DEPARTMENT OF Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Jonathan E. Malaya said former Cebu City Mayor Tomas R. Osmeña could be sanctioned for violating Republic Act 3019, Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, for stripping bare his office as his term ended last Friday. “The DILG will investigate the reported act of former Cebu Mayor Osmeña of stripping the Mayor’s office of everything from ceiling to floor tiles rendering it unusable and completely bare,” Mr. Malaya said in a text message to BusinessWorld on Monday, July 1. “But the act of even removing what are considered immovable objects like ceiling, walls, and the tiles is already bad faith because it renders the office, which is government property, as unusable by his successor and therefore affects the delivery of public service to the people of Cebu City,” he said. “What the mayor should have done was to file a claim for indemnification for all the immovable improvements he introduced to the office so that he can be reimbursed for the cost,” he added. The new mayor, Edgardo C. Labella, has said that he wants to hold office at the ground floor of the city hall and not at Mr. Osmeña’s former office on the 8th floor. Mr. Labella, however, said the former mayor’s office could have been preserved and used as a lounge for VIP guests. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreraswith a report fromThe Freeman
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL Police chief Gen. Oscar D. Albayalde said the two alleged suicide bombers in last Friday’s explosion at a military camp in Sulu, which left eight dead and 22 injured, are likely to be Filipinos. “Ang alam lang natin (What we know is) even the Armed Forces of the Philippines ay identified itong mga taong ito (have identified these people) and they are not foreign nationals,” said Mr. Albayalde in a press briefing at Camp Crame on Monday. He said the investigation is still ongoing. For his part, Defense Secretary Delfin N. Lorenzana said the imposition of martial law in the entire Mindanao may not exactly be the solution to the continued security problems in parts of the southern islands. “Martial law actually is not the solution to all these, because anybody can just go anywhere, because we have not controlled the movement of the people in Mindanao, they can basically go anywhere you want without any checkpoints… we just have checkpoints in areas that are dangerous, from one island to another,” Mr. Lorenzana said. — Vince Angelo C. Ferreras
THE ZAMBOANGA City government is planning to convert the 4.6 hectare former Lumbangan dumpsite into an ecological park with waste recycling facilities and a solar energy farm. In a statement released last week, Gerry R. Pollisco of the Office of City Environment and Natural Resources (OCENR) said post closure activities being undertaken by the City Engineer’s Office at the dumpsite, which ceased operation in 2015 with the opening of the Pasobolong sanitary landfill, is now almost 90% complete. Mr. Pollisco explained that the waste recycling facilities at the planned eco-park will help prolong the lifespan of the sanitary landfill. The park is also being considered for use as an input source for waste-to-energy facilities that will be open to private investors. Based on OCENR’s waste characterization survey, plastics compose 39% of the total waste disposed at the sanitary landfill while 61% is biodegradable waste.
THE PESO strengthened further against the dollar to hit a fresh one-year high amid market optimism driven by positive developments in US-China trade relations.
The local unit closed at P51.05 versus the greenback on Monday, 19 centavos higher than its P51.24-per-dollar finish last Friday.
This was the peso’s best showing in more than a year or since it closed at P50.84 against the dollar on Jan. 26, 2018.
The peso opened Monday’s session at P51.23 per dollar. Its intraday high stood at P51.045 versus the greenback, while its worst showing for the day was at P51.285.
Trading volume climbed to $870.2 million from the $726.79 million that changed hands in the previous session.
“The peso strengthened sharply from optimism after both the US and China agreed to resume trade negotiations during the G20 summit over the weekend,” a trader said in an e-mail.
On the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan on Saturday, US President Donald J. Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to resume trade talks after weeks of hurling tariffs against each other’s imports.
Washington said it will cancel a planned 25% tariff on $300 billion worth of Chinese imports and will ease restrictions on American companies to sell to Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.
Another trader said developments in US-China trade relations triggered an increase in the market’s risk appetite.
“We saw generally stronger peso throughout the day despite dollar’s strength against other currencies such as euro, pound and yen,” the trader added.
The trader also noted that the local unit strengthened further to breaking the resistance level of P51.10 following the remarks of Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia on the government’s optimistic outlook on the economy.
For today, the first trader expects the peso to trade between P50.95 and P51.15, while the other gave a P51-P51.20 range.
“However, the local currency might weaken on expectations of upbeat US manufacturing data overnight,” the first trader noted.
The trade truce between the United States and China prompted a relief rally among most other Asian currencies on Monday, with the Chinese yuan and Thai baht leading the gains.
