For someone to be forgiven, the truth must first be told. Be it in a quarrel between lovers, wrongdoing by a child, or even in confession to a priest, you must first admit the truth before being forgiven.
The proposed General Tax Amnesty, which is now awaiting the signature of the President, is no exception to this general rule. Under the proposed General Tax Amnesty, taxpayers who want to avail of the privileges of the amnesty must truthfully divulge very important information: their true total assets or true net worth. The General Tax Amnesty Return that a taxpayer must file with the Bureau of Internal Revenue should be accompanied by a notarized Statement of Total Assets (STA) or notarized Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) as of Dec. 31, 2017.
In exchange for disclosing their true total assets or net worth, taxpayers will be allowed to avail of the general tax amnesty program that shall cover their taxes, subject to some exceptions, for taxable year 2017 and prior years. The General Tax Amnesty will give taxpayers the option to choose a rate between 2% of their total assets or 5% of their net worth.
The Bill defines total assets as the amount of the aggregate assets, whether within or outside the Philippines, real or personal, tangible or intangible, ordinary or capital; net worth, on the other hand, is the difference between the taxpayer’s total assets and total liabilities. The taxpayer availing of the amnesty must admit all assets they have and all liabilities they owe as of Dec. 31, 2017 in the STA or SALN.
The STA shall contain a declaration of the total assets as of Dec. 31, 2017; while the SALN to be filed shall contain the following:
1. Assets located within or outside the Philippines, whether real or personal, tangible or intangible, and regardless of whether used in trade or business;
2. Description of classification, exact location, and valuation of real properties;
3. Personal properties other than money with specific description of the kind and number of assets and their value;
4. Conversion into the corresponding Philippine currency equivalent of assets that are denominated in foreign currency as of the date of the SALN;
5. Cash on hand and in bank in Philippine pesos as of the date of the SALN; and
6. All existing liabilities that are legitimate and enforceable, secured or unsecured, whether or not incurred in trade or business, disclosing or indicating clearly the name and address of the creditor and the amount of the corresponding liability.
To entice taxpayers to declare or disclose their true total assets or true net worth, any information contained in the Tax Amnesty Return, STA/SALN and other accompanying documents shall be confidential in nature and may not be used in any investigation or prosecution against the taxpayer. However, the information that the taxpayers will declare should be truthful; otherwise, the taxpayers could be subject to the crime of perjury.
If the disclosed information is discovered to be untruthful, the taxpayer could also be investigated for tax fraud. For juridical persons, the penalty shall be imposed on the partner, president, general manager, treasurer, officer-in-charge, and employees responsible for the violation.
Thus, although there is a presumption of correctness of the SALN, taxpayers must still file a correct STA or SALN. The Tax Amnesty Bill provides hefty penalties to any person who will file an incorrect STA or SALN.
With regard to the confidentiality of the information to be declared to the BIR, the Tax Amnesty Bill will also penalize any person having knowledge of the Tax Amnesty Return and appurtenant documents and who will disclose any related information. A fine and imprisonment will be imposed on the violator. If the offender is an officer or employee of the BIR or any government entity, the penalty will include perpetual disqualification to hold public office.
The Tax Amnesty Bill is just a signature away from becoming law, and is expected to be implemented within early 2019. Taxpayers may want to consider taking another look at the value of their assets, liabilities, and net worth vis-à-vis the aggregate amount of their potential tax exposures in taxable year 2017 and in prior years. In doing so, taxpayers should ensure that, if they decide to avail of the amnesty program, they will be able to comply with the requirements in the declaration of the true STA or SLN. As the saying goes, the “truth will set us free.” P&A Grant Thornton is one of the leading audit, tax, advisory, and outsourcing services firms in the Philippines. You may contact the author thru RG.Moreno@ph.gt.com, or call us at tel. nos. +63(2) 988-2288.
Rufino Gerard G. Moreno III is an associate of the Tax Advisory and Compliance of P&A Grant Thornton.
Following is a condensed version of the acceptance speech delivered by the author when he received recently the “MAP Management Man of the Year 2018” Award from the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). This is the notion that I would like to put forward today — that the ingredients to bring the country to the next level are already within our grasp.
Good afternoon. Let me first thank all those involved in making this event and recognition possible. Thank you to the MAP Board of Governors led by Mon Fernandez, the MAP Management Man of the Year Judging and Search Committees led by Gigi Montinola, Ed Chua, Marife Zamora, and Perry Pe. I also extend a very special thanks to the individuals who have so kindly nominated me for this honor: Amb. Albert Del Rosario, Lilia De Lima, Tony Aquino, and Jess Estanislao, as well as the many others behind the scenes who were involved in the nomination process. Let me also take this opportunity to congratulate the incoming Board of Governors, and your incoming President, Riza Mantaring.
Allow me to also acknowledge representatives from the senior management of Ayala present today. My brother Jaime and I often discuss how privileged we are to be able to work with these exceptional individuals. They are passionate about our country and share our desire to bring the Philippines to the highest stage of development within the community of nations.
I would also like to express my warmest appreciation to the many friends, partners, and customers of the Ayala group of companies. Our group’s stability and success would not have been possible without your continued trust, and we are very thankful for your faith in us throughout the years. Let me also acknowledge a good friend of our family, Mr. Fred Borromeo, who joined MAP in 1954, and at 92 years old is certainly the wisest MAP member in the room. Last but certainly not the least, I would like to thank the members of my family present today — my parents, my wife Kit and siblings, spouses and friends. We owe so much to my father, who took a risk and entrusted the leadership of Ayala to Jaime and I at a fairly young age. He had already set high standards of professionalism in the company and a deep sense of commitment to the developmental goals of the country. Jaime and I had a great platform to build from.
I am deeply honored to receive this recognition, and greatly humbled to join the company of such an illustrious group of individuals — many of whom I have admired and respected, and have had many fond memories with as friends, business partners, and mentors. We are also deeply honored as a family that I am now the third member of the family, after my father and brother, to be recognized for this award.
MAP’s overarching theme for 2018 is “Competing in the Age of Disruption.” As I was reflecting on the many achievements of our esteemed previous awardees, as well as MAP’s enduring work in advancing the management profession in the country, I realize that this theme remains relevant and resonant, regardless of the period. In every timeframe in our history, we have had to deal with disruptions on various fronts. These challenge us to continuously find ways to put our organizations — and our country through our collective contributions — on a clear path to shared prosperity.
