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Senate approves bills granting franchise extension of four broadcasting firms

The Senate on Monday, May 28, approved on third and final reading bills granting the franchise extension of four broadcasting companies for 25 years, which included dzRH radio operator Manila Broadcasting Company.
Senator Grace S. Poe-Llamanzares, chair of the Senate committee on public services, sponsored the House bills seeking to renew franchises of MBC, Bright Star Broadcasting Corp., Notre Dame Broadcasting Corp., and Vanguard Radio Network Company.
In her speech, Ms. Llamanzares noted the importance of broadcast services to provide timely and accurate news to Filipinos.
“Broadcast services are the nervous system of our society as they connect communities and families through a seamless flow of information,” she said.
She also lauded radio dzRH’s role in the nation’s history from World War 2 to the EDSA Revolution until the administrations of former Presidents Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Benigno S.C. Aquino III.
Bright Star Broadcasting Corp. operates FM radio station Retro 105.9.
Vanguard Radio was created in 1961 with broadcast stations in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija, Baguio City, La Union, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Cagayan and Bohol.
Nortre Dame Broadcasting is based in Kidapawan City and an affiliate of the Catholic Media Network. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

HMD expands distribution network for Nokia handsets

Nokia is expanding its purchasing networks in the country through new concept stores and kiosks in malls nationwide.
HMD Global, the company handling the Nokia mobile phone business, launched a concept store in SM Iloilo, which opened on May 28, as part of growing its channels outside Metro Manila.
Nokia will also make available its new line of phones at two new Nokia exhibits to be opened in SM North EDSA in Quezon City and SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City on May 31, 2018.
Nokia recently launched the Nokia 7 plus and Nokia 6.1 with the latest version of Android.
More concept stores and kiosks are located in Robinsons malls (Manila, Sta. Rosa) and SM malls (Dasmariñas, Bacoor, Batangas, among others).
HMD Global said they will be opening more kiosks “soon.” — PCM

Senate OK’s on third and final reading bill that improves MSMEs access to loans

The Senate on Monday, May 28, passed on third and final reading a bill improving the access of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to loans.
Senate Bill No. 1459 or the proposed Personal Property Security Act was approved with 21 affirmative votes, zero negative vote, and no abstention.
Under the bill, MSMEs will be allowed to use other properties, such as inventory and equipment, as collateral for loans. Under the present system, banks and other financial institutions prefer immovable assets like land. — Camille A. Aguinaldo

Marcos urges PET to dismiss Robredo’s voting threshold appeal

Former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. has urged the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, to dismiss Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” G. Robredo’s appeal to use a 25% voting threshold in their ongoing election recount.
In a 13-page comment submitted on Monday, Mr. Marcos asked the SC to uphold their April 10 resolution that junked Ms. Robredo’s appeal to recognize as valid ballots shaded within a 25% threshold.
Countering the vice president’s reference of Comelec Resolution No. 16-0600 in her motion for reconsideration, Mr. Marcos said, “there is no categorical declaration in Comelec Resolution No. 16-0600 that the 25% shading threshold was adopted by the Comelec En Banc in determining the balid votes during the judicial recound and revision of ballots in an election protest.”
He added: “[T]he Random Manual Audit Guideline, which supposedly pegged the shading threshold at 25% percent (sic) of the oval, cannot be applied and/or implemented for vote-appreciation purposes during the judicial recount and revision of ballots in an election protest as it is intended exclusively for use by the RMAT (Random Manual Audit Teams) in the random manual audit activities.” — Dane Angelo M. Enerio

