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Barangay Ginebra Kings finding means to win

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

WINNING teams find ways to win and it could not be truer in the case of defending Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup champions Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings.

Found themselves in a situation where things were seemingly not going as planned last time around, the Kings dug deep and made the necessary adjustments, which saw coach Tim Cone taking a back seat and allowing his deputies and staff to run the show in the second half of their match versus the Meralco Bolts on Sunday.

Struggled mightily in the opening half which had it trailing Meralco for most of the time, Barangay Ginebra regrouped at the break and came out with more fire in the second half to turn things around and book its first win in the midseason PBA tournament, 110-95.

Mr. Cone attributed the win to the team’s decision to allow deputy Richard Del Rosario and the rest of the staff to handle much of the coaching in the second half, to which the players responded well.

“I shouldn’t be the one talking to you guys. It’s should be Richard and the staff because they did much of the talking and the coaching in the second half. And the players responded very well. I couldn’t be prouder. We played as bad as we could possibly have in the first half. We looked like we didn’t have enough fight. It was so discouraging. And they talked about it at halftime and played with more fire in the second half and turned things around,” said Mr. Cone at the postgame press conference.

“Sometimes you just have to have a different voice out there. My voice goes in and out throughout the years and sometimes a different voice is more effective. Whatever it takes, we have to find ways to win. It’s a long conference,” he added.

Import Justine Brownlee led the Kings to the victory with a near-triple double effort of 27 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

Japeth Aguilar finished with 19 points with Art Dela Cruz, Sol Mercado and Scottie Thompson winding up with 16, 14 and 11 points, respectively.

As a team, the Kings outscored the Bolts, 67-41, in the second half.

Mr. Cone underscored that the win was huge in their mission to repeat as champions.

“This is huge as we avoided dropping to 0-2. We are only playing 11 games in the eliminations and if you go down 0-2 you are literally chasing everybody. It doesn’t mean you cannot do it though. But it takes so much on you if you keep chasing the pack. We are happy we are at 1-1 than 0-2,” Mr. Cone said.

Barangay Ginebra (1-1) opened its Commissioner’s Cup bid with a loss to Blackwater Elite, 108-107, on May 24. Its next game is on June 1 against Northport Batang Pier.

Roger Federer graces new-look Roland Garros with opening win

PARIS — Roger Federer made a stylish comeback to the French Open after a three-year hiatus as the revamped, widely-acclaimed Roland Garros burst into life on Sunday.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion, back on the Paris clay 10 years after his only title here, swept aside Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-2 6-4 6-4 in a graceful performance on an expanded court Philippe Chatrier.

“The reception I got today was crazy, it was really nice to see a full stadium for a first round like this. It was a beauty,” the 37-year-old Swiss told reporters.

Earlier, 2016 champion Garbine Muguruza inaugurated the new court Simonne Mathieu with a first-round victory, describing the semi-sunken 5,000-seater as a ‘cosy’ place.

Situated within a botanical garden at the East end of Roland Garros, the court is cocooned by greenhouses featuring rare tropical plants.

“It’s a cute court. It’s in a very different place. You don’t feel like you are around a court. It’s like in a garden,” Muguruza said.

Some top players, however, will not get much chance to enjoy the new stadium, with former world number ones Angelique Kerber and Venus Williams sent packing along with former winner Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Opening proceedings on Chatrier, Germany’s Kerber was downed in two short sets by Russia’s Anastasia Potapova as her attempt at completing a career slam was cut short on her least favorite surface.

Seven-time Grand Slam champion Williams was also eliminated in straight sets by Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, the ninth seed and one of a dozen contenders for the Suzanne Lenglen Cup.

Last year’s semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato of Italy, seeded 16th, was at the receiving end of Nicolas Mahut’s spectacular comeback as the local favorite advanced into the second round with a 2-6 6-7(8-6) 6-4 6-2 6-4 victory on court Simonne Mathieu.