We live in a world that is very volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. But while current developments appear bleak, today’s dynamic times have likewise given birth to impressive advances and amazing possibilities. We live in an era where technological innovation, new business models, and new ways of thinking can be used to benefit a larger number of our population.
This is the notion that I would like to put forward today — that the ingredients to bring the country to the next level are already within our grasp. MAP and our individual organizations carry the challenge and responsibility to properly harness the potentials of today and use them to create a progressive, equitable, and Future-Ready Philippines.
Our journey towards future-readiness requires a strong platform from where we can launch ourselves. I believe that we have already been building this over the last few years. I refer to our macroeconomic foundations, and our highly talented and committed human capital.
On the former, I think we would all agree that we have had a unique period of continued economic growth that has transformed our country. This growth has largely been consumer-led, supported by strong overseas remittances, the growing BPO and services sector, and complemented by increasing investments. I would also like to emphasize the enormous role that local private capital from many of the companies represented here today has played in the growth of our economy.
We also see many positive developments with our people, whose median age is 24 and where a third of the total population are millennials. We are also seeing a continuing influx of young and talented Filipinos who have studied and trained overseas. These young Filipino professionals not only possess excellent technical skills, but are also technologically adept, and more importantly, have the ideals and innate passion to contribute to national development. They are also prepared to take on significant managerial responsibilities at a much younger age than we may have been used to in the past.
The challenge we all now face as a business community is to determine where we want our country to be in the next 10, 20 and 30 years. There are many areas where the private sector is focusing its efforts. From our point of view in Ayala, we have decided that four areas hold tremendous potential to make a lasting and meaningful impact as we build a Future-Ready Philippines. These sectors are: inclusive finance, education, health care, and sustainable tourism.
Let me start with financial inclusion. It is unacceptable that only 23% of Filipinos are part of the banking system. The rest are exposed to unauthorized lenders charging exorbitant rates and face the risks of the unofficial economy.
We are doing our part through banking channels and mobile solutions. BPI formed BanKo a few years ago to serve micro, small, and medium enterprises with their lending requirements. We further recognize that mobile technology has likewise provided a unique opportunity to serve the financial needs of a broad segment of our people. Through one’s mobile device, there are now several solutions available for payments and mobile wallets, digital lending, plus wealth management and credit analytics. Our partnership with Ant Financial, a subsidiary of Alibaba, has brought forth an enormous amount of knowledge in the fintech and mobile space, given the cutting-edge technology that China has been deploying for their population. While the Philippines is still far from having fintech as ubiquitous as it is in China, together with Ant Financial, we are excited to further develop our fintech industry to reach our financially underserved countrymen. Ensuring the success of our financial inclusion efforts through mobile technology, however, requires massive investments in telecom infrastructure. The telcos have been spending record amounts to keep up with the exponential demand for more data and faster connections.
Let me now shift to education. McKinsey estimates that up to 15% of the global labor force, or 375 million workers, will have to switch jobs by 2030. As certain professions are rendered irrelevant, new opportunities will emerge. However, this will require the right type of training in 21st century skills and values.
On a more basic level, we must immediately tackle the serious condition we face in many of our schools, wherein 3.6 million Filipino youths find themselves out of school. Even more stunning are the findings of the Philippine National Employability Report, published in 2017 by employability assessment firm Aspiring Minds. From their survey of 60,000 fresh graduates from 80 tertiary level institutions, they found that 65% of Filipino graduates lacked the appropriate skills and were thus unemployable in their sector of choice.
Our educational system is in serious need of help and it is very encouraging that the private sector has been contributing in a significant way. In our own case, our solutions revolve around some of the key problems that we have had to address through our schools. These include a huge reduction in dropout rates; increasing the employability of our students; and producing competent teachers to sustain education reform. At the basic education level, through CENTEX and APEC Schools, we have changed the way students are taught with a curriculum that focuses on practical skills and innovative teaching methods. Through close coordination with the needs of industry, we were also able to design programs where recent graduates are employed within 90 days and receive starting salaries that are significantly higher than the average. At the teacher level, we are delighted that through our partnership with the National Teachers College, we now have an opportunity to equip our teachers with the necessary skills to drastically improve the quality of instruction in the country.
Aside from our students, we also need to give the work force an opportunity to upskill and retrain themselves. A number of online digital learning solutions are readily accessible with content from the world’s top universities offering customized training programs, suited to the individual’s needs, and at a very modest cost. We have recently launched Ayala University, a digital learning platform that brings together carefully selected online global content from the best schools to upskill our employees at an exponential scale.
The third sector I want to highlight is health care. I strongly believe that the next critical need for the country is a ramp up in affordable, quality health care. How can we possibly have a productive workforce and a higher quality of life for our people without proper health care? Our research is staggering: 43% of low- to middle-income Filipinos have not seen a doctor in more than a year, with 6 out of 10 Filipinos dying without even seeing a doctor. The Economist ranked the Philippines 78th out of 80 countries in an index that measures the quality and availability of the country’s palliative care environment, which includes hospices, nursing homes, and professionals.
The Filipino patient deserves better — from birth to end-of-life. At Ayala, we strongly believe that health care is a fundamental right for all. This principle has shaped our approach to our health care business. Our focus has been to find disruptive models and technologies that make healthcare products and services more accessible and affordable to a broader segment of the population. A critical part of this offering is a strong emphasis on preventive health care, which we believe will significantly impact health outcomes and our stakeholders’ disposable incomes. This is essential as the World Health Organization reports that lifestyle-related diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, account for as much as 70% of deaths worldwide — deaths that are easily preventable if there is a focus on proactive and preventive medicine. Towards this end, we continue to grow our FamilyDoc clinical network to expand the reach of primary care to more Filipinos. Meanwhile, through our investment in Generika drugstore, we are expanding the reach of generic medicines to help provide affordable options for preventive health care. We view this as a key component to democratize health care and promote disease prevention, as our research shows that generic medicines can be cheaper by up to 85% compared to their branded equivalents. The elements to substantially improve the state of our health care are within our grasp. We have excellent health care professionals, a plethora of health technologies are available, and favorable regulation, through the Universal Healthcare Act, exist. Let us not let this opportunity pass us by. Let us boost our efforts at giving our people the health care that they deserve.
Lastly, let me focus on tourism. I believe it is time to dramatically focus on tourism as an industry that can have an enormous impact to our country. To illustrate the magnitude of its effects, consider Thailand that attracted close to 35 million visitors last year. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, tourism directly contributed close to 10% to Thai GDP in 2017.