“Investors (have) heaved a massive, but exhausted, sigh of relief that both the US and China opted to push the reset button and restart trade negotiations amidst other pleasantries — now we’ll have to see, whether it all sticks,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at Vanguard Markets Pte Ltd said.
The last major round of Sino-US trade talks collapsed in May, rattling financial markets and renewing concerns the standoff between the two biggest economies could trigger a global recession.
The weekend trade truce sent the yuan to its highest level since June 21.
The relief in markets following the weekend Trump-Xi meeting was underscored by the broadening global impact of the Sino-US trade war.
Private surveys showed factory activity in South Korea and China shrinking, hurt by slowing global trade. — KANVwithReuters
LOCAL SHARES climbed on Monday on the back of the resumption of trade negotiations between the United States and China.
The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) firmed up 0.55% or 44 points to close at 8,043.71, once again pushing past the 8,000 mark. The broader all-shares index likewise rose 0.44% or 21.87 points to 4,915.65.
“Investors breathed a momentary sigh of relief with trade talks resuming and the Huawei sanction partially lifted. The local ended the session with a lot of hopes that the G20 summit over the weekend will restart the trade talk between China and US,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.
US President Donald J. Trump reportedly said his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping was “better than expected.” Mr. Trump has agreed not to impose new tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods for the time being, while also allowing US firms to sell products from tech giant Huawei as long as they do not threaten US national security.
Mr. Trump also said that China has agreed to buy large amounts of US agricultural products to reduce the trade imbalance.
Papa Securities Corp. Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez, meanwhile, noted that the PSEi’s reaction to the G20 Summit was “positive yet muted,” saying that investors should look at how Wall Street performs overnight.
“Issue to watch out for this time would be how US markets react to the G20 developments as they open tonight — more so that the Dow and S&P 500 futures are currently up by around 1.2%,” Mr. Perez said in an e-mail on Monday.
Last Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.28% or 73.38 points to 26,599.96. The S&P 500 index rallied 0.58% or 16.84 points to 2,941.76, while the Nasdaq Composite index edged higher by 0.48% or 38.49 points to 8,006.24.
Back home, the services counter was the lone one in the red, dropping 0.67% or 11.56 points to close at 1,699.73.
The rest went up, led by property which jumped 1.67% or 71.76 points to 4,345.53. Mining and oil advanced 0.86% or 65.56 points to 7,656.77; holding firms gained 0.43% or 33.72 points to 7,736.73; industrials was up 0.36% or 42.82 points to 11,744.57; while financials added 0.03% or 0.67 point to 1,720.75.
Some 1.24 billion issues valued at P5.31 billion switched hands, significantly lower than the previous session’s P19.56-billion turnover.
Decliners outpaced advancers by a hair, 99 to 98, while 57 names were unchanged.
Foreign investors remained in net selling mode for the fifth straight session at P234.13 million, although dropping from Friday’s P6.38 billion.
GILAS Pilipinas Youth slumped to its second defeat at the FIBA Basketball Under-19 World Cup, bowing to Argentina, 77-72, early Monday morning (Manila time) at the Herklion University Sports Hall in Greece.
Playing sans injured big man AJ Edu for the first time, the Philippine national youth team fought gallantly once again but just could not take it all the way to absorb another loss in the tournament and remain winless in Group C.
The 6’10” Edu, one of the main defensive catalysts of Gilas Youth, suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscal tear on his right knee in their World Cup debut against host Greece on Sunday, which ruled him out for the remainder of the tournament.
Filipino-Nigerian Edu got injured just two minutes into the contest.
Against Argentina, the Sandy Arespacochaga-coach Philippine team did a good job staying in the game, led by Dave Ildefonso and Kai Sotto.
Gilas Youth made a serious late surge in the game and tried to snatch the victory but Argentina was able to survive it to book its second straight win.
Marco Giordano paced the Argentines with 18 points, followed by Francisco Farabello and Lucas Reyes with 15 points apiece.
For the Philippines, Ildefonso had a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Sotto had 17 points, eight rebounds and six blocks with Gerry Abadiano and James Spencer adding nine points apiece.
The loss left the Philippines as the only winless team in its grouping with Argentina (2-0) on top and Russia and Greece following with 1-1 records.
Gilas Youth plays Russia on July 3 where it will try to come up with a win to have something to build on entering the next round.
Tournament format calls for the 16 participating teams playing against all other teams in its own group — a total of three games for each team.