Ancajas head and shoulders above in Sultan title fight

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
INTERNATIONAL Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight champion Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas retained his belt on Sunday (Manila time), and rightfully so said a local a boxing analyst after the former stamped his class over challenger and compatriot Jonas “Zorro” Sultan in their rare All-Filipino world title fight in Fresno, California.
Taking the fight right from the opening bell with his crisp technical boxing, Mr. Ancajas proved himself too much to handle for Mr. Sultan to make it a fifth straight successful title defense and continue with his ascent in the realm of boxing while fortifying his claim as the next big thing in the sport in the Philippines.
And the dominance that the Panabo City native showed in his last fight, winning 119-109, 119-109 and 117-111, was not lost to boxing analyst Nissi Icasiano.
“There was a wide gap in technical ability between Jerwin Ancajas and Jonas Sultan. Sultan barely hit Ancajas with anything meaningful. It was clear from the get-go that Ancajas is the far superior boxer as he landed his jabs and left straights with ease,” said Mr. Icasiano in an interview with BusinessWorld post-fight.
“Furthermore, Ancajas kept his game opponent at the long end of his stinging jabs and well-timed counterpunches. It was also clear as daylight that Ancajas’ length, reach and stance played a pivotal factor in breaking down his ring counterpart. Let’s us also mention Jerwin’s movement inside the ring. Sultan couldn’t figure out Ancajas’ stick-and-move tactics,” he added.
Mr. Icasiano went on to say that while Mr. Sultan has made significant strides as a boxer in the last couple of years, including racking up five straight victories to put him in title-contending position, the pride of Zamboanga is still rungs below the reigning champion at this point.
“Jonas Sultan appeared that he didn’t belong in the same ring with Jerwin Ancajas. When he was consistently whizzed by Ancajas, Sultan just banked on a Hail Mary shot all throughout the contest. At one point, he didn’t know where the punches were coming. Sultan is known to be a pressure fighter, but he didn’t exert his so-called signature pressure in the ring against Ancajas,” the analyst said.
“He (Sultan) had an inconsistent activity. Sultan landed his first big punch of the bout in round three, unloading a solid counter right that slightly rocked Ancajas. Sultan did make it sort of interesting later in the fight, especially in the 11th round, by finding a home for his left hook a bit more often, but the fight was never really in any doubt. Ancajas opened a big lead early and held it,” Mr. Icasiano.
At this point, with another convincing victory under his cap, Mr. Icasiano said it is progressing and taking all comers for champion Ancajas from here on.
“For Jerwin Ancajas, there are two possible names that could get a date against him. First is Khalid “Kal” Yafai, who retained his WBA super flyweight title on the same card against David Carmona. The second one is Rau’Shee Warren, who is now the no. 1-ranked IBF contender in the division. But between the two, facing Yafai is the more feasible match-up that Bob Arum can make,” he said.
As for Mr. Sultan, all is lost for him after the defeat, but work no doubt needs to be done to elevate his career to another plane, said the analyst.
“For Jonas Sultan, it’s back to the drawing board. The biggest takeaway for him in this matchup is that now he knows what is like to be on the world stage, which I think it would be beneficial to his growth as a competitor. And of course, ALA Boxing has to do the real work if they want Jonas Sultan to transform from a raw talent into a polished fighter by pitting him with the best competition out there,” Mr. Icasiano said.
With the win, Mr. Ancajas improved to 30-1-1 while Mr. Sultan dropped to 14-4.

Performance could have been better — Ancajas and coach

WHILE they welcome and are proud of their latest accomplishment in the ring, International Boxing Federation super flyweight champion Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas and his team are giving his performance a “fair” grade and believe it could have been better.
Dominated challenger and compatriot Jonas “Zorro” Sultan in their all-Filipino world title fight, 119-109, 119-109 and 117-111, on Sunday (Manila time) in Fresno, California, Mr. Ancajas and his handlers said the win still left much to be desired.
“If I were to rate my performance against Sultan from 1 to 10, I would say 7 or 6. It was not as convincing as I hoped,” Mr. Ancajas shared to BusinessWorld in the vernacular following his victory, his fifth straight successful title defense.
“His (Sultan) style was hard to read early on unlike my previous opponents. You just don’t know when he will throw his punches. I could have done better handling that,” he added.
The same observation was shared by Mr. Ancajas’s coach Joven Jimenez.
“It was 7 out of 10. I did not see the speed in him in this fight and it is something we have to address. But credit to Sultan. He showed a lot of heart despite the fight slipping from him as it progressed,” Mr. Jimenez said in separate interview, paying credit as well to the defeated Sultan.
But amid the “struggle” he had, Mr. Ancajas said he is going to use the lessons in the Sultan fight to work on things and improve as a fighter.
“I learned a lot from this fight. One of which is to better adapt to what my opponents can do. I need to work on my speed and footwork. These are some of the things we will address when we get back to the Philippines,” said Mr. Ancajas.
Mr. Ancajas and his team are due back in town later this week. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