In the women’s draw, second seed Karolina Pliskova and seventh seed Sloane Stephens eased into round two while on the men’s side, Greek sensation Stefanos Tsitsipas and Japan’s Kei Nishikori also progressed.

Top favorites Rafa Nadal, the 11-time champion, and world number one Novak Djokovic will be in first-round action on Monday. — Reuters

Warriors heavily favored vs Raptors in NBA Finals

LOS ANGELES — The Golden State Warriors are favored in the NBA Finals for the fifth consecutive year, as they opened as heavy favorites against the Toronto Raptors late Saturday night.

Most sportsbooks had the Warriors around -300 to win the series, meaning a $300 bet would win $100. The Raptors were offered by several outlets at +250 — meaning a $100 bet would win $250 — making them the second-largest underdogs in the past eight NBA Finals (2017-18 Cleveland Cavaliers).

The Warriors, seeking their third straight title and fourth in five years, were already installed as favorites before their Finals opponent was known, with most sportsbooks putting them at -275 versus any opponent, and around -180 if facing the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Raptors rallied past the Bucks in Game 6 on Saturday night for their fourth straight win, claiming the best-of-seven series 4-2 to reach the first NBA Finals in franchise history. They have home-court advantage in the series, which begins (Friday), though most sportsbooks have Toronto between a 1-point favorite and a 1-point underdog at home in Game 1.

The Warriors have won six straight games, including five without Kevin Durant, who strained his calf on May 8 and is not expected to be ready for the start of the Finals. The team is hopeful he can return during the series, while center DeMarcus Cousins could also return from a torn quad muscle.

Golden State last played on May 20, providing five more days of rest than Toronto will have. The Raptors went 2-0 against the Warriors this season, winning 131-128 in overtime at home on Nov. 29 and 113-93 in Oakland, Calif., on Dec. 12. Stephen Curry missed the first meeting, while Kawhi Leonard missed the second.

The NBA Finals will open in Toronto on (Friday in Manila Time) and continue on (Monday, also in MT) before shifting to Oakland, California, for Game 3 on June 5.

The NBA announced the complete schedule on Sunday for the best-of-seven series that pits the Golden State Warriors, making their fifth straight appearance in the finals, against the Toronto Raptors. The Warriors have won three of the past four NBA titles.

Game 1: Thursday, May 30, Warriors at Raptors, 9 p.m. Eastern Time (ABC)

Game 2: Sunday, June 2, Warriors at Raptors, 8 p.m. ET (ABC)

Game 3: Wednesday, June 5, Raptors at Warriors, 9 p.m. ET (ABC)

Game 4: Friday, June 7, Raptors at Warriors 9 p.m. ET (ABC)

*Game 5: Monday, June 10, Warriors at Raptors 9 p.m. ET (ABC)

*Game 6: Thursday, June 13, Raptors at Warriors 9 p.m. ET (ABC)

*Game 7: Sunday, June 16, Warriors at Raptors 8 p.m. ET (ABC) — Reuters

Team Japan tops FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Boracay Open

THE JAPANESE pair of Satono Ishitsubo and Asami Shiba emerged as the women’s champion in the just-concluded FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Boracay Open.

Collided with compatriots Sakurako Fujii and Minori Kumada in an all-Japan final, Misses Ishitsubo and Shiba showed their class with a dominant 21-14 and 21-18 victory at the White House Beach Station 1 of the island on Sunday.

On their way to the finals victory, Misses Ishitsubo and Shiba showed their superior skills on offense and defense that made them No. 86 in the world.

Prior to it, the Japanese pair swept Brittany Kendall and Stefanie Weiler of Australia, 21-16 and 21-17, in the semifinals.

Misses Kendall and Weiler, however, managed to salvage a third-place finish by defeating Tjasa Jancar and Tjasa Kotnik of Slovenia.

The Philippines, for its part, matched its fifth-place finish in the Manila Open last year behind Sisi Rondina and Bernadeth Pons.

