.
It was Mr. Barbosa’s first title since he reigned supreme in the Washington International Open last year.
“It’s always an honor to play for the Philippines, I still dream of it until now,” said Mr. Barbosa. “What happened during 2013 when they cut our allowance wasn’t resolved, their promises of retroactive allowance never happened.
“There were just too many broken promises. If they’re in my shoes and they will feel the neglect I felt, I’m sure they too will feel neglected and unappreciated and I just decided to look for other ways to make a living,” he added.
The Philippines will be represented by GM Julio Catalino Sadorra, who is also US-based like Mr. Barbosa, GM John Paul Gomez, International Masters Jan Emmanuel Garcia and Haridas Pascua and FIDE Master Mari Turqueza in Batumi.
Mr. Barbosa is just one of several Filipino wood pushers who tried their luck abroad. It included GM Wesley So, who flew to the US to chase the world title and came close to it when he once zoomed to No. 2 in the world rankings a year ago.
Mr. Barbosa said he would have loved to compete side by side with Messrs. Sadorra and Gomez, his contemporaries.
“It would have been nice to play alongside Sadorra and JP (Gomez) as we are in the same batch growing up,” said Mr. Barbosa. “As of now, I still don’t have the same drive as before, hopefully I can find it again and get that motivation to be with my countrymen.”

National team coach Yeng Guiao

Even before his Asian Games tour of duty has been completed, national team coach Yeng Guiao had his tenure extended after the basketball federation of the Philippines named him as coach for the next window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers happening next month.
The NLEX Road Warriors coach will take the place of Chot Reyes, who will serve a one-game ban in connection with the brawl that happened between the Philippines and Australia on July 2 in the third window of the qualifiers.
The Philippines will be taking on Iran on Sept. 13 and Qatar on Sept. 17 where it hopes to bag victories to help propel its cause of advancing to the World Cup next year in China.
The Qatar game, which will be played here, is to be held behind closed doors as part of the sanctions meted by FIBA on the country in connection with the brawl with Australia that happened at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.
Named as coach for the next window is definitely another nod on the abilities of Guiao, who has been a noted bench tactician for almost three decades now.
It, however, would present a major challenge to him considering majority of Gilas Pilipinas players will be serving varying numbers of suspension for their role in the July brawl.
Suspended by FIBA over unsportsmanlike behavior were Japeth Aguilar and Matthew Wright (one game each); Terence Romeo, Jayson Castro William, Andray Blatche and Troy Rosario (three games each); Roger Pogoy, Carl Bryan Cruz and Jio Jalalon (five games each); and Calvin Abueva (six games).
Then again if there is someone who is up to such a challenge it has to be Guiao.
One thing about the coach is he has his vision clear, knows exactly what he wants in relation to what needs to be achieved.
Case in point is the ongoing Asian Games in Indonesia where he is leading a squad hurriedly assembled because of little time to prepare.
In light of the circumstances they were in, Guiao and the rest of his team decided to send the core of the Rain or Shine team in the Philippine Basketball Association and backstopped by “strategically” selected players from the other teams.
And so far the tack has been doing well as the team routed Kazakhstan, 96-59, in its opening game in Group D on Aug. 16 and given a good chance against China in their game scheduled game later yesterday, which would see Filipino-American National Basketball Association Jordan Clarkson make his debut for the Philippines.
That being said, this space has no doubt that Guiao can hold his own in the next window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers and that his selection, notwithstanding its pinch-hitting in nature, is but a good one.
To Coach Yeng, all the best in the ongoing Asiad and congratulations for the added coaching recognition in the World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
 
Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.
msmurillo@bworldonline.com

Middling Mavericks

Depending on where you stand, you either believe the Mavericks have parlayed the offseason into a good opportunity to prep for the inevitable departure of franchise legend Dirk Nowitzki or resign yourself to the fact that the next few years will bring about mediocrity. Of course, the premise of both viewpoints could be simultaneously true, in which case cynics will be having a field day noting that, in the National Basketball Association, purgatory is the worst place to go.
On paper, the Mavericks certainly did well, finally nabbing slotman DeAndre Jordan and, in the process, laying the groundwork for a system leaning towards the defensive predilections of head coach Rick Carlisle. He may no longer be producing at an All-Star level, but he’s still a worthy catch that complements the existing talent base. And he comes on good terms, too; he’s a one-season pickup that allows them to mine the free agency landscape for marquee names next year.
Parenthetically, the arrival of Trae Young reflects the Mavericks’ current position: Like his team, he has an upside that fans can pin their hopes on, as well as a downside that could conceivably crush their hearts. At this point, perhaps the best that can be said about him is this: His game is similar to backcourt partner Dennis Smith Jr.’s, but with range (and, on the minus side, poor shot selection). In this regard, he should thank his lucky stars he has Nowitzki and Carlisle to guide his progress on the court and off.
That said, the Mavericks will find themselves going only so far as Harrison Barnes will take them — which is to say not far, especially in the loaded Western Conference. Even in their much-improved state, they’ll be hard-pressed to make the playoffs, let alone challenge the gold-standard Warriors anytime soon. They’ll play hard and work hard, a byproduct of outstanding organization and mentorship. The flipside is that, because they’ll do so, they won’t be at or near the bottom of the standings, a requisite to subsequently snatching prized draft recruits.
In short, the Mavericks are stuck in the middle. They’re good enough to put some scare into highly touted opponents, but not skilled enough to win with consistency. And they’re overmatched enough to be mere playoff fodder, but not bad enough to secure highly ranked picks. No wonder franchise owner Mark Cuban wants lottery reform to happen, and fast.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

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