LeBron James delivers

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers reached their fourth straight NBA finals with a 87-79 Game 7 victory over the Boston Celtics yesterday.
James put on another epic postseason performance by carrying his team past the Celtics as he booked a spot in his eighth consecutive finals.
“Win, loss or draw, at end of my career you are never going to get someone to say I didn’t leave it out on floor,” James said.
Cleveland became the first team to win on the road in the series and the first to beat the Celtics at home in the postseason.
The Cavaliers will take on either the reigning champion Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets in the championship series. The Warriors dominated the Rockets, 115-86, on Saturday to force a decisive game seven which will take place Monday in Houston.
James led the Cavaliers in the first half with 17 points and 10 rebounds but they trailed for much of the half.
It wasn’t until the second half that his supporting staff came to life and the Cavaliers were able to wrestle control back from the Celtics.
“He’s unbelievable,” said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. “I thought it was an outstanding defensive game. And again he still had 35, 15 and nine. It’s a joke.”
Jeff Green finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, J.R. Smith tallied 12 points and Tristan Thompson scored 10 for Cleveland who beat Boston, 109-99, on Friday to force game seven.
WITNESS GREATNESS
“I have learned probably everything alongside possibly the best player to have played this game,” said Green. “I am seeing first hand what it is to be great.”

LeBron James 2
LeBron James (#23) of the Cleveland Cavaliers is interviewed by Doris Burke after defeating the Boston Celtics, 87-79, in Game 7 of the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals to advance to the 2018 NBA Finals at TD Garden on May 27 in Boston, Massachusetts. — AFP

Jayson Tatum paced the Celtics attack with 24 points as Boston suffered their only loss in 11 playoff home games.
Al Horford finished with 17 points and Jaylen Brown had 13 but he was just three-of-12 from the three-point line.
Boston made the mistake of using the three pointer as their main offensive weapon down the stretch but they finished a dismal seven-of-39 overall from beyond the arc.
The Celtics ended the first quarter on a 9-0 run and led 43-39 at the half.
Horford scored 14 points and Tatum had 11 in the first half for the Celtics who up until Sunday had played with more intensity and aggressiveness at home during this postseason.
The possibility existed that a loss Sunday would have been James’ last game with the Cavaliers.
He can opt out of his $35.6-million contract at the end of the season and become a free agent.
James has said in the past he plans to retire a Cavalier but this is his second stint in Cleveland after he left once before for Miami in 2010. He plans to sit down with management after the season ends but Los Angeles, Philadelphia and New York are believed to be ready to pounce if he becomes available.
The Cavaliers won despite not having Kevin Love, who left game six after banging heads with Boston’s Tatum. Love was placed in the league’s concussion protocol and his status for the finals is to be determined. — AFP

Ravena meted 18-month suspension by FIBA after failing doping test

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
FEARS of Gilas Pilipinas player Kiefer Ravena failing a doping test by FIBA were confirmed last night as the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas made the formal announcement.
In a press conference held at the TV5 Media Center in Mandaluyong City, SBP officials, led by President Al Panlilio and Chairman Emeritus Manny Pangilinan, relayed that Mr. Ravena was meted an 18-month suspension by FIBA after testing positive for three ingredients prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The prohibited substances — 4-methylhexan-2-amine(methylhexaneamine), 1,3-dimethylbutylamine (DMBA), and higenamine — was found in the pre-warm-up supplement Blackstone Labs DUST Extreme that Mr. Ravena took prior to the Gilas game against Japan at the Mall of Asia Arena on Feb. 25, 2018 during the second window for the qualifiers in the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
Urine samples were taken from Mr. Ravena after and both turned out to be positive from the prohibited substances.
SBP was quick to say though that the said substances are not illegal in the country and can be bought over the counter but are prohibited under the WADA list.
The decision was handed down on May 22, stating that Mr. Ravena is ineligible to compete from Feb. 25, 2018, the date when the samples were taken, to Aug. 24, 2019.
SBP said it is still communicating with FIBA, seeking clarification whether the ruling also covers Mr. Ravena’s standing in the Philippine Basketball Association where he plays for the NLEX Road Warriors.
The basketball federation also said that games played by Gilas in the qualifiers where Mr. Ravena suited up in were not affected and would stay as is.
Gilas is currently sporting a 3-1 record in Group B of the qualifiers, second to undefeated Australia (4-0).
LESSON LEARNED
Mr. Ravena said the latest episode in his career is something to be learned from and he vowed to use it to help others be aware of what they take in their bodies.
“Main lesson here is not everything you can buy is legal. I take full responsibility for my actions and I’m going to use this to create awareness to be discerning in what you take,” Mr. Ravena said to members of media after the press conference.
For Mr. Panlilio, he said the episode is being taken seriously by SBP and viewing it as a “wake-up” call for all concerned to be aware of what are prohibited and what are not to avoid such thing from happening again.
“Ignorance is not an excuse,” said Mr. Panlilio, adding they are set to create awareness programs for athletes.
Speculation over Mr. Ravena being “in hot water” came out after he was hastily pulled out from the PBA All-Star Game on Sunday where he was to suit up for the Iloilo All-Stars reportedly as ordered by the SBP.

