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Expats say there are 46 better countries to live in than US

How the mighty have fallen. And fallen again.
The appeal of the U.S. as a destination for expatriates slid for the fifth consecutive year, to No. 47 out of 68 countries, dragged down by a steadily deteriorating reputation for safety and a perceived lack of affordable health care. Just five years ago, the U.S. held the fifth slot in the annual Expat Insider survey by Munich-based InterNations, a network of 3.2 million expatriates. The annual survey of more than 18,000 expats representing 178 nationalities covers everything from the cost of education and child care to family life, career prospects and perceptions of safety and political stability.
Two-thirds of expats in the U.S. view job opportunities positively, but for the first time America placed among the 15 countries deemed the least safe and secure. Just 17% rated the personal safety of their children as “very good,” compared with a global average of 44%. Expats are “afraid of gun violence,” said Malte Zeeck, a founder and co-chief executive of InterNations. Bahrain tops the list for the second year in a row. The nation got high rankings for the ease of settling in, among other things. Taiwan gained two spots to move into second place, with strong marks for job prospects and quality of life. Ecuador, where a massive earthquake in 2016 likely affected expat rankings in 2017, leapt from No. 25 to No. 3, showing improvement in just about every category.
The United Kingdom also tumbled this year, falling from No. 21 to No. 59 on the list. Expats cited a high cost of living, with 47% considering that a potential negative before moving. (Thirty-eight percent of U.K. expats live in London, a notoriously expensive city.) And, yes, the weather got poor marks, with just 3% rating it as “very good,” which affected the country’s No. 64 ranking for personal happiness.
If a new measure for digital life had not been added to the survey’s quality of life questions, the U.S. and the U.K. would have fared even worse in the overall ranking. Expats in both countries said it was easy to get unfettered high-speed digital access at home and to pay without cash, earning the U.S. the 10-highest spot on this measure and the U.K. the No. 15 rank. High marks for digital life also helped lift Israel to No. 22 in the overall ranking, up from No. 44.
Hong Kong trailed Myanmar, Russia and China with its overall ranking of 56. That’s a big decline from its standing at No. 33 last year. The special administrative enclave of China was dragged down by poor scores for work-life balance and cost of living. The average full-time work week in Hong Kong was 46.8 hours, compared with a global average of 44 hours. There were some bright spots for the Asian tiger: Seventy-nine percent of expats were positive on Hong Kong’s economy, compared with 69% the prior year, and the country won the top ranking on transportation infrastructure.
There were 66.2 million expatriates worldwide in 2017, according to a July research report by market researcher Finaccord. The company forecasts that the expat population will climb to 87.5 million by 2021. — Bloomberg

Two more Fed hikes could trigger a US bear market, brokerage Stifel says

The Federal Reserve may trigger a U.S. equity bear market after two more interest-rate increases, according to the brokerage Stifel Nicolaus.
If expectations of two more Fed hikes in 2018 are correct, then an indicator based on the so-called neutral level for interest rates will cross a bear-market trigger point by the end of the year, strategist Barry Bannister wrote in a note to clients Wednesday. The gauge has signaled previous sell-offs in stocks in 2000 and 2007, he said.
“Although some say the neutral rate is difficult to observe, stocks see the barrier quite clearly,” Bannister wrote. “A ‘maximum tolerable peak’ for the fed funds above the neutral rate has been associated with bear markets since the late-90s global-debt boom.”
Bannister’s indicator combines an estimate of the neutral rate — in theory the interest rate that neither stimulates nor holds back the economy — with projections for the federal funds rate. The central bank’s long-term projection of its policy rate has risen from 2.8 percent at the end of 2017 to 2.9 percent in June. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg has the Fed Funds rate reaching 3 percent by the end of the second quarter of 2019.
According to Stifel, the Fed faces the dilemma of going above neutral in 2019 to forestall late-cycle inflation or remaining below it and fostering speculative bubbles in financial assets.
“Weighing stability versus mandate, we believe the Fed has no realistic option other than to follow its projected dot-plot path, eventually revealing the speculative excesses created in the past decade,” he said. — Bloomberg