All teams qualify for the Round of 16, where they will cross between Groups A and B and C and D. The winners of the Round of 16 games advance to the quarterfinals, while the losers move on to the Classification Games for Places 9-16.
In other groups are Senegal, the US, New Zealand and Lithuania (Group A); Mali, Australia, Canada and Latvia (Group B); and China, Puerto Rico, France and Serbia (Group D).
LOS ANGELES — NBA superstar Kevin Durant didn’t wait long to declare his new destination, announcing he would sign with the Brooklyn Nets a few minutes after the free agency period opened Sunday night.
The announcement came via the Instagram account linked to Durant’s ESPN-owned site, The Boardroom. The message said: “Kevin Durant has confirmed he will sign a max deal with the Brooklyn Nets when the free agent moratorium period ends on July 6th.”
The max would be a four-year deal worth $164 million, although ESPN reports Durant will actually take less than the max to accommodate the Nets’ other moves. Per the report, Durant and expected signee Kyrie Irving will each take less to allow Brooklyn to sign center DeAndre Jordan for four years and $40 million.
Reports had indicated Durant was considering the Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks and his current team, the Golden State Warriors. Golden State could offer Durant an extra year and $57 million more — and was prepared to do so, according to the New York Times’ Marc Stein — but Durant was ready to move on after three seasons with the Warriors.
Durant, who turns 31 in September, is expected to miss the entire 2019-20 season because of the ruptured Achilles he suffered in Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the Toronto Raptors.
The 10-time All-Star averaged 26 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 78 games for the Warriors last season. He has career averages of 27 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 849 games.
Irving, a six-time All-Star, averaged 23.8 points, 6.9 assists and five rebounds in 67 games with the Boston Celtics last season. Irving, 27, has averages of 22.2 points, 5.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds in his eight-year career.
Jordan, who turns 31 in July, averaged 11.0 points and 13.1 rebounds in 69 games last season, when he played for the Dallas Mavericks and New York Knicks. He has career averages of 9.6 points and 10.9 rebounds in 11 seasons in the NBA.
Meanwhile, the Nets are also expected to sign guard Garrett Temple to a two-year, $10 million deal, The Undefeated reported. The deal features a team option in the second year.
Temple, 33, averaged 7.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in 75 games between the Grizzlies and Clippers last season.
BUCKS KEEP MIDDLETON, LOPEZ, HILL; TRADE BROGDON
All-Star forward Khris Middleton agreed to remain with the Milwaukee Bucks after free agency began Sunday night, landing a reported five-year, $178 million deal.
That was the first of several major moves for the Bucks, who also agreed to new contracts with center Brook Lopez (four years, $52 million, per multiple reports) and guard George Hill (three years, $29 million, according to The Athletic) while sending guard Malcolm Brogdon to the Indiana Pacers in a sign-and-trade deal.
The team confirmed via press releases that it intends to sign Middleton and Lopez once the moratorium on contracts officially ends on July 6.
Khris, who turns 28 next month, is a key cog for a team that had the NBA’s best record and reached the Eastern Conference finals before falling to the Toronto Raptors.
He explained his decision in a first-person account published by ESPN.
“We have unfinished business here in Milwaukee,” Middleton said. “This season was a stepping-stone for me personally and for us as a group. I achieved so many firsts on and off the court: I earned my first All-Star appearance; we made the Eastern Conference finals; I became a father.
Middleton averaged 18.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists this past season. He averaged a career-best 20.1 points the previous season.
Middleton, who declined a $13 million option to become a free agent, said he wants to win an NBA title with teammate Giannis Antetokounmpo, who won MVP honors in the 2018-19 season.
“It means a little more to me to work to win a championship with this group in this city because I was there for those darker days,” Middleton said. “Giannis and I have been through it all together. We have been at the very bottom and close to the top. When you rebuild a franchise brick by brick like that, it means a little bit more because you have literally put your blood, sweat and tears into improving. We have been called the worst team. I have been called the worst player in the league.
“I know now that I am a part of something special. It is not every day that a team wins 60 games. Some players will never get to say they accomplished that.
“I grew up with this franchise. As the years have gone on, I have seen more and more people show up at our games. The fans have been crazy these last few years. I look forward to raising my little girl in this city because I love it here. I don’t feel like I’m done with my community work either. It makes me so happy to work with our teachers and do movie nights with The Boys & Girls Clubs.”