British MMA fighter Till defends home turf in controversial fashion

UFC Fight Night logo
BRITISH mixed martial arts fighter Darren “The Gorilla” Till pipped American Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson in their headlining fight at “UFC Fight Night 130” in Liverpool, England, on Monday (Manila time) albeit by way of a highly controversial unanimous decision.
Mr. Till, who missed weight during the weigh-ins which rendered the fight a catchweight at 174.5 lbs., topped the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) battle, 48-47, 49-46 and 49-46, at the Echo Arena, surprising many who thought Mr. Thompson dominated the fight throughout.
The American got things going with solid kicks and combinations which set the pace for him.
Mr. Till, who feinted a lot in the contest, had his moments but Mr. Thompson would continue to stay on top of things.
In the final round, the protagonists engaged more, connecting with jabs and kicks.
Mr. Till managed to corner Mr. Thompson at one point but the latter managed to escape.
A hard left from Mr. Till dropped Mr. Thompson after which he tried to go for a ground and pound.
The American though was able to get on his feet and resume his attack.
Mr. Thompson unleashed a combination which led to a takedown after only for Mr. Till to wiggle his way out of it.
The fighters sized up each other in the windup before the bell sounded the end of the fight.
While many thought the verdict would go Mr. Thompson’s way, the score cards read otherwise with all judges scoring in favor of Mr. Till.
The British fighter admitted that by missing weight he messed things up but nonetheless felt he did just enough to win over Mr. Thompson.
He went on to say that the American deserves to get a shot at the title but vowed to come back better after the missed weight issue.
For Mr. Thompson, the loss came as a surprise and just took the high road.
“It is what it is. I’ll just take this and learn from it. But hats off to Darren,” he said.
With the win, Mr. Till improved to 17-0-1 while Mr. Thompson slipped to 14-3-1.
OTHER RESULTS
In other fights at UFC Fight Night 130, welterweight Neil Magny TKO’d Craig White in the opening round; featherweight Arnold Allen submitted Mads Burnell in the third round by front choke; featherweight Makwan Amirkhani won over Jason Knight by split decision, 27-30, 29-28 and 29-28; welterweight Claudio Silva defeated Nordine Taleb by submission (rear-naked choke) in the first round; and middleweight Darren Stewart TKO’d Eric Spicely in the second round.
In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost direct-to-home (DTH) company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

DoLE names companies that may have been engaged in labor-only contracting

The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has named the companies that may have been guilty of labor-only contracting.
In a list the agency submitted to the Malacañang on Friday, May 25, and shown to reporters (see attached document) during a press conference on Monday, May 28, the DoLE named the top 20 companies that are “engaged and suspected to be engaged” in contractualization.
DoLE also said that a total of 3,377 companies were engaged in labor-only contracting.The number of total affected workers has risen at 224,852 from 105,000 as initially reported earlier last week.
DoLE Secretary Silvestre H. Bello explained that the purpose of the list is to live up to President Rodrigo R Duterte’s campaign promise. “He’s serious in putting an end to endo and at the same time, putting an end to illegal, unlawful contractal arrangement,” the labor secretary stressed. — Gillian M. Cortez