I feel that we have yet to adequately embrace tourism as a valuable component of our development. While tourism continues to contribute much to the economy, there remains significant value to be unlocked. I say this because while we invest only $1.9 billion for tourism — which is close to last in ASEAN and below the global average — our numbers are steadily increasing. For instance, international arrivals grew from 2.8 million in 2006 to a record 6.6 million in 2017. Tourism’s direct economic impact has also more than doubled over the last 10 years, accounting for 8.7% of GDP and 2.3 million jobs. The World Travel and Tourism Council forecasts that by 2028, tourism could directly account for P2.5 trillion, close to 10% of GDP, and support 3.2 million jobs. If we are to make a quantum leap in tourism, we need to involve many more partners, have a far more holistic and visitor-centric masterplan, and be more aggressive and strategic in deploying capital.
I believe that this is where the Philippines can differentiate itself from our neighbors. Too many Asian countries have developed their tourism sectors too quickly, and in the process, have severely damaged their ecosystems. It is wonderful to hear that the tourism agenda currently being discussed under Secretary Berna Romulo Puyat is one that strongly includes environmental protection and sustainability. To support this drive, we must create the appropriate governance structures to ensure that there is proper planning and project execution in our best tourism sites. This includes ensuring a seamless and exceptional visitor experience — from arrival at the airport, to transportation to hotels, and to the overall experience at the destination. Let me also emphasize the need for strong visitor impact management — that is that we properly manage what practitioners call as carrying capacity and limits of acceptable change or put simply, the maximum number of visitors and degree of impact that any single destination can take and withstand.
From our point of view, we have moved into substantial tracts of land and are looking for more in the hope that we can create several sustainable tourism environments. In all our tourism developments, we want to make sure that the employment benefits to the local communities are maximized, environmental impact is properly managed, and that these destinations can serve as a showcase for the rest of the world on how tourism’s potentials can and should be harnessed. The multiplier effects of tourism and the impact that it can have on communities — especially the poor — is enormous.
As the Ayala group enters its 185th year in 2019, we are more committed than ever, along with the rest of the business community, to continue building our growth platforms for our country, and to ensure that Filipinos have the skills necessary to take advantage of these opportunities.
It is interesting that as far back as 1962, John F. Kennedy was already anticipating the same challenge and responsibility that the world continues to face today. He stated in a speech and I quote, “if men have the talent to invent new machines that put men out of work, then they have the talent to put those men back to work.” Generating new jobs for the next generation and providing opportunities for value creation will be our utmost priority.
This, however, requires a comprehensive response from the private sector and the full support of government. Like many of you, I am a great believer in the critical role that the business community plays in nation-building. Today’s disrupted times, while alarming on many instances gives us access to several resources: capital is accessible for new ventures; new technologies and business models are available to be harnessed; and there is a wealth of talent among our people waiting to be unleashed.
Through MAP and the other business organizations in the country, the private sector can accelerate efforts to build a progressive, inclusive, dynamic, and Future-Ready Philippines that we can all be proud of. With a unified public and private sector; an appropriate plan designed for the medium and long term; and a consistent vision that will keep us on track through political cycles, we can certainly direct our country on an irreversible path towards equitable and sustainable progress.
Once again, good afternoon, and thank you very much for this great honor.
Fernando Zobel de Ayala is the “MAP Management Man of the Year 2018” of the Management Association of the Philippines and the president and COO of the Ayala Corporation . map@map.org.ph http://map.org.ph
A report in BusinessWorld yesterday, Dec. 17, said that the country’s foreign debt grew 5.6% to $76.4 billion as of end-September 2018.
The Bureau of the Treasury data of the Philippines’ outstanding debt showed P7.167-trillion total as of October 2018, composed of P4.62-trillion domestic debt and P2.546-trillion external debt.
These are huge numbers. With or without economic crisis and financial turmoil, the figures keep rising, never flatlining or declining.
But this is not unique for the Philippines. Other countries have bigger debt even if they are already industrialized, and even if they have a smaller population. See the numbers for external debt alone.
There is one term or description for the ever-rising debt of governments around the world: fiscal irresponsibility. Spend-spend-spend, tax-tax-tax, borrow-borrow-borrow, as if the money comes from the sky falling on governments forever.
At the household and micro level, when a person always spends beyond his/her means, he is called “mayabang, gastador, maluho, iresponsable” etc. When governments do this, they are not called as such, they even get self-congratulatory labels of practicing “fiscal prudence.”
In the Philippines and other countries, certain sectors realize the value of savings, of living within their means or below their means to have forced savings.
To have sufficient savings, people use the formula: Income — Spending = Savings.
There is a problem here. If Savings are not targeted, spending can eat up the whole income and savings will be small, if not negative.
The appropriate attitude then should be: Income — Savings = Spending.
There should be forced savings target and spending should be variable and adjusted downwards to reach the targeted level of savings.
This is among the important discipline and messages that the Palawan Savers Club (PSC) has adopted for its members and friends under the guidance of their founder, Peter “Pidro” Sing.
Pidro is a self-made successful businessman. He did not inherit money or business from his parents or close relatives. He is a friend from the University of the Philippines Diliman. In the 1980s, we both stayed in Narra dormitory and we were both student-activists when Marcos was still the President of the Philippines. His CV is a roller coaster of hirings, resignations, and start-ups (he knows what it’s like to start a business, go bankrupt, start another, close it, start another — sometimes simultaneously. He did not get a formal business education; he was enrolled in the “school of life.”
When Pidro formed the PSC in July 2014, there were only 20+ members. To date, it has 800+ member-savers. They are mall and office employees, vendors and sari-sari store owners, tricycle and van drivers, tour guides, OFWs, students, professionals (like doctors, veterinarians, lawyers), and government employees.
Pidro gives lectures on “Savings for Success (S4S): An introduction to financial education” at least once a week in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. If out of town, he speaks two to four times a week to optimize his time. Sometimes he has two speaking engagements in a day.
He spends his own money and time for his personal advocacy. After going through cycles of wealth and bankruptcy, he realized that the key to wealth is not so much how big the monthly or yearly income is, but how big and consistent is the forced personal and household savings.
Government’s fiscal irresponsibility should be tempered by citizens who know the value of living within their means, the value of forced savings, and limited spending. And government should learn to live below its means when there is no economic and financial turmoil in order to accumulate fiscal surplus and pay off huge debts.
Pidro and PSC — and other groups with similar advocacies — are setting the needed social and political change that we hope to see in our lifetime.