Kim wants to denuclearize during Trump’s term, South Korea says

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signaled a willingness to revive stalled nuclear talks, with South Korean officials saying he wanted to “achieve denuclearization” during U.S. President Donald Trump’s first term.
Kim told visiting South Korean envoys Wednesday he was ready to accept “stronger measures” to restrict his nuclear program and wanted a declaration with the U.S. to formally end the Korean War, the officials said. A separate account by North Korean state media said Kim told the delegation that he wanted progress on denuclearization, without mentioning the U.S. or Trump.
“He wanted to end some 70 years of animosity between North Korea and the United States and achieve denuclearization within President Trump’s first term,” South Korean National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong, who led the one-day trip to Pyongyang, told reporters Thursday in Seoul. South Korean President Moon Jae-in also agreed to meet Kim in the North Korean capital on Sept. 18-20, the first such trip in 11 years.
Kim’s remarks about Trump’s term, if conveyed accurately, would represent his first commitment to something resembling a timetable for nuclear talks with the U.S. leader. But interpreting them required several caveats: Kim only said that he wanted to realize denuclearization before early 2021 — not commit to doing it — and he didn’t provide a clearer definition for the term, something that has emerged as a sticking point with the U.S.
Breakthrough Unlikely
Kim Jong Un’s statement was “meaningful” but unlikely to achieve a breakthrough if he doesn’t offer something more substantive in exchange for a peace declaration, according to Kim Byung-yeon, a professor of North Korean economics at Seoul National University. “The United States seems likely to move if North Korea gives something more concrete,” he said.
The South Koreans’ trip to Pyongyang came amid mounting disagreements over the speed and sequence of efforts to eliminate North Korea’s nuclear arsenal and finally end the 1950-53 Korean War. While Trump and Kim Jong Un pledged during their historic summit in June to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” they didn’t define what that meant or offer a timetable for carrying it out.
The phrase “complete denuclearization” — a term long preferred by North Korea — could be read to preclude nuclear-capable U.S. bombers and submarines from operating near South Korea. Signing a peace treaty without a disarmament deal also carries risks for the U.S., because it could legitimize Kim’s control over half of the peninsula and undermine the rationale for stationing 28,000 or so American troops on the peninsula.
Moon’s spokesman Kim Eui-keum said Trump had asked Moon during a phone conversation before the trip to serve as “chief negotiator” between the U.S. and North Korea. The U.S. president gave Moon’s envoys a message to deliver to Kim Jong Un, who gave the officials a statement to send to the White House.
Chung, the South Korean envoy, said Kim Jong Un stressed the need for a peace declaration, and said that such a step wouldn’t require the withdrawal of U.S. troops. He was expected to brief his American counterpart, National Security Adviser John Bolton, at 8 p.m. Seoul time, Moon’s office said.
Trump canceled a North Korea trip by Secretary of State Michael Pompeo last month, a day after it was announced, citing a lack of progress. Chung said there was no discussion with Kim about rescheduling that trip.
In addition to setting a date for their meeting in Pyongyang, Moon and Kim Jong Un also agreed to open a joint liaison office at the Gaeseong industrial complex north of the border before the summit, Chung said. The two leaders will discuss measures on denuclearization, establishing peace and detailed steps to ease military tensions, Chung said.
‘Cradle of Peace’
Earlier Thursday, North Korean media said that Kim Jong Un had called for further efforts to “realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” during meetings with the envoys. The report said it was the leader’s “will to completely remove the danger of armed conflict and horror of war from the Korean peninsula and turn it into the cradle of peace without nuclear weapons and free from nuclear threat.”
“The North and the South should further their efforts to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” it said.
The South Koreans said Kim Jong Un expressed frustration about skepticism over “the meaningful steps” he had taken to restrict his weapons program. The North Korean leader cited his dismantlement of a key nuclear test site and his suspension of missile tests.
Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea studies professor at Dongguk University, said that Kim Jong Un needed a peace declaration to justify further measures to military hawks at home. “North Korea needs the declaration of the end of the war to convince its own officials of denuclearization,” Koh said. — Bloomberg