Defending champion Ostapenko crashes in Roland Garros first round

PARIS — Jelena Ostapenko became only the second defending champion to lose in the first round of Roland Garros when she slumped to a shock 7-5, 6-3 defeat by Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine on Sunday.
Russia’s Anastasia Myskina was the only other defending champion to suffer the same fate in the first round in the Open era in 2005.
Ostapenko, who won her maiden tour title at the French Open 12 months ago with a breathtaking display of all-or-nothing big-hitting, drowned in a sea of errors on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The 20-year-old committed 48 unforced errors, 13 double faults and dropped serve seven times.
In all the four Slams, it’s only the sixth time in the Open era that the defending champion has perished at the first hurdle.
“I really didn’t expect anything from the match. Basically, I have hardly played for two and a half months but I wanted to show what I can do,” said the 66th-ranked Kozlova who came into the match having played and lost just once on clay this year.
That came in Nuremberg last week, her first appearance on the tour since February because of a right knee injury.
On Sunday, Kozlova, who had defeated Ostapenko on grass in Rosmalen in 2016, was in the wars again, requiring a lengthy medical timeout at the end of the first set to treat blisters.
She then recovered from 0-2 down in the set before claiming victory when Ostapenko buried a backhand in the net on a second match point.
“One of the blisters was worse than the others, it was very bloody. But when you play a match, you try not to think about the pain.”
Kozlova will face either former world number one Victoria Azarenka or Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic for a place in the last 32.
ZVEREV MAKES PERFECT START
Second seed Alexander Zverev got his French Open title bid off to the perfect start with a 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 thrashing of Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis.
The 21-year-old, who arrived at Roland Garros on a hot streak of form after titles in Munich and Madrid before an Italian Open final loss to Rafael Nadal, stormed to victory in only an hour and 10 minutes.
Zverev lost in the first round last year to Fernando Verdasco, but the German confidently avoided a repeat and enhanced his credentials as a serious threat to Nadal’s hopes of an 11th title.
“I have won two tournaments, made the finals in Rome; again, losing to Rafa in a close match. I feel good, and today was a good start to the tournament, and I’m happy the way it’s going so far,” said the beanpole German.
Fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov also reached the second round, even if he wasn’t exactly sure who he was facing.
Dimitrov had been drawn to face experienced Viktor Troicki in the tournament opener on Philippe Chatrier Court.
However, just before he was due to go on court, Troicki withdrew with a back injury, allowing Egyptian world number 182 Mohamed Safwat to make his Grand Slam debut.
In the process, he became the first Egyptian since Tamer El Sawy at the 1996 US Open to feature in a major.
“I was warming up and my coach said, ‘hey look’ and we saw up on the board that I was playing a different opponent,” said 27-year-old Dimitrov, a former Wimbledon semifinalist, after his 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (7/1) win.
Safwat, 27, had lost in the final round of qualifying in what was his eighth futile attempt to make the main draw of the majors.
“I only heard I was playing an hour before the match,” said Safwat.
Seven-time major winner Venus Williams suffered back-to-back opening round exits at the Slams for the first time in her 21-year career.
The ninth-seeded, 37-year-old American slumped to a 6-4, 7-5 defeat to China’s world 91 Wang Qiang, a player she knocked out in Paris last year.
Williams, playing Roland Garros for the 21st time, was in no mood for lengthy explanations after her loss.
“Nobody plans for this,” she said.
Aussie firebrand Nick Kyrgios was forced to withdraw after failing to recover from an elbow injury, saying a potential five sets on clay was “too risky.”
Kyrgios’ withdrawal meant that eight places in the first round were opened up to lucky losers.
Women’s fourth seed Elina Svitolina, a quarterfinalist in Paris in 2015 and 2017, overcame a first set 1-5 deficit to see off Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-3.
Svitolina next faces Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova who put out 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone, the 37-year-old Italian who made it through qualifying, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/2). — AFP

UAAP wars

2017-2018 UAAP Chess Championship (Men’s)
2nd Flr., QPAV Building, UST, España St., Manila
Feb. 17-April 8, 2018