One of the top Philippine stories of 2018 — not only in sports but also in national affairs — is the magical run of the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons. For a few weeks, the Maroons became headline news as the team clawed its way back from elimination and upset heavy contenders toward reaching the championship series.
The Maroons eventually lost to the defending champion, the Ateneo Blue Eagles. But Ateneo’s winning ways have become repetitious and boring. On the other hand, the UP’s campaign during the season generated astonishment, excitement, and drama, even among the nonpartisans.
Thus the meme: “Ateneo won the finals… but UP won the Season!” Or: “The UP Fighting Maroons may not have taken home the championship, but they’ve stolen our hearts forever.”
But Ateneo also has a story to tell about how lessons from winning a basketball championship apply to life.
Ateneo’s basketball coach, Tad Baldwin, has instilled in the team a system in which individual talent plays second fiddle to collective effort. Each player has a role to play; each player contributes to the team’s advance and ultimately to being a champion.
It is not surprising then that no player from Ateneo made it to the Mythical Five selection, even if it was the winningest team in the league. Being in the Mythical Five recognizes the talent of a basketball player. But the Ateneo team does not emphasize individual greatness. Ateneo has a rotation in which the so-called second stringers are as good as the first team.
Even the team’s top performers vary from game to game. In one game, the Nieto twins, Matt and Mike, explode; in another game, Thirdy Ravena leads the charge. And so on. But the point is, the individual performance springs from selfless play and teamwork.
To be sure, this winning formula of team spirit and cooperation is not unique to the 2018 champion team. But the lesson got buried in the past, as amateur basketball copied professional basketball’s penchant for superstars and dazzling plays that show off individual skills. Fortunately, the old wisdom has returned in light of Ateneo’s success.
More than three decades ago, an unassuming guy donned the blue-and-white uniform. He was no superstar; he was some sort of benchwarmer. The only Superstar in his mind was Jesus Christ Superstar; he loved rock music and he was spiritual. But he was part of Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan’s team because the coach saw him as an exemplar of the sacrificing and hardworking team player.
His name is Jose Antonio “Joey” M. Pengson. He died in October 2018 without witnessing the championship, which was played the way he learned to play it.
The best tribute to Joey that I have read comes from our classmate Bobby Tesoro. It’s an unpublicized tribute, which Bobby shared with classmates through Viber.
Bobby, the manager of the 1975 champion team that included Joey, recalls a story of the championship game. Upon deeper reflection, Bobby sees it as a life story with a lesson. It is an anecdote that, in my book, is a parable.
Here, I quote Bobby:
“My story is about Joey’s role in the championship game between Ateneo and Letran in 1975.
“We were short of guards. The team captain, Gerry Verzosa, still recovering from hospitalization, showed up pale and gaunt on that championship day. But we had the talented Chito Narvasa, who was acknowledged to be the designated court general, taking over the captain’s brand of play and floor leadership.
“During that season, Chito showed signs of being a prima donna. He skipped practices citing ‘injured, weary knees’ as reason. Coach Baby Dalupan never uttered a word and just nodded whenever Chito gave an excuse. (This was the young Chito, and since those years of unripeness, he has evolved as a mature person. In the book Virgilio ‘Baby’ Dalupan: The Maestro of Philippine Basketball, Chito expresses gratitude to his mentor for disciplining him and molding his character.)
“To return to the game, Ateneo was in trouble. With the team behind, coach D had to make a substitution. At that point, he had already used 11 players. The gallery started calling Chito’s name.
“Baby D stood up and went down the bench, passed up Chito and at the very end of the line, pulled out our Joey Pengson, to the astonishment of the Ateneo gallery. With an arm on Joey’s shoulder and talking to our late friend like a father to his son, Baby told Joey, ‘You will play in this championship game, and you will help the team win.’
“True enough, that move fired up the whole team, knowing only too well that Joey exemplified to his teammates what it meant to be a team player. He rode the bench most of the time, he never complained, never skipped practice, and was always prompt. You name it, Joey did it right. That is why I called him Cap (for Captain). He was the silent force that the team looked up to in and out of the court.”
Bobby is spot on in describing Joey: A team player, looked up to by the team. He was a man for others, a Cap not only in the game of basketball, but also in the game of life.
Indeed, Joey’s being a team player, being a low-profile leader, and being selfless extended beyond the basketball court. He was involved in many worthy causes — in his community, his alma mater, and our society.
He participated in many struggles, always as a team player, contributing significantly albeit silently. He fought the dictatorship; he fought corruption, plunder, and human rights violations. He promoted social awareness among the youth, and encouraged the Ateneo students to speak up on political issues. He was at the forefront of clean and credible elections. He was Mr. Clean.
The 2018 Ateneo champion team has displayed the same team spirit that the 1975 team, Joey included, is remembered for. But the distinct lesson imparted to us by Joey is that there is a larger team that we have to join and a bigger game we have to play.
In this light, Joey exemplifies what the friendly basketball rivals — UP and Ateneo — stand for. UP says: Fight! Ateneo says, One big fight! Ateneo says, be a man for others. UP says, serve the people.
Filomeno S. Sta. Ana III coordinates the Action for Economic Reforms. www.aer.ph
By Tony Samson
BY this time, the hoopla and excitement from the finals series of two games in the men’s college basketball contest must have already faded just a bit. Even at its peak, the emotional high was limited to no more than a million students, alumni, family, significant others, friends, photo bombers, and, let’s not forget, yet unborn babies. The last group was represented by mothers with baby bumps under tightly stretched maroon T-shirts declaring the hashtag, roughly translated as “this is ours” — yes, ma’am, that one’s all yours.
The illusion of a college sporting event occupying the national psyche if only for a few days, because of the surprise pairing of two schools sharing one avenue, has only to be tested by this thought experiment — do you care what’s going on at the Horological Association of the Philippines? What if one of its new directors posted a note on social media that three timepieces in the museum need to be wound? Who will man up for this task? The unexpected negative reaction may be over the top. He protests that the word “wound” is the past participle form of the verb “wind.” There was no intent to imply inflicting physical harm to anyone. Still, he was ousted and asked to watch his language. Everybody just got wound up.
Here are five questions that a Man from Mars might ask about all the curious hullabaloo over Season 81 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). There have been contests between traditional rivals before, which did not attract these kinds of emotions, and ticket shortages. Here are some narratives not yet covered by the media attention on this heretofore low-key event.