Weekend double-header kicks off UAAP Season 81

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter
A NEW season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines unfurls this weekend with a double-header at the Mall of Asia Arena setting things off.
The University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons take on the University of the East Red Warriors at 2 p.m. on opening day on Saturday, Sept. 8, while season hosts National University Bulldogs clash with the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers.
The matches come after the opening ceremony at 12 noon which will be anchored on this year’s theme of “It all begins here.”
Finished fifth last season, the Maroons look to improve on it and barge into the Final Four of the tournament after some time with the help of transferee Bright Akhuetie, who is set to make his UAAP debut after completing his one-year residency.
A star with the Perpetual Help Altas in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Akhuetie is expected to provide inside muscle for UP and complement the play of the Maroons’ core, which includes graduating Paul Desiderio and Diego Dario, brothers Javi and Juan Gomez De Liano, Jun Manzo, and rookie Will Gozum.
“We have been in the cellar for how many decades and this season I believe is going to be a testament to the efforts that we have put into our program as far as our recruitment and preparation are concerned. And we will find a way to lift up the kind of program that we have and we are hoping that we will be able to compete with the best in the league and improve on our performance in the previous seasons,” said Bo Perasol, UP coach, at the press conference for Season 81 early this week.
UP has been absent in the Final Four for two decades now and last won the title in 1986.
Out to get their campaign to a good start as well are the Red Warriors, now coached by longtime Ateneo high school coach Joe Silva, who took over from Derrick Pumaren.
Wound up seventh in Season 80, UE will be led by veterans Alvin Pasaol and Philip Manalang in the tournament where they are bent on being “Warrior-like.”
“We prepared hard to have a good showing in UAAP 81. We’re just going to compete each time and give our best and show the Warrior qualities,” Mr. Silva said of his team.
STARTED EARLY
NU, meanwhile, prepared early for the tournament and it hopes that it would make a difference in its campaign.
“We started preparing very early after last season. We are young team but will be competing and give our all,” said Bulldogs coach Jamike Jarin.
The Bulldogs finished their campaign in sixth place with a 5-9 record. They return this season with a mix of young and veteran players which they hope could do the job as they try to make their way back to the top half of the heap.
UST, for its part, will be parading nine rookies and a new coach in Aldin Ayo, formerly of the De La Salle Green Archers.
The Tigers, however, are not letting their youth stand in the way and have vowed to give each team a run for its money every time it faces them.
“As a team we will have nine rookies, four holdovers and two returnees. Every game will just be there to compete. We are not making any promises. Our mantra under coach Aldin is no longer ‘mayhem’ but ‘Hail Mary’ with nine rookies, but we will compete,” said UST assistant coach Nap Garcia who represented Mr. Ayo in the press conference.
Completing the opening weekend for UAAP Season 81 are the games between Far Eastern University Tamaraws and La Salle at 12 noon on Sunday, Sept. 9, and Ateneo Blue Eagles versus Adamson Soaring Falcons at 4 p.m. Venue is also MOA Arena.
UAAP games are broadcast live over on S+A and S+A HD, and via livestream on sports.abs-cbn.com.