Final Standings
1. National University (NU), 41.5/56
Bd01 IM Paulo Bersamina 14/14, Bd02 Robin Ignacio 4/8, Bd03 FM Austin Jacob Literatus 12/14, Bd04 Rafael Caneda 0/1, Bd05 Ryan Christian Magtabog 9.5/14, Bd06 Neil Conrad Pondoc 2/5
2. De La Salle University (DLSU), 33.5/56
NM Giovanni Mejia 9.5/14, Bd02 Christian Nanola 7/14, Bd03 Denzel John Amar 6.5/14, Bd04 Jeazzir Kline Surposa 10.5/14.
3. Far Eastern University (FEU), 32.5/56
Bd01 Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano 9/14, Bd02 NM Paul Robert Evangelista 5.5/11, Bd03 Jose Carlo Castro 0/2, Bd04 Romy Fagon 9.5/14, Bd05 Ferdinand Aviles 3/7, Bd06 Kristian Glen Abuton 5.5/8.
4 University of Santo Tomas (UST), 32.0/56
Bd01 Philip Andrew Uy 5.5/10, Bd02 Heirry Manaloto 8.5/14, Bd03 Christian Anthony Flores 9/14, Michael Angelo Manansala 0/3, Bd05 John Petter Ablid 9/14, Bd06 Jehosphapal Lemi 0/1.
5. Adamson University (AdU), 30.0/56
6. University of the East (UE), 28.0/56
7. University of the Philippines (UP), 19.0/56
8. Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), 7.5/56
IM Paulo Bersamina scored 14/14 to lead the National University Woodpushers to their 3rd straight UAAP chess Championship. Of course, one superstar is not enough — one need only recall Ateneo’s futile attempts to get out of the cellar even though their top board IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia was registering top-notch performances just a few years ago.
NU’s third board FM Austin Jacob Literatus had just as much to do with the gold medal as Bersamina — Literatus also played in all 14 rounds and scored 10 wins and 4 draws. A tremendous achievement. What is more, Austin had Black 11 times out of the 14 games. His attacking skills were on full display.

[AdU] Labog, Marc Kevin I. — [NU] Literatus, Austin Jacob [A40]
2017–2018 UAAP Chess (MEN) QPAV Bldg., UST, Manila (6.2), 04.03.2018

1.Nf3 g6 2.g3 Bg7 3.d4 d6 4.b3 Nd7 5.Bb2 e5 6.dxe5 dxe5 7.Nbd2 Ne7 8.Nc4 f6 9.h4 h5 10.Bh3 0–0 11.Be6+ Kh8 12.g4 Nb6 13.Qxd8 Rxd8 14.Nxb6?
Opening up the c-file for his opponent to exploit.
14…cxb6 15.Bxc8 Raxc8 16.gxh5 Rxc2 17.Ba3 Nc6! 18.hxg6 e4 19.Ng1 f5 20.Rb1
[20.Rd1 Bc3+]
20…b5 21.Nh3 b4 22.Bc1 Nd4 23.Ng5 Rdc8 24.Bd2 Kg8 25.Nf7 <D>
Position after 25.Nf7
The sequel has to be calculated carefully.
25…f4 26.Bxf4
Trying to get his kingside passed pawns going with 26.h5 is refuted by 26…e3! 27.fxe3 (27.h6 Rxd2 28.h7+ Kf8 29.h8Q+ Bxh8 30.Rxh8+ Kg7 31.Rxc8 Rxe2+ 32.Kf1 (32.Kd1 Rd2+ 33.Ke1 Nf3+ 34.Kf1 Rxf2#) 32…Rxf2+ 33.Ke1 Nf3+ 34.Kd1 e2+ 35.Kc2 e1Q+ 36.Kd3 Qe2#) 27…fxe3 28.Bxe3 Rxe2+ 29.Kf1 Rxe3 30.h6 Rc2! Black is clearly winning.
26…Rxe2+ 27.Kd1
[27.Kf1 Rcc2 28.Be3 Nf5 wins as well for Black]
27…Rc3! 0–1
The threat of Rd3+ was more than White can bear.
La Salle’s NM Giovanni Mejia was, several years ago when he was still in La Salle Greenhills, one of the very few High School students to qualify for the Philippine National Chess Finals. Obviously very talented, since then he has had a rough time going up the next level. Maybe he needs a top quality coach to give an extra push? Anyway in the college ranks Giovanni is of a high enough class to excel.