Which of the four venues in the 17 games you watched was the worst? Easily, it was the one game in an Antipolo stadium, no need to mention its name. The parking lot intended for visitors featured instead a pop-up flea market so that cars needed to park three blocks away — Sir, you can take a tricycle to get to your seat behind the goal. That contest also featured two schools with the same color coding, so the boundaries for the cheering were fluid — Ma’am, that’s Ahanmisi you’re jumping about. (Well, he’s on my side.)
What’s the meaning of all this post-shot prancing around and posturing? This is a tradition in a shoot-and-run back format of basketball. It’s intended to pump up the crowd. The movements include the following: front-shirt pulling and airing of outer garment, revealing a black undershirt; raising of both arms at shoulder level to show muscle formation; raising both arms above the head at the crowd to cheer louder; and a new one — flapping the arms rhythmically like a bird in flight after a dunk shot — this one believes he can fly like Mike or is he auditioning for the corps de ballet of Swan Lake? Can they please provide a blue tutu?
Why is the top team that became back-to-back champion not represented in the Mythical Five selection? Well, it’s a mathematical formula that has no bearing on the placement of the team and its chances of winning the trophy. Winning as a team doesn’t count. Next question please.
In the last game of the finals, how did you get to the toilet? With the crowd at 20% over seating capacity, the SRO ticket holders clogged up the back-passage area of the sections. This required the leaky ones to squeeze through and press close to the wall in an act of intimacy that had gone beyond first-name calling and three meetings over coffee. If walls could sue, this would be a clear case of harassment. Facing forward with the back to the wall might have resulted in a slap on the face. (Ma’am, that’s my cellphone in my pocket.)
What happened to the indifference and ennui previously accorded to this puerile pursuit? Aren’t there more pressing concerns like the West Philippine Sea and the budget deficit? Did other more momentous things like board meetings and legislative agendas really stop that Wednesday before the buzzer sounded and the confetti fell to the floor full of photographers, with the score frozen at 99-81? Well, it is what it is.
Anyway, there is a difference between wearing blue and feeling blue. No problem, all my shirts are blue.
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo Senior Reporter
DOWN 3-2 in their best-of-seven Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup finals series, the Alaska Aces are choosing not to fret too much and are instead focusing on getting the next two games to complete their title quest.
Narrowly missed having the upper hand after absorbing a 79-78 heartbreaker to finals foes Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok in Game Five on Friday, the Aces find themselves needing to sweep the remaining games of the series if they are to become the lone surviving team in the season-ending PBA tournament.
Having found itself in the same predicament earlier in the series though, Alaska is not losing confidence in its ability to do it again this time around.
“It’s not really new to us. We were down 0-2 at the beginning of the series, so we’re just really gonna get back to the gym and work even harder, clean up some of the things that we need to clean up,” said Aces guard Simon Enciso following their Game Five defeat.
He was quick to say though that they have to be on top of their game right from the get-go and not bank too much on charging back in games, a situation that has not worked in their favor for much of the time in the series.
“We really got to throw the first punch because I feel like in the first half, they did. We kinda have to match their energy in the beginning. We can’t always just play catch-up each time, right? We can’t always be like that,” he said, adding, “But next game, you guys will see a new Alaska team with the old Alaska teamwork. We’re gonna pressure on them and do our best. We just gotta get back to our base.”
For Alaska coach Alex Compton, the intention from here on is to win it all even as he said that it would not be easy against a Magnolia team raring to have the series over and done with.
“We’ll certainly try to do it. I am a basketball fan, so I will be watching on Wednesday. But I would say all the basketball fans should watch. These two teams can’t play any harder,” Mr. Compton said.
Like Mr. Enciso, the Alaska coach also underscored the need for them to get it going right from the start, citing what happened to them in Game Five.
“I am just disappointed in our first half. If you will ask me, we lost in the first half. We did not have what we showed in the second,” said Mr. Compton, who nonetheless praised the effort that his players showed in the previous game.
In Game Five, import Mike Harris led the Aces with 28 points, 20 rebounds and five assists.
Mr. Enciso and Kevin Racal, meanwhile, each had 13 points.
Game Six of the finals is on Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo Senior Reporter
THE PHILIPPINE Basketball Association welcomed a new batch of rookies on Sunday with the successful staging of the annual rookie draft at the Robinsons Place Manila in Ermita.
For CJ Perez, Robert Bolick, and Trevis Jackson, three players selected in the top five and among the 41 selected on draft day, their selection was truly a valuable one as it was a fulfilment of a lifelong dream and now they are looking forward to the challenge of playing in the premier local professional basketball league.
“I’m excited and happy that I was selected first overall in the draft. I hope I get to play better for Columbian and repay the trust that they have given me,” said Mr. Perez, the top overall pick in the draft by the Columbian Dyip.
A former National Collegiate Athletic Association most valuable player awardee, Mr. Perez, 25, said he is looking forward to doing his part in lifting the standing of the Dyip as well as grow as a player in the PBA.
“I think I can help my team through my all-out effort and scoring. Hopefully I get to help and change the fortunes of the team. But I know it’s going to be a collective effort for us,” the Lyceum of the Philippines University standout said.
“I’m willing to learn and grow as a player in the PBA. The pressure will always be there as the top pick. I just have to accept it and deliver accordingly,” added Mr. Perez, who also shared that he likes the style of play of Columbian of not giving up no matter the odds.
San Beda University champion player Bolick, meanwhile, hopes to bring the winning mindset to the Northport Batang Pier, who selected him third overall.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge in the PBA. I’ve always excelled in challenges and I intend to the same in the pros. I’ll work hard to see my goals through,” said Mr. Bolick, who won three titles with San Beda in the NCAA and one in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines as part of the champion De La Salle University team in 2013.
“We are a team and I’m sure they will help me improve as a player,” he added as he spoke of what he expects from playing with the Batang Pier.
For the fifth pick Travis, he said staying true to who he is as a player would be key as he begins his career with the Meralco Bolts.
“I can bring energy, hustle, and a sense of camaraderie and urgency. I’m known to be a scorer, but I’ve been a true point guard my whole life and I can defend,” said Fil-foreigner Jackson when asked by media what he could bring to the Bolts.
Like any other rookie, he, too, is willing to learn the ropes and deliver from his end.
“I just want to learn, because you always want to learn from the people who came before you and take little pieces of them and adapt them to my game — that’s all I plan to do,” Mr. Jackson said.
Selected second in the draft by Blackwater Elite was UAAP and ASEAN Basketball League standout Bobby Ray Parks, Jr. with University of the Philippines’ Paul Desiderio plucked at fourth by the NLEX Road Warriors.