Nadal sets for Del Potro barrage; Djokovic eyes Nishikori revenge


NEW YORK — World number one and defending champion Rafael Nadal will put his weary body on the line against a merciless Juan Martin del Potro on Friday with a place in the US Open final at stake.
Nadal, the three-time champion, faces 2009 winner Del Potro and is two wins from clinching an 18th Grand Slam title.
That would be just two behind Roger Federer and with an 11-5 career head-to-head advantage over the giant Argentine, he would usually be a comfortable favorite.
But this has been an unpredictable US Open with Federer knocked out by Australian world number 55 John Millman in the fourth round and Nadal coming close to joining his greatest rival at the exit door.
Whoever gets through Friday will have yet another major challenge on their hands in Sunday’s final where either Novak Djokovic or Kei Nishikori will await.
The 32-year-old Nadal needed four hours and 49 minutes to get past Dominic Thiem 0-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/5) in an epic quarter-final which concluded at just after 2 a.m. on Wednesday.
Now, in his seventh semi-final at the US Open, Nadal is braced for another marathon with Del Potro, the third seed.
In July, Nadal came back from two sets to one down to beat Del Potro in the Wimbledon quarter-finals after four hours and 48 minutes.
A month earlier, Nadal had cruised past del Potro in straight sets in the semi-finals at Roland Garros on his way to an 11th title in Paris.
“It will be a very tough one. Juan Martin is a great player everywhere,” said Nadal who will be playing in a seventh semi-fnal in New York.
“But the challenge of playing him on hard of course is even higher for me personally than playing against him on clay.”
Nadal has been on court at this US Open just six minutes short of 16 hours.
He played back-to-back four-setters against Karen Khachanov and Nikoloz Basilashvili before recovering from breaks down in the third and fourth sets against Thiem.
11TH SEMIFINAL FOR DJOKOVIC
Del Potro has unleashed 66 aces and spent three and a half hours fewer on court than Nadal.
The 29-year-old is in his third semi-final at the US Open and sixth at the majors.
That figure would have been higher had he not missed 14 Grand Slams in his career due to a series of wrist surgeries.
“It could be another big battle just as at Wimbledon,” said Del Potro.
“I like to play always with the No. 1 of the world, doesn’t matter the tournament or the conditions or the weather.”
Meanwhile, two-time US Open champion Djokovic will be playing in his 11th consecutive semi-final in New York, just two months after defying the odds to lift a 13th major at Wimbledon.
The 31-year-old Serb holds a 14-2 advantage over Nishikori including wins at Wimbledon and Rome this year.
However, one of Nishikori’s wins came in the semi-finals in New York in 2014 when the Japanese star finished runner-up to Marin Cilic.
“When Kei is on, he’s a top-five, top-10 player,” said Djokovic.
“He has a great two-handed backhand, great footwork and is one of the quickest players on tour.”
Djokovic needed two four-setters in his opening rounds but cruised through in straight sets against Richard Gasquet and John Millman.
He dropped serve just twice in the last two outings.
Nishikori, part of a history-making double act with Naomi Osaka in New York as the first Japanese man and woman to make the semi-finals of the same Slam, missed the 2017 US Open with a wrist injury.
The legacy of that also sidelined him until February
“2014 will always be a good memory here. It was a tough battle and it will give me good confidence, even though I don’t remember a lot of it,” said the 28-year-old after getting revenge on Cilic in the quarter-finals. — AFP

San Beda shoots for 10th win in NCAA Season 94

DEFENDING champions San Beda Red Lions gun for their 10th win in Season 94 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association in their game today against the Mapua Cardinals at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Currently the holder of a 9-1 record, good for second place, the Lions are aiming for a double-digit number in wins in their 2 p.m. match with the Cardinals to help their push for a top two finish and position for another shot at the title.
San Beda is coming off a big 73-45 victory over the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers on Tuesday to set off its second-round campaign to a winning start and keep in step with league-leading Lyceum Pirates (10-0).
It was another all-around attack for the Boyet Fernandez-coached Lions that had them leading wire-to-wire.
Robert Bolick had a solid statline of 14 points, 12 rebounds and five assists to lead San Beda with Jeramer Cabanag and AC Soberano adding nine and eight points, respectively.
Mapua, meanwhile, begins its second-round campaign after finishing the opening round with a 2-7 record.
Warren Bonifacio is leading the team with 10.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists while Cedric Pelayo has been good for 10.2 points and Laurenz Victoria 10.1 points and 3.8 assists.
Other games today feature Lyceum against JRU (2-8) at 12 noon and Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals (2-7) versus the San Sebastian Stags (1-9) at 4 p.m. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Streaking Banario looks to sustain ascent in Shanghai