Narongdet Kangkon and Banlue Nakprakhong of Thailand, meanwhile, took the men’s gold by topping Japanese qualifier Yuya Ageba and Nobuaki Taira, 19-21, 22-20 and 15-8.

The Philippine leg of the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour was once again hosted by Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR).

It something BVR hopes to continue doing, seeing it as in line with the group’s thrust of promoting and furthering the development of beach volleyball in the country and a platform for local athletes to raise their game and showcase what they can do.

“We’re looking at this FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour as a long-term project. We want to annually be able to hold this big tournament here which is not only an opportunity for our beach volleyball aficionados but for the international community to take notice of the Philippines’ potential as a beach volleyball hub,” said BVR co-founder Bea Tan, whose group has been pushing for beach volleyball growth through BVR since 2016. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

PRURide PH 2019 concludes with exciting Subic Bay races

THE 2019 edition of PRURide PH drew to a successful conclusion on Sunday with Marcelo Felipe being declared as the overall winner.

Took place inside the Subic Bay Free Zone in Zambales, the event, hailed as the country’s largest cycling festival, gathered a large number of participants, both local and international, who took part in the various categories in the weekend of May 24-26.

Veteran cyclist Felipe of the Philippines, riding for 7-Eleven Cliqq Air21, raced to the top of the podium after just two stages before the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the organizers decided to scrap the third and final stage because of “extreme weather condition” brought about by heavy downpour.

Mr. Felipe rode a combined 295.8 kilometers for Stages 1 and 2 with a time of seven hours, 57 minutes and 15 seconds to bag the overall title.

Finishing second was South African Brendon Davids of Olivers Real Food, who clocked in with a time of 7:58:02, just 47 seconds behind Mr. Felipe.

Third was New Zealand’s Michael Vink of St. George Continental Cycling Team with a time of 8:01:27.

Other Filipinos who finished in the top 10 were Junrey Navarra at no. 5 (8:02:02), Jhin Mark Camingao at no. 6 (8:03:28), Jonel Carcueva at no. 8 (8:04:52) and Daniel Ven Carino at no. 9 (8:05:25).

Apart from topping the overall general classification race, Mr. Felipe earned 16 UCI points which were also up for grabs in the 2.2 UCI event, which he can use in trying to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

He was also named King of the Mountain and Best Filipino Rider.

“We are happy to finally hold one of the three UCI-accredited races here in our country… It’s been the [cycling] community’s goal to join the SEA (Southeast Asian) Games or the 2020 Summer Olympics and we are happy to help them achieve this,” said Allan Tumbaga, Pru Life UK Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Marketing Officer, as he spoke of the event which also had other activities catered to amateur cyclists.

PRURide PH 2019 kicked off in April with the successful staging of the Criterium race in Filinvest in Alabang. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Los Angeles Angels use six-run inning to rally past Texas Rangers

LOS ANGELES — Mike Trout homered, doubled, scored twice, drove in two and walked once to help lift the Los Angeles Angels to a 7-6 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif.

Trout’s RBI double in the seventh was part of a six-run inning that turned a 5-1 deficit into a 7-5 lead, and eventually the Angels’ second win in the three-game series.

David Fletcher chipped in with three hits, a run scored and a stolen base as the Angels finished with 11 hits in all.

Los Angeles reliever Justin Anderson gave up an RBI double to Shin-Soo Choo in the ninth, but closed it out for his first save of the season.

Rangers starter Ariel Jurado held the Angels to one run through six innings, helping the Rangers to a 5-1 lead. But when he gave up a one-out single to Fletcher in the seventh, Rangers manager Chris Woodward gave him the hook.

The Angels took advantage of the Rangers’ bullpen, sending 10 batters to the plate in the inning and scoring six runs to take a 7-5 lead.