Lopez, 31, averaged 12.5 points and 4.9 rebounds for Milwaukee last season while shooting 36.5 percent from 3-point range.
Hill, 33, averaged 6.8 points and 2.1 assists in 47 games with the Bucks after arriving via trade from Cleveland. He was waived by the Bucks earlier this week to avoid his contract guaranteeing, but Milwaukee always reportedly was interested in bringing him back at a lower figure.
Brogdon, the 2016-17 Rookie of the Year, was a restricted free agent who was expected to draw big offers elsewhere. He reportedly was traded to the Pacers in exchange for a first-round pick and two second-rounders, agreeing to a four-year, $85 million deal in the process. — Reuters
COLLEGIATE sporting season commences later this week with the opening of Season 95 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association which aims to celebrate unity amid the competition.
Hosted this year by Arellano University, the NCAA will have the theme “Kaisa sa Pagkakaiba,” in line with its push to promote togetherness in the middle of what is expected to be another competitive thrust from the 10 member schools.
Season 95 is also set to unveil new offerings, including the introduction of a new sport called “Hado.”
It will be the first time that Hado — a high-tech dodgeball game where teams throw virtual fireballs at one another — will be seen and experienced in the Philippines via an inter-school tournament setting.
The new season of the country’s oldest collegiate league fires off on July 7 at the Mall of Asia Arena in what organizers said will feature rocking ceremonies headlined by Filipino rock group Bamboo and NCAA battle of the bands champion Cherry Band from Mapua University.
As has been customary, the NCAA festivities will be ushered in by the marquee basketball tournament with a slated double-header.
Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights face off with the Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates at 2 p.m. with the four peat-seeking San Beda University Red Lions going up against hosts Arellano Chiefs at 4 p.m.
Scheduled games happen on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and will also feature the other members, namely, the College of Saint Benilde Blazers, Mapua Cardinals, Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers, University of Perpetual Help System DALTA Altas and San Sebastian College-Recoletos Golden Stags.
“This is our first time to host an NCAA season. We chose the theme “Kaisa sa Pagkakaiba” because the league celebrates diversity and unity. It is open to everybody especially if it will benefit the league,” said Francisco Paulino V. Cayco of host-school Arellano.
“It’s going to be an exciting season. This league is for the Filipinos,” he added.
The NCAA Season 95 opening will be broadcast live starting at 11:30 a.m. on ABS-CBN S+A on TV and online via iWant.
The games can also be seen over S+A HD, LIGA, LIGA HD as well as streaming over at the TFC.tv and sports.abs-cbn.com. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
ONE OF THE top rivalries at ONE Championship gets another serving as bantamweights Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes of Brazil and Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon of the Philippine go at it once again in a title fight later this year.
Part of another stacked card set for Japan on Oct. 13, reigning ONE world bantamweight champion Fernandes and erstwhile champ Belingon meet for a fourth time under the promotion.
The title fight is included in “ONE: Century” set for Tokyo which celebrates ONE Championship’s 100th show since opening shop early in the decade.
ONE: Century also includes Singapore’s Angela Lee against China’s Xiong Jingnan for the ONE women’s atomweight title, the Philippines’ Brandon Vera versus Myanmar’s Aung La N Sang for the ONE light heavyweight title, and grand prix finals in kickboxing and lightweight and flyweight divisions.
ONE chairman and founder Chatri Sityodtong made the announcement.
Messrs. Fernandes and Belingon last met in March this year also in Japan where the former reclaimed the bantamweight belt over the latter by way of disqualification after Mr. Belingon was punished for illegal strikes at the back of Mr. Fernandes’ head.
Both fighters did not like how the match ended and sans a conclusive ending to the fight, a mandatory rematch was set by ONE. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
4-9. IM John Marvin Miciano 2345, CM John Merill Jacutina 2333, Johann Cedrick Gaddi 2038, Jayson Danday 2014, Romulo Curioso 2016, FM Alekhine Nouri 2011, 6.5/9
10-21. Christian Mark Daluz 1815, Mark Jay Bocojo 1759, Earl Rhay Mantilla 1883, Darry Bernardo 2038, Jasper Faeldonia 1771, Michael Concio Jr 2101, Gal Brien Palasigue 1766, Melito Ocsan Jr. 2120, Julius Gonzales 1749, Jan Daryl Batula 2130, Neil Richmond Miranda 1743, Mark Gerald Reyes 1989, 6.0/9
No. of Participants: 116
Time Control: 90 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move from move 1
International Master-elect Jeth Romy Morado
Jeth Romy Morado and Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano, both Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws, tied for first in the 2019 Philippine Junior Championship. Morado was declared the winner on tie-breaks but both players were awarded the National Master title.