WINNER of his last five fights in ONE Championship, Filipino lightweight fighter Honorio “The Rock” Banario tries to extend his winning streak when he collides on Saturday with Singaporean Amir Khan in the co-main event for “ONE: Beyond the Horizon” in Shanghai, China.
Successfully turned things around for his career after a string of losses that spanned two years from 2013 to 2015 that pushed him on the brink of retirement, Mr. Banario of Team Lakay said he is determined to keep things on the upswing for him.
“Right now, I’m just motivated to keep on winning. Whether that means I’m on the road to another title shot or not,” said Mr. Banario, who was a one-time ONE featherweight champion.
“I just want to beat whoever they put in front of me. If that leads to the title, then I’m fine with it,” he added.
Mr. Banario (13-6) is coming off a split decision win over Adrian Pang in April here in Manila which further extended his winning streak.
He said that his match with Mr. Khan (10-3) presents a challenge to him but something that should do wonders for his career as lightweight if he gets to beat him.
“Amir [Khan] is a hungry, young lion and one of the top contenders at lightweight. He’s tall and long and uses his distance very well. It’s going to be a good challenge for me. If I can defeat him, I can gain more solid footing among the division’s best,” said Mr. Banario, 28.
“I know he is a great striker, but I am also. It’s going to be Muay Thai versus wushu when we meet at the center of the ring,” added the Filipino warrior.
ONE: Beyond the Horizon will be headlined by the women’s strawweight world championship fight between champion Xiong Jing Nan of China and challenger Samara Santos of Brazil.
Also competing at the event is Filipino featherweight Edward Kelly, who will take on Christian Lee of Singapore. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Mandaluyong El Tigre, San Juan Knights stamp class in MPBL Datu Cup

RAY PARKS and the rest of the Mandaluyong El Tigre continued to roar in the MPBL Datu Cup.
On Wednesday night, the second generation cager produced another productive performance in powering the Dataland-backed El Tigre to a 77-75 win over the Parañaque Patriots-F2 Logistics at the Filoil Flying V Arena.
Parks, son of the late seven-time PBA Best Import and league Hall of Famer Bobby Parks, knocked in 26 points, dished out six assists and pulled down five rebounds to power the El Tigre to their sixth straight win.
The El Tigre improved their win-loss record to 6-1 to forge a four-way tie with the Bataan Risers, Manila Stars and the San Juan Knights, who posted a convincing 80-59 win over the Zamboanga Valientes in the second game.
San Juan, backed by Go-For-Gold, bucked a slow start before pouring their might in the second half.
The Knights outscored the Family’s Brand Sardines-sponsored Valientes in the third period, 24-10, to turn things around. San Juan held Zamboanga without a field goal for nearly a seven-minute stretch in the third period then unloaded a blistering 17-0 run to turn a close game into a rout.
“I don’t know why we had a slow start,” ex-Ginebra stalwart John Wilson, who now plays for San Juan, told BusinessWorld. “But I was vocal to them at half time. I encouraged them to give everything they got because we have relievers on this team who can substitute them each time they need a breather.”
The loss was the fourth in eight games for the Valientes, who dropped their second consecutive match. The team drew inspiration from their visitors — PBA guards Mark Barroca of Magnolia Star Hotshots and Chico Lanete of the San Miguel Beermen, both of whom came from the province of Zamboanga.
But while these two players provided the inspiration for the Valientes, Wilson unleashed the devastation as he poured in 15 of his 23 points for the Knights, who got back on the win column after suffering their first loss in the tournament put up by Senator Manny Pacquiao with PBA legend and former MVP Kenneth Duremdes serving as commissioner. — Rey Joble