Luis Rengifo’s two-run single off left-hander Jeffrey Springs (2-1) made it 5-3, and an RBI double by Trout cut the Rangers’ lead to 5-4. After a sacrifice fly by Shohei Ohtani tied the game at 5-5, the Angels scored their next two runs on wild pitches by reliever Kyle Dowdy.

Trout scored on Dowdy’s first wild pitch to make it 6-5, and Kole Calhoun scored on the very next pitch by Dowdy, which also went to the backstop. — Reuters

Power chess

GRENKE Chess Classic 2019
Karlsruhe/Baden Baden
April 18-29, 2019

Final Standings

1. Grandmaster (GM) Magnus Carlsen NOR 2845, 7.5/9

2. GM Fabiano Caruana USA 2819, 6.0/9

3-4. GM Arkadij Naiditsch AZE 2695, GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave FRA 2773, 5.0/9

5-7. GM Viswanathan Anand IND 2774, GM Levon Aronian ARM 2762, GM Peter Svidler RUS 2735, 4.5/9

8. GM Francisco Vallejo Pons ESP 2693, 4.0/9

9-10. GM Georg Meier GER 2628, IM Vincent Keymer GER 2516, 2.0/9

Average Rating: 2724 Category 19

Time Control: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 50 minutes for the next 20 moves, followed by 15 minutes play-to-finish. 30 seconds is added to your clock after every move starting move 1.

Before we go to our main topic I’d like to point out the name of IM Vincent Keymer, the last-placer. You might be wondering what a mere IM with a rating of 2516 is doing in the company of such elite chessplayers. The answer is that he had qualified for it. Alongside the Chess Classic there was the GRENKE Chess Open. Keymer won it in a great upset last year and qualified to play in the main event. This year the winner of the Open was the German #3 Daniel Fridman who took the top honors. There were seven other grandmasters who tied for first: Anton Korobov, Andreas Heimann, Samvel Ter-Sahakyan, Gukesh, Matthias Bluebaum, Alexander Donchenko and Tamas Banusz.

Anyway GM Daniel Fridman (the husband of the American WGM Anna Zatonskih) had the best tiebreak score and was declared the tournament winner with the option to participate in the Grenke Chess Classic next year. This is in addition to the first prize of €13,000.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way it is time to show you another powerful win by the current world chess champion Magnus Carlsen.

Several years ago Cadogan Books came up with “Chess Secrets,” a series of books which uncover the mysteries of the most important aspects of chess strategy, attack, opening play and gambits, classical play, endgames and preparation. In each book the author studies a number of great players from chess history who have excelled in a particular field of the game and who have undeniably influenced those who have followed.

There was a book on “Heroes of Classical Chess.” According to its introduction these “heroes” play “classically direct” chess, a universality of play that embraces all styles. These so-called heroes are: Akiba Rubinstein, Vassily Smyslov, Bobby Fischer, Viswanathan Anand and Magnus Carlsen. By the way, I think the publishers did the great Paul Keres an injustice here, for he is the one who is synonymous with the term “universal player” and even Bobby Fischer acknowledged that.

Then another book came out on the “Giants of Strategy” showcasing the games of Vladimir Kramnik, Anatoly Karpov, Tigran Petrosian, Jose Capablanca and Aron Nimzowitsch.

Next in the series were the “Great Attackers,” i.e., Garry Kasparov, Mikhail Tal and Leonid Stein.

Then there were the “Giants of Innovation,” Wilhelm Steinitz, Emmanuel Lasker, Mikhail Botvinnik, Victor Korchnoi and Vassily Ivanchuk. Followed by the “Great Chess Romantics” Adolf Anderssen, Mikhail Chigorin, Richard Reti, Bent Larsen and Alexander Morozevich.

And then the last volume came out: “The Giants of Power Play” Veselin Topalov, Yefim Geller, David Bronstein, Alexander Alekhine and Paul Morphy. What the heck is “power play”? It is the art of putting opponents under constant pressure. The methods of doing so are numerous, including gaining rapid development in return for material to build up an initiative, preparing powerful opening ideas in advance, or even developing completely new opening systems.