Rounding out the first round were Javee Mocon (6th) to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, Abu Tratter (7th) to NLEX, JayJay Alejandro (8th) to Rain or Shine, Jesper Ayaay (9th) to the Alaska Aces, Michael Calisaan (10th) to the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok, JP Calvo (11th) to Columbian, and Jorey Napoles (12th) to the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters.
Meanwhile, reports have that rookies Desiderio and Tratter are being shipped out by NLEX to Blackwater in exchange for big man JP Erram.
Trade papers were expected to be sent to the PBA Commissioner’s Office yesterday for approval.
In a statement, the Road Warriors said the decision was not a knock on the abilities of the two players but more of the need to fill a void in the team.
GRAPPLERS Jhonny Morte and Alvin Lobreguito capped the year with a lot of promise that the Philippine Go For Gold wrestling team should capitalize on in preparation for the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
Lobreguito, a bronze medalist in the Asian Indoor Martial Arts Games last year, proved superior over Zhe-Xiu Liu of Chinese Taipei in the finals of the 57-kilogram men’s freestyle to pocket a gold medal recently in the prestigious Jagsport Wrestling Championships in Singapore.
Another gold-medal bet in the SEA Games, Morte topped the 65kg category of the same event at the expense of fellow Go For Gold grappler Jonathan Maquilan in a thrilling all-Filipino finale.
After Maquilan settled for the silver, two-time SEAG gold medalist Margarito Angana Jr. pulled off a similar ending after dropping his match against Eko Roni Saputra of Indonesia in the 61kg championship round.
“This is a good result for the wrestling team and I believe with continued support, they can bring us gold medals in the coming SEA Games,” said Go For Gold god-father Jeremy Go.
Also bagging a silver medal in the men’s freestyle was Royce Madison King Tiu, who enjoyed a dominant position in the early stages of their 86kg finale before Brian Siano of the United States made great strides in turning his fate around to capture the gold.
Overall, the Filipino grapplers brought home two golds and three silvers aside from two bronzes courtesy of Ronil Tubog (61kg) and promising junior wrestler Cadel Evance Hualda (80kg).
“It’s too early to tell if we are ready for the SEA Games. The team needs more international exposure, which we are planning to do in our buildup for the Games,” said Go For Gold project director Ednalyn Hualda.
Go For Gold is also supporting the SEAG preparation of the national teams in triathlon, sepak takraw, cycling, dragonboat, and skateboarding, among others.
“We have already identified the athletes whom we should focus on for them to deliver a gold medal,” said Hualda.
Next year’s SEA Games will be hosted by the Philippines in Clark, Subic and venues within Metro Manila on Nov. 30-Dec. 11.
By Ted Lerner WPA Media Officer
DOHA, QATAR — Judgement day at the 2018 World 9-ball Championship came and went in a flash, with just two sessions on the losers side of each of the 16 groups. And while there were the usual jangling nerves rattling throughout the cavernous Al Arabi Sports Club, one thing that was definitely missing from this year’s final day of the group stages was the complete lack of upsets.
This means that the 64 players left in the competition, who begin a single elimination, race to 11 format on Monday at 10 a.m. Doha time (GMT +3), comprise the absolute best of the very best in professional pool. Over the next several days these greats of the game will duel it out for the most prestigious prize in the sport and a $40,000 top prize.
The Taiwanese lead the way with nearly 15% of the players left, 9 to be exact. Next up might be a surprise to some fans but not to those who follow the sport intimately: six players from Poland qualified.
The Philippines, Japan, and China come in next with five players each. The Philippines is an interesting story because many Pinoy players stayed away from this year’s championship to play in boxer Manny Pacquiao’s event in his home town in the southern Philippines. If you are hard core fan that is no doubt a disappointing development. But the five Pinoy’s left, including defending champion Carlo Biado, all have a shot at going far.
The Japanese have put in their best showing in years, while the Chinese players have also looked strong. A Chinese player has never won a World 9-ball Championship.
One of the most watched matches of the day came between the Philippines Roland Garcia, a runner up here last year, and American Billy Thorpe. The two stayed close throughout the first half of the match, splitting the first 8 racks. But Garcia pounced on several mistakes by Thorpe and then piled on the racks, winning 9-5. Garcia breathed a massive sigh of relief afterward because he had lost his very first match in Doha and had to win two straight to qualify.
In a battle of two former world champions, Germany’s Thorsten Hohmann took on China’s Wu Jiaqing. Wu jumped out to a big early lead, 6-2, before the German mounted a brief fight back. But Hohmann admittedly let the match slip away with too many unforced errors, as Wu advanced 9-6.
It was a proud day for the Kuwaitis who once again showed their prowess as a pool playing nation. Bader Alawadhi pulled off what could be the day’s biggest surprise when he shocked Spain’s David Alcaide, 9-7. Omar Alshaheen also booked his spot in the knockout rounds with a handy 9-6 win over Bosnia’s Sanjin Pehlivanovic.
It was also a good day for Finland. Petri Makkonen advanced with his second straight win, after taking down the always strong Chang Yu Leung, 9-6. Casper Matikainen put a halt to Filipino Marlon Manalo’s comeback with an easy 9-2 victory.
Austria’s former world champion Albin Ouschan struggled early but qualified with a 9–5 win over Myanmar’s Aung Moe Thu. Fellow Austrian Maximilian Lechner put an end to the hopes of South African Jason Theron, winning 9-5 after an early struggle.
Lebanon doesn’t often feature in the business end of things here, but Mazen Berjaoui held his nerve with a break and runout in the final frame to eliminate the USA’s Hunter Lombardo, 9-8.
Canada’s John Morra looked very strong in his 9-3 win over American Tommy Tokoph. Venezuela’s Jalal Al Sarisi (formerly Yousef), who went all the way to the quarterfinals last year, also qualified after handily beating the Netherland’s Ivar Saris, 9-6.
Monday’s action will be comprised of three sessions, with both the rounds of 64 and 32 being completed. The tournament will have a day off on December 18th due to it being the National Day of Qatar. The round of 16 and the quarterfinals will be held on December 19th, while the semis and final will take place on December 20th.
BANKO-Perlas 1’s Dzi Gervacio and Bea Tan pulled off a dominant 21-8, 21-18 victory over National University-Boysen’s Roma Doromal and Kly Orillaneda to claim the women’s championship of the Beach Volleyball Republic On Tour December Open 2018: A Christmas Rally late Sunday at the Sands SM By The Bay.