Filipino Olympian figure skater Michael Martinez pauses to take stock

Text and photo by Michael Angelo S. Murillo
SKATING for much of his young life, Filipino Olympian figure skater Michael Martinez has deemed it fit to take a break and try out other things beyond the sport.
In the country currently, the California-based Martinez said that he has hit the pause button on his skating career for now but was quick to say that he is not yet retiring from the sport.
The last time people saw Mr. Martinez, 21, in action was in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea in February where he failed to advance from the free skate round, finishing 28th overall from a field of 30, four rungs outside of the top 24 who advanced to the free skating program.
Despite failing to make the cut, Mr. Martinez said he was still proud of the showing he had considering the circumstances for him leading up to the 2018 Winter Olympics.
“The 2018 Olympics was difficult because I never expected to compete in it since I did not qualify. So I spent time attending to other things like finding a job to earn a living. So for five months I did not skate or trained then suddenly the federation and the Philippine Olympic Committee contacted me and told me that I will be competing in the Olympics after all. So with practically no idea how I would do it I packed my bags and got my skates and quit my job and went back to the ice and trained for two weeks for the Olympics,” said Mr. Martinez, who also competed in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia, in a media roundtable on Wednesday at the Olivia & Co. restaurant at Uptown Mall in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City.
“I think I did well considering the circumstances but nonetheless it was a difficult performance. Just the same I’m proud of what I was able to do,” he added.
After the Pyeongchang Games, Mr. Martinez said he has been on a break to take stock of things and rest his body following a rigid routine of training and competing for more than a decade.
“Following the Olympics, I came back here and then went back to the States. From then on I really took a break. I did not train, did not do much blogging and all those stuff. I have been skating almost nonstop since I was eight years old, 2005, training and competing. So I felt I needed a break,” Mr. Martinez said.
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
Back in the Philippines just this week, the Olympian is focusing on exploring the opportunities he has here, citing brand endorsing and modelling as some of the things he is open to doing.
“So right now my focus here in the Philippines is to explore other opportunities, maybe getting endorsements, being a social media influencer, perhaps,” he said.
He did not say for how long he would be on a break, mentioning that other top figure skaters had also at one point in their careers took a back step, but nonetheless expressed excitement over the country’s hosting of the Southeast Asian Games in 2019 and the possibility of competing in there.
Mr. Martinez competed in the 2017 SEA Games Malaysia and brought home a silver.
The Muntinlupa native Martinez went to encourage more people to pick up the sport of figure skating, believing it is something that Filipinos can excel in, notwithstanding that the Philippines is a tropical country.
“Filipinos are very artistic people and through figure skating they can express that,” he said.
But he said that if one goes into it, they must not do it half-hearted.
“Don’t treat figure skating as something that since other people are doing it, I have to do it. If you want to do this and see your future in this sport, you have to give your all. Do the needed sacrifices. But if you are not willing to do the sacrifices then do not do it because you will not grow in the sport,” Mr. Martinez said, adding that support for the sport from stakeholders and willing sponsors would go a long way in further cultivating figure skating in the country.
Mr. Martinez will be in the country until Oct. 17.

Kei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka first Japanese man and woman to reach semifinals at same Grand Slam