[UP] Saltorio, Jefferson M. — [DLSU] Mejia, Giovanni P. [B25]
2017–2018 UAAP Chess (MEN) QPAV Bldg., UST, Manila (2.1), 18.02.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.f4 e6 7.Nf3 Nge7 8.0–0 0–0 9.Be3 Nd4 10.Qd2 Rb8 11.Qf2 Nec6
Black has a very good score with this line in the international tournament circuit, something like 75%.
12.a3 b5 13.g4 f5 14.gxf5 exf5 15.Rae1?!
Probably a mistake. Better to get his king out of the dangerous diagonal with 15.Kh1.
15…fxe4 16.Nxe4
[16.dxe4 Ba6 puts White’s f1–rook in peril]
16…Nxf3+ 17.Qxf3 Nd4 18.Qd1 Nf5
The threat, of course, is Nxe3 followed by Bd4.
19.c3 d5 20.Nxc5 Nxe3 21.Rxe3 d4 22.Rg3 Qb6 23.Qb3+?
[23.b4 dxc3 is likewise very bad for White, but it is better than what actually happens]
23…Kh8 24.Ne4 dxc3+ 25.Kh1 Be6 26.Qc2 cxb2 27.Ng5 Rbc8 28.Qe2 Rc1 29.Nxe6 b1Q 30.Nxf8 Rxf1+ 31.Bxf1 Qc6+ 0–1
FEU’s top board Rhenzi Kyle Sevillano is a child prodigy originally from the University of San Carlos. At the age of nine (this was way back in 2008) he was already competing in the Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship grand finals. This is the finals and not the regional qualifiers — in fact Rhenzi topped the Cebu leg by posting a perfect score. He did not win in that first year but did succeed in the 2013 Shell National Finals.
It was a bit of a disappointment that he did not match up well against NU’s Paulo Bersamina on Board 1, but Rhenzi is well-coached by GM Jayson Gopnzales and I am sure that it is only a matter of time before his star will once again be on the ascendancy.
But he has to stop playing the Grand Prix Attack all the time.

[FEU] Sevillano, Rhenzi Kyle — [UP] Saltorio, Jefferson M. [B23]
2017–2018 UAAP Chess (MEN) QPAV Bldg., UST, Manila (3.1), 24.02.2018

1.e4 c5 2.Nc3
Remember the game I showed you last Thursday when Sevillano played 2.f4 right away and Bersamina responded with the Tal Gambit? It went 2…d5 3.exd5 Nf6 4.Bb5+ Bd7 5.Bxd7+ Qxd7 6.c4 e6 7.dxe6 Qxe6+ 8.Qe2 Qxe2+ 9.Nxe2 Nc6 White is a pawn up but the two very active knights give Black great compensation. Sevillano,R-Bersamina,P UAAP Men’s FEU vs NU round 9, 2018 0–1 38. The next move is the way to avoid that Gambit.
2…d6 3.f4 Nc6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Bb5 Bd7 6.0–0 Nd4
According to the engine vs engine tournaments 6…Nf6 is an inferior move here because of 7.e5! dxe5 8.fxe5 Nd5?! (8…Ng4 is more accurate, although even here White is better) 9.Nxd5 exd5 10.d4 h6 11.c4 and now I will show you a tactical motif that you should be familiar with: 11…Nxd4? 12.Nxd4! cxd4 13.e6! Bxb5 14.exf7+ Kd7 15.cxb5 Rc8 16.Qg4+ Kc7 17.Bf4+ Kb6 18.a4 a5 19.Qe6+ Ka7 20.b6+ 1–0 (20) Horvath,J (2525)-Grabow,C (1800) Genova 1999.
7.Bxd7+ Qxd7 8.Nxd4 cxd4 9.Ne2 d5 10.d3 dxe4 11.dxe4 Bc5 12.Qd3 Ne7 13.Kh1 0–0
So far Black has done well but here he misses a good opportunity here to play 13…f5! 14.exf5 Nxf5 and his position is at least equal to White’s, perhaps even better.
14.c3 Rfd8 15.Rd1 Nc6 16.b4 Bb6 17.Bb2 Rac8 18.Qg3 Qe7 19.b5 Na5
[19…d3 should be considered]
20.cxd4 Qb4 21.Rab1 Qxb5 22.d5!
Targeting g7.
22…g6 23.Qg5 Nc4 24.Bc3
A small inaccuracy. It was better to put his bishop on a1 as it is a bit exposed on c3.
24…Qe8 25.Qf6 e5 26.Bxe5?!
Why not 26.fxe5 ?
26…Nxe5 27.fxe5 Rc2 28.Nf4 Rf2 29.Rf1 Rxf1+ 30.Rxf1 Bd4 31.Nd3 Rc8 32.h4 Rc3 33.Rf3 h5 34.d6 Qd7 35.Qg5 Rc8 36.Nf4 Rc1+ 37.Kh2 Bg1+ 38.Kg3 Kh7 39.Nd5 1–0
UST’s top gun Heirry Manaloto, a native of Paniqui, Tarlac, is known for his original ideas in the chess opening and his hard-to-fathom style, alternately positional and suddenly tactical. You might get an idea of what I mean from the following game.