Air Force finally captured a men’s title, as Ranran Abdilla and Jessie Lopez bested Cignal’s Fauzi Ismail and Edmar Bonono, 21-17, 21-18.
The spotlight also went to phenoms Alyssa Valdez and Kiefer Ravena, who came from behind to defeat beach volleyball poster girl Charo Soriano and fan favorite John Vic de Guzman, 23-21, in the highly-entertaining celebrity match whose proceeds will go to Mindanao State University-Marawi College of Sports, Physical Education and Recreation Academy.
Team Idol, composed of Philippine beach volleyball legends Rhovyl Verayo, Jasper Jimenez, Jun Gallo, and guest player Mike Shavrak hurdled Team Lodi’s Ravena, De Guzman, Sue Roces, and Philip Bagalay, 21-17, in another exhibition match to spice up the final day of competitions.
Undefeated in five matches, Gervacio and Tan ended the Cinderella run of Doromal and Orillaneda, who needed two do-or-die matches to make it to the Finals.
University of Santo Tomas-Maynilad’s Babylove Barbon and Gen Eslapor rallied from a set down to beat Creamline’s Fille Cayetano and Kyla Atienza, Creamline, 17-21, 21-12, 15-8, to bag third place, duplicating their achievement in Dumaguete City last month.
Tiger Winx’s KR Guzman and Krung Arbasto outlasted UST-Maynilad’s Rancel Varga and Efraim Dimaculangan, 21-14, 21-12, UST-Maynilad, 21-17, 19-21, 15-11, to clinch the bronze medal.
YOUNG local mixed martial arts fighters take center stage this weekend with the staging of Forza Underground II.
Billed as the biggest student MMA battle in the Philippines, Forza Underground II is to happen on Dec. 22 at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan City.
The event will feature some of the top collegiate fighters in the country, divided into two groups — Black Team and Red Team.
Headlining Forza Underground II is the light heavyweight championship match between Kashmir Yap from Ateneo de Manila University (Black Team) and Kevin Guevara from Philippine Women’s University (Red Team).
Also part of the card is the welterweight title match between Kit Santos and Jovymel Villanueva and the flyweight title clash of Mark Itaas of the Technological Institute of the Philippines and Gabriel Tolentino of Informatics College Manila.
The three headlining fights are part of the 19-fight card set for the event.
Forza Underground II is organized by athletic wear brand Forza, part of the Kamiseta Group of Companies, and follows up on the first edition of the event last October, which was attended by some 3,000 spectators.
Tickets for the event are available for P350 and P850 and can be purchased over www.forzaph.com. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
17th Asian Continental Chess Championship
(2nd Manny Pacquiao Cup)
Open Division
Tiara Oriental Hotel, Makati City, Philippines
Dec. 10-18, 2018
Current Top Standings (7 of 9 rounds)
1-2. Grandmaster (GM) Surya Shekhar Ganguly IND 2621, GM M. Amin Tabatabaei IRI 2587, 5.5/7
3-8. GM Wei Yi CHN 2728, GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov UZB 2546, GM Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son VIE 2641, GM Parham Maghsoodloo IRI 2688, GM Le Quang Liem VIE 2714, GM Vidit Santosh Gujrathi IND 2701, 5.0/7
9-17. GM Susanto Megaranto INA 2512, GM SP Sethuraman IND 2664, GM Alireza Firouzja IRI 2607, GM Lalith Babu MR IND 2529, GM Rinat Jumabayev KAZ 2602, GM Baskaran Adhiban IND 2695, GM Wen Yang CHN 2604, GM Wang Hao CHN 2730,GM Rustam Khusnutdinov KAZ 2470, 4.5/7
18-26. GM Ni Hua CHN 2683, IM Xu Yi CHN 2536, IM Nodirbek Yakubboev UZB 2556, GM Abhijit Kunte IND 2469, IM Ricardo de Guzman PHI 2357, IM Nguyen Anh Khoi VIE 2480, IM Liu Yan CHN 2495, GM John Paul Gomez PHI 2450, GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami IRI 2537, 4.0/7
Total of 64 participants
Time Control: 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes for the rest of the game with 30 seconds added after every move starting move 1.
The 17th Asian Continental Chess Championships started Monday last week in the Tiara Oriental Hotel in Malugay Street, Makati City. This was sort of a rush affair – the hosting of the event was just awarded to the Philippines some time in late October and the organizers had to scramble to put it together, what with it being Christmas with most hotels and function rooms unavailable for a straight 2-week booking.
At the last minute everything fell into place and when Senator Manny Pacquiao came through with his sponsorship to top up the support of the Philippine Sports Commission the event was finally green-lit. I should commend GM Jayson Gonzales for the great job in getting this very prestigious event off the ground considering the very short notice.
This tournament is a World Cup Qualifier and the top 5 here will be seeded directly into that 2019 World Cup to be held in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, from Sept. 9-Oct. 2, 2019. As BW readers know the World Cup is a very cash-rich event — even the first round losers go home with $6,000 in their pocket to console themselves with. And this is on top of having the top 2 placers proceed to the Candidates tournament which will determine the challenger to Magnus Carlsen for the 2020 world championship match.
In view of the high returns involved the Chinese came to compete with a strong delegation headed by International Grandmasters Wang Hao (2730), Wei Yi (2728) Ni Hua (2683), the 2014 World Junior champion Lu Shanglei (2636) and several others. Even former World Women’s Champion GM Tan Zhongyi (2508) came. The very pretty Ms. Tan is not one of the favorites to finish among the top 5 but, having already achieved the highest title in women’s chess, she is now trying her hand at the men’s competitions, and she is no pushover in either category.
The top Vietnamese (GMs Le Quang Liem 2714 and Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son 2641) and Iranians (reigning World Junior Champion Parham Maghsoodloo 2688, GMs Alireza Firouzja 2607, M. Amin Tabatabaei 2587 and Ehsan Ghaem Maghami 2537) both came in force as well.
Unfortunately, the tournament schedule clashed with India’s national championship which, in addition to the prestige of the event, also featured good prizes (1st place is Rs 500,000, the equivalent of around P370,000) and one automatic slot to the World Cup. The Indian players were split on which competition to join but finally a very strong delegation came to the Philippines headed by GMs Vidit Santosh Gujrathi (2701), Baskaran Adhiban (2695), SP Sethuraman (2664) and Surya Shekhar Ganguly (2621), Abhimanyu Puranik (2544), Lalith Babu MR (2529), Shardul Gagare (2504) and Abhijit Kunte (2469).