Magnus Carlsen is not known for his opening erudition, usually his goal is to get a playable middlegame and from there to outplay his opponent. But once he does get a plus in the opening there is no one more capable than him to bring it home. The following game is a prime example.

Carlsen, Magnus (2845) — Aronian, Levon (2761) [D39]
Grenke Classic 2019 Karlsruhe/Baden Baden (7.3), 27.04.2019

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 dxc4

This is the Vienna Variation of the Queen’s Gambit, sort of the halfway point between QG Accepted and QG Declined.

5.e4 Bb4 6.Bg5 c5 7.Bxc4

White can also continue 7.e5 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Qa5 9.exf6 Bxc3+ (9…Qxg5? 10.Qa4+ Nc6 11.Nxc6 Bxc3+ 12.bxc3 Bd7 13.Qb4! the threatened mate on e7 ensures that White keeps his extra knight. Dreev,A (2689)-Landa,K (2550) playchess.com INT 2004 1–0 23) 10.bxc3 Qxg5 11.fxg7 (11.Qa4+ Nd7 12.fxg7 Qxg7 13.Qb4 a5 14.Qd6 Qe5+ 15.Qxe5 Nxe5 takes the queens off the board and leaves the position equal. In fact, in the game Lputian, S (2540) vs Yudasin, L (2480) from Lvov 1987, they agreed to a draw here immediately) 11…Qxg7 and now White has either Qf3 or Qd2, in both of which we can look forward to an uncompromising battle.

7…cxd4 8.Nxd4

A mistake is 8.Qxd4. There will follow 8…Qxd4 9.Nxd4 Nxe4 Black is simply a pawn up.

8…Bxc3+ 9.bxc3 Qa5 10.Bd2!?

For some reason no one has ever played this before. The usual lines are:

10.Bb5+ Nbd7 11.Bxf6 Qxc3+ 12.Kf1 gxf6 13.h4 and;

10.Bxf6 Qxc3+ 11.Kf1 gxf6 (not 11…Qxc4+ 12.Kg1 and Black is in a quandary as to how to meet White’s threat of Rc1) 12.Rc1 Qa5 13.h4. In both cases we have a very complicated game with chances for both sides.

10…0–0

The critical line is 10…Nxe4 11.Qg4 Nxd2 12.Qxg7 Nxc4 (12…Rf8 13.Kxd2; 12…Qxc3? 13.Qxh8+ Kd7 14.Bb5+ Nc6 15.Ke2 White is clearly winning) 13.Qxh8+ Ke7 14.0–0 Nd7 Black has two pieces for the rook but his king is in the center of the board. This is probably easier to play for White, and obviously part of Magnus’ preparation so Aronian avoids going into it.

11.Qe2 e5 12.Nb3 Qc7 13.0–0 Bg4 14.f3 Rc8 15.Bd5

The tactic 15.Bxf7+ Qxf7 16.fxg4 does not win a pawn for Black can come back with 16…Qc4! and win the pawn on e4.

15…Nxd5 16.exd5 Bh5 17.c4!

This pawn cannot be taken because after 17…Qxc4 18.Rfc1! the threat of a back rank mate forces Black to give up his queen. Now, with his passed pawn on d5 well-protected it is clear that White has the advantage.

17…Nd7 18.Rfc1

Now threatening to push his c-pawn to c5.

18…b6 19.a4 a5

Aronian’s game goes steadily downhill and it is not clear where his mistake was committed. Some annotators pointed to this move as the error as now the b6–pawn is weakened and Carlsen soon zeroes in on it. I am not so sure that is right. Methinks that when Magnus is as dominant as this whatever move you make will give him something to pounce on!

20.Qf2 Qd6 21.Be3 Bg6 22.Qd2!

Carlsen prevents Black’s maneuver of …Bd3 followed by …Qg6 and …h7–h5 and he has now got something going on the kingside.