[UST] Manaloto, Heirry G. — [FEU] Sevillano, Rhenzi Kyle [A49]
2017–2018 UAAP Chess (MEN) QPAV Bldg., UST, Manila (5.2), 03.03.2018

1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0–0 5.0–0 d6 6.b3 Nc6 7.Bb2 a6 8.d5 Na5
The idea behind this move is similar to the Yugoslav Variation of the King’s Indian. Black will follow-up with c7–c5, and if possible b4–b5 and Rb8. It doesn’t work well in this setting though as Heirry will show.
9.e4 e5
[9…Nxe4? 10.Bxg7 Kxg7 11.Qe1 simultaneously attacking the two knights]
10.Nbd2 c5 11.dxc6 bxc6 12.b4
Forcing the knight to retreat to the awkward b7 square.
12…Nb7 13.Qe2 Qe7 14.Rfd1 Ne8 15.Nc4 Be6 16.Nb6 Rb8 17.a4 a5 18.Bc3 axb4 19.Bxb4
Now White has a dangerous passed pawn.
19…Nd8 20.a5 c5 21.Bc3 Nc6 22.Rdb1 Qa7 23.Ng5 Nc7 24.Nd5 Bxd5 25.exd5 Ne7 26.Qd3 f5 27.Ne6 Nxe6 28.dxe6 d5 29.Qe2 d4 30.Bd2 e4
Looks like Black has a powerful pawn center, right? Surprisingly enough, White is almost winning here already because of his active pieces.
31.Qc4 Be5 32.a6 Kg7 33.Bg5 Rfc8 34.f3 e3 35.Bxe7 Qxe7 36.f4 Bd6 37.a7 Ra8 38.Bxa8 Rxa8 39.Qd5 Qd8 40.Rb7+ Kh6 41.Rd7 Qb8 42.Qg2 Bxf4 43.Qh3+ 1–0
 
Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines 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

James masterpiece

LeBron James was exhausted in the aftermath of the East Finals. As the trophy was handed to head coach Tyronn Lue and all the other Cavaliers celebrated the Game Seven victory, he opted to lie on the floor and rest; he took in the formal ceremony from his unique vantage point, propping up his head with his hands and enjoying his respite. It was most certainly well-earned; he put up numbers that exceeded his best-of-all-time norms in rubber matches en route to victory, against the odds and with the weight of history on his shoulders.
Considering the roller-coaster ride James took to forge his eighth straight Finals appearance, it’s no wonder he was gassed. Yesterday was his 100th contest of the 2017-2018 season, the most in his 15-year career, and he played every second of it. He needed to, of course; his was the engine from which the Cavaliers invariably drew power, and the fact that everything was at stake made the dependency even more pronounced. Lue may well have wanted to give him a breather or two during the set-to, but the risk proved too great, especially since the wine and gold started slowly. And when all was said and done, he presided over a 35-15-9 masterpiece that justified the decision to have him burn rubber from opening tip to final buzzer.
Certainly, credit has to be given the Celtics for providing a steely challenge. They likewise had to overcome numerous setbacks in coming to within a triumph of booking a seat in the Finals. That said, they proved too, well, green to overcome the Thanos-like obstacle that was James. For all their resolve, he simply could not be denied. Not in front of arguably the most hostile crowd in the National Basketball Association. Not in the absence of fellow All-Star Kevin Love. Not in the face of everything else but his mind telling him that his was a Sisyphean endeavor.
Consider this: Advanced analytics posited James to have the worst supporting cast since the turn of the decade, and yet he still delivered in fulfillment of otherwise-unrealistic expectations. Yesterday, he managed to directly account for 40% of the Cavaliers’ points on 50% shooting from the field. Meanwhile, those around him showed up just often enough to keep the Celtics at bay; needless to say, they were aided in no small measure by both the attention he drew and by his continued confidence in them. He kept setting them up for open looks even though they hitherto let him down; he finally got his first assist after 20 and a half minutes of play, and ended up with nine all told.
Given the enormous load James has had to carry, it’s no wonder he doesn’t care to think about anything other than the present. Asked about the Cavaliers’ Finals chances, he pleaded instead for slack. The moment is for savoring the immediate past accomplishment, and there would be another to dissect the future. In any case, one thing’s clear: He will be ready to meet the challenge. And win or lose, let it not be said that he didn’t touch greatness in the process.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

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