Now, of course, highly-rated players like Vidit are used to having their hotel room and board underwritten by the tournament organizers, but this is an official FIDE competition in the world championship cycle and the rules stipulated that the organizers only give complimentary accommodation to one official representative of each country. Vidit, being a last-minute entry, was not the official representative of India. Perhaps that might have been what led to the brouhaha on the eve of the tournament.
Vidit took to the social media late on Sunday evening to vent out his frustration at the “exorbitant” rates being charged by the hotel. “Players are charged five times more and forced to stay in this place where basic necessities like cleanliness, proper food and water are not provided,” Vidit wrote in his post.
I quote from Chessbase India: Vidit continues, “After paying $150, there is no internet in the room. Food provided is awful. There is even no drinking water in the room(!!).” He continues “Me and my colleagues Abhijit Kunte and Lalith Babu went outside to buy water, but then the most unexpected incident happened. We were attacked by local goons who possessed weapons. We were cornered and then attacked. We tried to flee but we were chased and finally marginally escaped. We are still trying to recover from this horrible incident. The saddest part is that upon informing this to organizers they remained aloof and ignored the seriousness of the issue.”
“What kind of an event is this? Players are charged five times more and forced to stay in this place, where basic necessities like cleanliness, proper food and water are not provided. This is sheer exploitation of players. I am writing this post so that FIDE and the authorities will take the rightful action.”
Lalith Babu to the Times of India: “We had gone out to get SIM cards to contact our families when two miscreants cornered us. They seemed to be armed and we somehow freed ourselves from their clutches. We ran as fast as we could and just about managed to escape.”
Abhijit Kunte: “We had a visit by the commissioner and our statements were recorded. It’s somehow a distraction from the daily routine we follow in the tournaments. It’s very uneasy to be confined to the hotel room, but hopefully things will improve. Our focus has changed from preparation (for the tournament) to getting the basic amenities in place, and this incident (of attack) has affected a lot.”
This terrible occurrence was published in leading chess websites around the world including the no. 1 site “Chessbase.” The First Secretary of the Indian Embassy in Manila even reached out to the players to check what happened and what it can do to prevent any further incident. Chessbase India even complained to Emil Sutovsky of FIDE and he responded that “The event is under the auspices of Asian Continental Federation, however as it is a part of World Championship Cycle, FIDE will not stay aside. I already inquired the organizers, and I look forward to hearing their side of the story. However, no explanation for 300-400% surcharge is valid. And FIDE will look into the measures to remedy the situation ASAP — not limiting ourselves to just agreeing [that] it is not OK. But before making any strong statements, we will need to hear from the organizers.”
It would have been a truly shameful occurrence, that is, if it were true.
The Tiara Oriental Hotel where the players were billeted was within walking distance of a police station and the area is secure. In fact, the Precinct Head visited the organizers and players involved and invited them back to the station to review closed-circuit TV feed of the streets at the time of the incident.
It turned out that the three players went out and passed by a group of children (not armed goons) and two of the kids (who were half the size of the players) asked them if they could spare some change. The players ignored the beggars and went back to the hotel. Nobody was “cornered and attacked by armed goons.”
This was at the eve of the tournament and all the other concerns about basic necessities were addressed immediately by the organizers the very next day. Vidit did not need to go to social media for this — he merely had to voice his concerns to the organizers on their shortcomings and they would have fixed whatever was wrong. That’s part of who we are — that’s Filipino hospitality.
As to the over-charging of room rates, they were comparing the rate of a stripped-down room rate with no amenities at all with that of a single room with breakfast, lunch and dinner and function room. Most players took the option of a double room which is $85 per person. No chess organizer here in the Philippines would stoop to milking visitors from foreign shores by marking up hotel rates. Maybe this is done in other countries, but not in the Philippines.
Messrs. Vidit, Lalith, and Kunte, this is not a game. You have done much harm to the image of the Philippines, and all Filipino players are affected by this. Please keep in mind that you are here as representatives of India and as guests of the Philippines. I will say nothing more.
It is time to get to the chess.
If you look at the table above you will see that the top places are occupied by foreigners and the highest-ranked Filipino players are balikbayan IM Ricardo de Guzman and GM John Paul Gomez, both tied for 18th place. All of the locals are out of the running for any of the coveted top-5 places.
One bright spot is Paulo Bersamina’s beautiful takedown of 3rd seed Le Quang Liem.
Le Quang, Liem (2714) — Bersamina, Paulo (2444) [C50]
17th Asian Continental Chess Champions Makati City (1.3), 10.12.2018
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d3 Nf6 5.h3
Usually White plays here 5.c3 so that Black cannot push his d-pawn to d5: 5…d5 6.exd5 Nxd5 7.Qb3 Black may need to give up his f7 pawn. 5…h6
Bersamina opts not to continue 5…d5 though. 6.Nbd2 a6 7.c3 d6 8.Bb3 Be6 9.Bc2 Ba7 10.Nf1 d5 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Ng3 Qd7
It looks to me like White’s set-up is too slow and Black is at least equal. 13.0–0 0–0–0 14.Re1 Nf4 15.Bxf4 exf4 16.Nh5 Bxh3! 17.Nxf4 Bg4! 18.d4 Qd6 19.Nd3 f6 20.Re4 h5 21.Qe2 Bf5 22.Re3 Bg4 23.Re4 Bf5 24.Re3 Bg4 25.Qf1 Ne7 26.Nd2 c6 27.Nc4 Qc7³ 28.Nc5 Nd5! 29.Re4 Kb8 30.Rae1 Ka8 31.Ne3! Nf4 32.Qc4 Bb8 33.Nf1 h4 34.Re7? <D> POSITION AFTER 34.RE7
Correct is 34.Nxa6 Qd6 (34…bxa6 35.Rxf4! it is now White who is winning. Black cannot take the rook because of 35…Qxf4 36.Qxa6+ Ba7 37.Qxc6+ Kb8 38.Be4) 35.Qa4 It is still anybody’s game, but White thought that after the text move he is winning… 34…h3! 35.Rxc7
[35.g3 h2+ 36.Nxh2 Rxh2 37.Kxh2 Rh8+ 38.Kg1 Bf3 the end] 35…hxg2
Threatening Rh1 mate. 36.Nh2 Bf3! 37.a3 Nh3# 0–1
Beautiful!
We will continue our coverage of the Asian Continental Chess Championship on Thursday.
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 for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies. bobby@cpamd.net