NEW YORK — Kei Nishikori and Naomi Osaka made history at the US Open on Wednesday when they became the first Japanese man and woman to reach the semi-finals at the same Grand Slam.
Nishikori reached the last four of the men’s singles with a 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-4 victory over Marin Cilic — the man who beat him in the 2014 final.
Earlier, Osaka defeated Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko 6-1, 6-1 in the semi-finals of the women’s singles.
Nishikori will be playing in his third US Open semi-final after similar runs in 2014 and 2016.
The 29-year-old has also reached the quarter-finals of the three other Slams including Wimbledon this year, the first Japanese man to do so in 23 years.
“It’s great to see,” said Nishikori who missed the 2017 US Open due to injury.
“Naomi’s doing well, because she has won a Masters (Indian Wells). I think she can win a title now. It’s a big chance for her,” Nishikori added.
The 20-year-old Osaka is the first Japanese woman to make the last-four of any Slam since Kimiko Date at Wimbledon in 1996 — a year before she was born.
Osaka had reached the Australian Open last-16 in January in her previous best run at the majors.
She had also captured the prestigious Indian Wells title in March and defeated Serena Williams in Miami.
“The quarters was sort of my mental goal, every time I played a Grand Slam,” said Osaka.
Before Nishikori, only Shuzo Matsuoka had made the last-eight in men’s singles in a major at Wimbledon in 1995.
Date also made the women’s last-eight the same year in Wimbledon and the semi-finals the following year.
Date was also a semi-finalist at Roland Garros in 1995.
Until Osaka’s run this year, the best New York performance by a Japanese woman was 2004 when Shinobu Asagoe reached the quarter-finals.
“Well, it definitely means a lot for me, and I always thought if I were to win a Grand Slam, the first one I’d want to win is the US Open, because I have grown up here,” said Osaka who was born in Japan but has lived most of her life in the United States.
“Then my grandparents can come and watch. I think it would be really cool.”
Next up for Nishikori is a clash against either two-time champion and former world number one Novak Djokovic or John Millman, the Australian who stunned Roger Federer in the fourth round.
Osaka faces either US 14th seed Madison Keys, the runner-up in 2017 or Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro. — AFP

Tyron Woodley vs Darren Till headlines UFC 228 on Sunday

ULTIMATE Fighting Championship welterweight champion Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley of the United States stakes his title against Darren ‘The Gorilla” Till of England at “UFC 228” on Sunday (Manila time) at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
His third defense of the title he won in 2016, Mr. Woodley (18-3-1) is out to keep his hold of the 155-lb division gold against Mr. Till (17-0-1), the number two contender in the weight class and undefeated in six UFC fights to date.
Mr. Woodley’s most recent successful title defense was over Brazilian Demian Maia by way of unanimous decision in July last year, where the former frustrated the latter by thwarting every takedown attempt he made on the way to victory.
British Till, meanwhile, was a unanimous decision winner over former number one contender Stephen Thompson in May this year in Liverpool.
Serving as co-main event for UFC 228 is the women’s flyweight title clash between champion Nicco Montano (5-2) of the United States and challenger Valentina “Bullet” Shevchenco (15-3) of Kyrgyzstan.
Other fights in the main card are featherweight Zabit Magomedsharipov against Brandon Davis, women’s strawweight Jessica Andrade versus Karolina Kowalkiewicz, and welterweight Abdul Razak Alhassan vs Nico Price.
In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost direct-to-home (DTH) company, carries UFC matches after they agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Furyk final pick

OVER the weekend, United States Ryder Cup Captain Jim Furyk remained coy regarding his first three selections for the 2018 matches. No doubt, he chose to keep his lips sealed in respect of the process, which required him to wait until the culmination of the Dell Technologies Championship prior to announcing his decision. And, in theory, the long-set schedule works; the very notion of giving him free rein to choose a third of his charges close to the event is predicated on tapping in-form players.
In truth, Furyk didn’t have to agonize at all. Heading into the FedEx Cup Playoffs, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, the two most accomplished names of the current generation, had already claimed spots on the strength of their resumes. And it certainly helped that they sizzled of late. Meanwhile, Bryson DeChambeau was always on the radar, but wound up being a no-brainer following victorious stints in his last two starts.
With the Ryder Cup just two weeks away, Furyk now turns his attention to his final at-large selection. Parenthetically, he will use results in BMW Championship to narrow his options — all the while taking into consideration pairings that would appear to click on paper. He has a deep field to choose from. Among the most notable are Tony Finau (who wound up second and fourth at the initial FedEx Cup stops) and Xander Schauffele (who posted bridesmaid finishes at the Players Championship and British Open).
Regardless of how Furyk goes, the US cannot but be considered favorites to carve their first Ryder Cup triumph in foreign soil since 1993. Then again, they’ve been the safe bet in practically every meet through the last two and a half decades, only to fall short of expectations. Which is to say he will want any advantage he can get, including getting the last man right. In short, he has his work cut out for him.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

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