22…f6 23.Qb2 Rc7 24.Nd2 Nc5 25.Qa3 Rd8 26.Rc3

Watching out for …Nd3.

26…f5?!

This attempt to lash out backfires on Aronian. He is in that sort of position where the best course of action is just to wait around and see what White does.

27.Re1! e4 28.fxe4 fxe4 29.Bxc5 Rxc5

Taking the queens off the board with 29…Qxc5+ 30.Qxc5 would make it harder for Black to defend his weaknesses. After the game Carlsen said that he will just “put the rook on the b-file and bring the king to e3 — it should be at least very bad for Black.”

30.Nxe4 Qe5 31.Rce3 Rcc8 32.h3!

Just a waiting move to illustrate how helpless Black is.

32…Qc7

[32…Rxc4 33.Nd2 wins the exchange for White]

33.Nd2! <D>

POSITION AFTER 33.ND2

White’s rooks will be penetrating down the e-file. Black’s position surprisingly collapses quickly.

33…Re8 34.Re7! Rxe7 35.Rxe7 Qd8

Or 35…Qc5+ 36.Qxc5 Rxc5 (36…bxc5 37.Ra7) 37.Rb7 Carlsen wins the b6–pawn and wins with his passed d-pawn. Black can try to counter against the c4–pawn, but 37…Bd3 38.d6! Bxc4 39.d7 costs Black his bishop]

36.Qe3

The threat is 37.Qe6+ Kh8 38.d6 Qg8 39.Qe5 Rd8 40.d7 and then Nd2–f3–d4–e6.

36…Rc7

[36…Bf7 37.Qe5 followed by Nd2–e4–d6]

37.Re6 Rc5 38.Qb3 1–0

On Thursday we will take up the Ivory Coast Rapid/Blitz chess tournament, the first event in this year’s Grand Chess Tour. It is still part of Magnus Carlsen’s great show of force and remarkably he has dropped the Berlin Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6) and replied with the Sicilian every time he had Black and his opponent played 1.e4.

Great games to play over! Don’t miss it!

 

Mr. Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant, he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.

bobby@cpamd.net

Healthy Nadal

Rafael Nadal began his quest for a third straight — and record-extending 12th — title at Roland Garros yesterday, and he couldn’t have done so under more favorable circumstances. He’s lumped in a relatively easier bracket that has him going up against qualifiers in his first two rounds and then, assuming things fall into place, against longtime nemesis but on-the-wane Roger Federer in the semifinals. And, what’s more, he has momentum, too, fresh off a triumphant run at the Italian Open; with a podium finish at stake, he wound up handing World Number One Novak Djokovic a first-ever bagel en route to a three-set victory.

True, Nadal won’t be negotiating the next fortnight with the same aura of invincibility that defined his earlier triumphs at the French Open. He may be only 32, but he’s a relatively old 32 with a self-punishing style of play that makes him routinely susceptible to injury. In recent memory, he has seemingly been in a continual state of convalescence from ailment after ailment. It’s why he appeared out of sorts early on in the clay-court season, absorbing Round-of-Four setbacks to Fabio Fognini, Dominic Thiem, and Stefanos Tsitsipas — all opponents he would have otherwise waxed on his best surface — at the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona and Madrid Opens, respectively.

Nonetheless, he’s not Rafael Freaking Nadal for nothing, and his exploits in the grandest stages on red clay underscore the extra gear he invariably finds with the Coupe des Mousquetaires at stake. And, no doubt, it factored in on his hot start and win against Djokovic in Rome. With the latter aiming for a second Nole Slam, he felt he needed to highlight his status as the de facto pacesetter in Paris notwithstanding the seeding and current point standings of the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour.