Morado is on a roll. If you will recall he won the Shell National Youth Champion (rapid chess) in 2017, the final year of the competition as Shell ended its sponsorship after 25 years. In 2018 he played board 2 in the powerhouse FEU chess team which dominated the 2018-2019 NCAA chess competition. In addition to the team gold he also got an individual gold medal for his 11/14 (nine wins, four draws, one loss) performance on board 2 and was also adjudged UAAP Rookie of the Year. And now he is the Philippine Junior (Under-20) Champion, and the newest National Master of the country. Not that he needed that title since he is an International Master (IM)-elect, having already achieved the required norm performances and is just waiting for the official title to be conferred upon him by the World Chess Federation (FIDE).
Jeth is a tactical monster as you will see in the following game.
Jacutina, John — Morado, Jeth [B10]
2019 National Junior Chess Championship (6.1)
Jacutina is so wrapped up in his plans that he forgets to check for Black threats. The correct move here is 16.Ba3 and now if Black takes the c2 pawn then 16…Qxc2 17.Qxc2 Nxc2 18.Bxd6 and White is winning the e5 pawn after which his position would be clearly superior.
16…Bc5! 17.Rc1
The b5–pawn is immune to capture because of 17.cxb5 Qa7 18.Qe2 Nc2.
17…Nh5 18.Kg2 Bxh3+! 19.Kxh3 Bxf2 20.Nh4
He cannot save the exchange. 20.Re2 Bxg3 21.Kg2 Nd3 22.cxb5 Qd7 23.Re3 Nf2! with …Qd7–h3–h1 checkmate coming up.
Threat is 35…Rxh4+ 36.Nxh4 Rh1+ 37.Kg3 Qxh4+ 18.Kf3 Rh3+ with mate to follow.
35.Kh3 Rh1+ 36.Rh2 Qxf3# 0–1
A convincing win over John Merill Jacutina, another teammate from the standout FEU UAAP chess team and the third highest rated player in the tournament
Rhenzi, a veteran of Asian Youth tournaments, had a bad start. He was upset by Jethro Aquino (50th seed!) in round 3 but gathered himself and stormed back with six consecutive wins to finish neck-to-neck with his FEU teammate. Among his victims was the erstwhile tournament leader IM Daniel Quizon (all of 15 years old) who fell in the last round and was relegated to solo 3rd place.
Sevillano, Rhenzi — Quizon, Daniel [B41]
2019 National Junior Chess Championship (9.1)
Can White win a pawn? Let’s see: 23.Ndxb5 Nxb5 24.Nxb5 If Black takes the e4–pawn then White has a counter against d6. 24…Bxe4 25.Rxc8 Qxc8 26.Nxd6 Bxd6 27.Rxd6 Qc7 28.Rd1 (Now 28.Qd1 Black has a counter: 28…Bd5 29.Ra6 Qc4 30.Ra7 Qe4) 28…Ba8 Yes, White wins a pawn but Black gets some counterplay down the long diagonal.
White will win the b5 and d6 pawns once he gets his rooks and king into position. Black has to get some counterplay fast.
37…d5
For example if Black just moves his rooks back and forth White will move up the board: 37…Rb7 38.Re2 Rd7 39.Rd5 Rb7 40.Kg2 Rd8 41.Kf3 Rdb8 42.Rf5 Rc7 43.Kg4 Rcb7 44.Bd5 Rd7 45.Rf7 Re8 etc.
Despite the loss IM Daniel Quizon maintained his reputation as the most promising up-and-comer in the Philippine chess scene, The son of a motorcycle mechanic from Dasmariñas, Cavite, he is the reigning East Asian Junior champion (that is where he got his IM title) and already has one GM norm (you need three to get the GM title). He also inflicted the only defeat on Morado here.
Quizon, Daniel — Morado, Jeth [B18]
2019 National Junior Chess Championship (8.1)
Black needs to get counterplay against the White king: 39…Rd1+ 40.Kg2 Qd3 41.Rg5+ Kf8 42.Qh8+ Ke7 43.Re5+ Kd7 the threat of …Qf1+ drawing the white king out gives black some chances.
Black resigns because of 55…Kg6 56.Rh6+ Kf5 57.Qxf7+ Rf6 58.Rh5+ etc.