Indeed, talk in the sport’s circles centered on his evidently inconsistent form prior to his mastery of Djokovic. This year marked the first time since 2004 that he had failed to take a tournament prior to his Madrid stop, and even he sounded prepared to accept his increasing mortality inside the lines. “I have to accept things naturally,” he said then. After the Italian Open, however, he looked to be confident anew. “Win a title is important, but, for me, the most important thing is feel myself competitive, feel myself healthy, and then with the feeling that I am improving, no?” He definitely is, and, given his unparalleled history at Roland Garros, perhaps enough to carve a three-peat.

 

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

PHL shares tumble as market awaits MSCI impact

By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

LOCAL EQUITIES tumbled on Monday as investors waited for the impact of the MSCI rebalancing that will take effect next week.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) retreated 0.28% or 22.08 points to close at 7,725.01 yesterday, marking its third straight session in negative territory. The broader all-shares index likewise shed 0.34% or 16.42 points to 4,765.43.

“Investors were largely on the sidelines today in anticipation of the MSCI rebalancing soon,” Papa Securities Corp. Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez said in an e-mail on Monday.

MSCI’s quarterly review of index weights will take effect on June 3. It reduced the weight of blue-chip stocks SM Prime Holdings, Inc.; Ayala Land, Inc.; BDO Investments, Inc.; SM Investments Corp.; and JG Summit Holdings, Inc.; while increasing the weight of Ayala Corp. and International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

Meanwhile, Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan attributed the PSEi’s performance to lingering fears on the US-China trade war.

“Philippine shares suffered losses with investors worried the US-China trade war is hurting economic growth. US markets will be closed today for the Memorial Day Holiday, leaving no catalysts to buy into the market today,” Mr. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message on Monday.

Sectoral indices were equally split between gainers and losers. The mining and oil counter led those in positive territory, rising 0.57% or 41.02 points to 7,238.20. Holding firms added 0.15% or 11.53 points to 7,387.54, while property eked out a gain of 0.3 point to 4,172.61.

Those that ended in the red were services, which dropped 1% or 16.68 points to 1,640.79; industrials with a 0.9% decline or 101.43 points to 11,114.30; and financials with a decrease of 0.25% or 4.40 points to 1,702.39.

Some 706.12 million issues valued at P5.53 billion switched hands on Monday, lower than the previous session’s P7.42-billion turnover.

Decliners outpaced advancers, 99 to 83, while 56 names were unchanged.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the 16th consecutive day at P388.98 million, less than half Friday’s net outflow worth P736.08 million.

Wall Street indices edged higher last Friday, mainly on bargain hunting after steep losses in previous sessions. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.37% or 95.22 points to 25,585.69. The S&P 500 index rose 0.14% or 3.82 points to 2,826.06, while the Nasdaq Composite index firmed up 0.11% or 8.73 points to 7,637.01.

Financial markets in the US were closed on Monday to commemorate Memorial Day.

Meanwhile, Asian markets ended mixed Monday as investors focused their attention on US President Donald J. Trump’s Japan visit.

Peso weakens on profit taking

THE PESO weakened against the dollar on Monday, dragged by profit taking after it hit its support levels intraday.

The local currency closed Monday’s session at P52.22 versus the greenback, six centavos weaker than the P52.16 finish last Friday.

The peso opened yesterday’s session stronger at P52.15 against the greenback. It soared to as high as P52.075 intraday, while its worst showing stood at P52.23 per US currency.

Trading volume thinned to $633.31 million from the $846.86 million that changed hands the previous session.

Traders interviewed yesterday said the peso moved within range.

“Actually the dollar-peso is consolidating. We saw a lower open, but it closed near the high. It’s showing signs of consolidation,” a trader said in a phone interview.

Another trader said the peso consolidated the whole day as financial markets in the US were closed in observance of the Memorial Day. However, the trader added that the peso was stronger in the morning session as it tracked the lower dollar overnight following “weak” durable goods data in the US.