The 14-year-old, a sixth grader from San Miguel Elementary School in Dasmariñas City, makes no secret of his objectives: “I have no other dream but to become a super Grandmaster someday.”
IM John Marvin Miciano was the heavy favorite to win the Junior chess title. And why not? He is the Asian Under-18 Champion and part of the FEU stable of unending chess talents, the closest thing we have in the Philippines to a national school of chess. This is perhaps the biggest achievement of GM Jayson Gonzales (well, not counting his GM title, of course) as he single-handedly built up the FEU chess program into the strongest in the country. And I am not exaggerating. I should also mention the great support he is getting from the FEU administration, starting from its Chairman, Mr. Aurelio Montinola.
Miciano won his first four games but then lost of eventual champion Jeth Morado and he his momentum was gone.
Miciano, John — Palasigue, Gal Brien [E63]
2019 National Junior Chess Championship (6.2)
Gal Brien Palasigue is a blitz specialist who plays for San Beda in the NCAA. He was part of Team Philippines which represented the country in the Asian Schools Championship in 2017.
Small nuances like this are typical of IM Miciano. The plan is that, if all else fails, he can exchange off all the pieces and then win the endgame with his queenside pawns.
He may not be the Philippine Junior Champion, but don’t worry too much about John Miciano. He is only 19 years of age, already an International Master, and still has another year to campaign in the junior ranks. I expect to see the medals and trophies pour in before he is done.
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.
In retrospect, the writing was on the wall long before the doors of free agency opened yesterday. Kevin Durant wasn’t going to return to the Warriors, not after his much-publicized flare-up with teammate Draymond Green early in the 2018-19 season fed into the narrative that his joining them in 2016 was for his benefit and not theirs. For all his talents and evident status as their best player over the last three years, he could not quite shake off the reasonable contention that they were already formed and formidable to begin with. So in line with his objective to cement his legacy as an all-time great, he simply had to start anew elsewhere.
The question, therefore, wasn’t if Durant was leaving the Warriors, but where he wanted to go. And, for a while, even as officials of the two-time defending champions were slowly prepping for his departure, speculation had him bound for Gotham. It made sense, and the Knicks, given their location in the media capital of the world, seemed primed to provide him with the spotlight he requires to carve his path to greatness. And they themselves believed it, too, dealing erstwhile cornerstone Kristaps Porzingis in order to free up two maximum-salary slots, one for him and another for his good friend Kyrie Irving.
Unfortunately for the Knicks, nothing in the National Basketball Association is etched in stone. They may have received the kind of verbal commitments that emboldened owner James Dolan to publicly declare their 2019 offseason a success even though it was still months away, but they should have known enough not to count chickens before making sure there were eggs to hatch. Pro hoops annals are replete with stories of spurned suitors burned by players who changed minds at the last instant. And, if their early confidence had any legs to stand on, Durant and Irving somehow changed minds somewhere along the way.
Perhaps the two All-Stars weren’t going to the Knicks in the first place. And in support of this line of thinking, pundits can point to Irving’s change of representation to Roc Nation midway through the season. The agency cum entertainment company is owned by Jay-Z (once minority stakeholder of the Nets) and which just so happens to have as its president Michael Yormark (brother of Brett Yormark, chief executive officer of the Brooklyn franchise). Even Durant telegraphed his transfer, tapping Nets physician Martin O’Malley of the Hospital for Special Surgery to operate on his torn Achilles tendon.
In any case, the designs became clear to the Knicks, who didn’t bother to present Durant with a maximum offer in New York. Instead, franchise officials trekked to Los Angeles, where they closed deals with Julius Randle and Taj Gibson as soon as allowable yesterday. The result is a humongous win for the Nets, who, as late as three years ago, looked to continue languishing under the weight of poor decisions by previous dispensations, but who now face an extremely bright future headlined by marquee names in for the long haul.
True, the Nets won’t be championship caliber though the 2019-20 season. With Durant needing the whole year and parts of the next campaign to recover from his injury, they will lack the competitiveness to challenge for the hardware. That said, Irving and DeAndre Jordan are superb consolation prizes that should get them a meaningful playoff stint. Meanwhile, the neighboring Knicks are left to wonder what the heck happened. Once again, disappointment was snatched from the throes of triumph. And, once again, developments underscore the capacity of decision makers to continually attract bad luck. The Garden deserves stars. Maybe one day, stars will believe they deserve the Garden as well.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing the Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