“Later in the afternoon, we saw heavy buying (of the dollar),” the second trader said. “We saw dollar-peso trending lower for the past few days. Maybe the banks’ perspective were all about shorting the dollar-peso. But as we saw that we’re already on the support levels, maybe they were trying to take profit or reverse their positions.”

Meanwhile, a third trader attributed the peso’s weakness to “heightened geopolitical risks from the US-China trade tensions and uncertainty over the European parliamentary elections over the weekend.”

For today, the first two traders expect the peso to move between P52.05 and P52.35, while the other gave a P52.15-P52.35 range. — K.A.N. Vidal

Duterte vows to be neutral over House speakership; says he will resign if son makes a bid

PRESIDENT RODRIGO R. Duterte on Monday said he will resign if his son, incoming Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo “Pulong” Z. Duterte, runs for House speakership.

“My son Paolo, he’s being rooted to run. I will tell my son publicly now, we would have a talk. For the life of me, whether you believe it or not, Inday (Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio) and I, my daughter, we have not talked about politics,” the President said in his remarks during the oath-taking of newly-appointed government officials at the Malacañan Palace.

Addressing his son, he said, “…if you run for speakership, let me know. Kasi kung tatakbo ka, magre-resign ako. Kasi marami na tayo (Because if you run, I will resign. Because there’s too many of us).”

Paolo, however, posted on his Facebook page: “I did not say I want to be Speaker…. May nagkamali na naman [ng] bulong sa tenga mo (Someone whispered wrong information to you again), Mr. President.”

The President also said anew that he does not like seeing his children in politics.

Apart from Paolo and Ms. Duterte-Carpio, the youngest Duterte son, Sebastian, has also just been elected Davao City vice-mayor in the May 13 elections.

“With the vice mayor, anak ko (my child), ‘yung youngest son ko si Baste (Sebastian) and Pulong as speaker, ako ang (me the) Presidente, hindi na maganda tingnan (It is not a good thing to see),” he said.

He said congressman-elect Alan Peter S. Cayetano of Taguig, his former foreign affairs secretary, and reelected Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Q. Velasco had told him that they would run for speakership.

“At hindi ako nagbigay ng (And I did not give any) commitment… I will not because there is no way of telling you will win,” Mr. Duterte said.

Others who informed him of their intent to run for speakership, although through intermediaries and not directly, were: Pantaleon D. Alvarez of Davao del Norte and Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez of Leyte.

The President stressed that he will remain neutral.

“Sa speakership, wala akong kinakampihan (I am not taking anyone’s side). I am on my last three terms. Gusto ko lang (All I want is) to do good and if that good is not good for everybody, well I’m sorry. ‘Yan lang ang makaya ko (That is all I can do).”

Meanwhile, the President also acknowledged that he has all sorts of illnesses, including in the “colon.”

At the Philippine Military Academy graduation rites Sunday, Mr. Duterte was visibly not well and skipped some of the traditional ceremonies, but his spokesperson dismissed this saying the President simply lacked sleep. — Arjay L. Balinbin

CA’s Inting moves to Supreme Court

COURT OF Appeals (CA) Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul B. Inting is the new Supreme Court associate justice, taking the position vacated by Chief Justice Lucas P. Bersamin.

Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra, a member of the Judicial and Bar Council, confirmed Mr. Inting’s designation, but noted that his appointment paper has yet to be released.

Mr. Inting, 61, graduated cum laude from the Ateneo de Davao University and served as senior corporate attorney of the National Housing Authority Government Corporation in 1983.

He became a supervising staff assistant at the Intermediate Appellate Court, now the CA, in 1984.

He then served at the Public Attorney’s Office where he stayed from 1986 to 1995 before becoming a prosecutor at the Quezon Prosecutor’s Office. He was then appointed as presiding judge of the Quezon City (QC) Municipal Trial Court in 1998.

He was a judge at QC regional trial court before he was appointed to the CA in October 2012.

Mr. Inting is the brother of former CA justice and now Commission on Elections Commissioner Socorro B. Inting. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

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