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Oil tax hike suspension and newbie electricity companies

The government recently announced that it will suspend part 2 of the oil excise tax hike this coming January 2019. So another increase of P2/liter for both diesel and gasoline will be temporarily suspended but the tax hikes in 2018 of P2.50/liter for diesel and P2.65/liter for gasoline (from P4.35 to P7.00/liter) will remain.
The reason given is that both the Senate and the Department of Finance, as well as Malacañang, believe that Dubai crude prices will exceed the $80/barrel this October to December and might reach $100/barrel in 2019. So instead of waiting for January 2019, they already announced it ahead.
But the real reason not admitted by the government is that they are scared to lose votes in next year’s midterm elections because of spiraling inflation. Since they cannot have more tax money and more votes at the same time, they suspend oil tax hikes part 2. Then they can play the “we are sensitive to public sentiment against high inflation” card even if they remain insensitive to retain the oil tax hikes this year, the coal tax hike part 2 will still proceed.
Dutertenomics has been denying for many months now that the TRAIN oil tax hike is a big part of this high inflation problem. This new move is an indirect admission that they were less honest in their denial. And after the elections, Dutertenomics will impose part 2 because they will need more tax money.
Below are estimates of the impact of TRAIN oil and coal tax hikes. The first estimate on WESM prices are from Atty. Saturnino Juan, President of the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP), made during the Stratbase-ADRi forum on “Energy Outlook” last Sept. 27.
The second estimate is from Dr. Ramon L. Clarete in his paper, “Electricity prices and TRAIN” published by EPDP last February 2018.
The third estimates, on impact on fare hike petition by buses, are mine. The P0.70/km. and P0.55/km. fare hike petitions were made around July this year when domestic oil prices were only around P11-12/liter over December 2017 prices. So the oil tax hike constituted around one-fourth (1/4).
TRAIN Impact
Also recently in the energy sector, two newbie players sprouted out of nowhere and have become potential dominant players via legislation.
The first is the Solar Para sa Bayan Corp. (SPBC) of Mr. Leandro Leviste, son of Sen. Loren Legarda, seeking a franchise to construct, install, establish, operate and maintain distributable power and minigrid systems throughout the Philippines.
It is a no-or-little track-record corporation that wants to do anything they want — can connect anywhere, can build their own grid anywhere, can carve out to DUs franchise areas. And because they have a “super franchise” by legislation, they can possibly issue a sort of “mini-franchise” on other companies. Clear cronyism.
It will be another anti-EPIRA corporation that can undermine the ERC’s power to regulate the competitive operation of the electricity market.
The other newbie is the MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) seeking to take over the current franchise area of Panay Electric Company (PECO) serving the big Iloilo City and other parts of Iloilo province.
MORE Power was previously MORE Minerals Corp., a unit of Enrique Razon, Jr.’s Monte Oro Resources and Energy, Inc. (MORE). The Private Electric Power Operators Association (PEPOA) expressed dismay over this development.
The PECO franchise bill was filed in Congress in July 2017 and after two hearings in November that year, nothing followed. In contrast, the MORE Power franchise bill was filed only in August and a second hearing was already held a month after.
Business uncertainty is obviously created in Iloilo. Congress should be more transparent in its issuance of legislative franchises to minimize this uncertainty and dispel accusations of favoritism.
 
Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers
minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Going green

No, I am not from La Salle. Neither am I anti-Ateneo. But, I am pro-Green. And by Green, I mean the environment. I understand that going about change is difficult, so is moving out of comfort zones. In this sense, going Green or making our lives Green — or doing things in ways that do not further harm the environment — can take much time, effort, and resources.
But, the fact is, we can no longer expect governments to prioritize environmental protection. They never have, and perhaps they never will. There is always a more important concern that it perceives to require greater, and more urgent, priority than policies and programs that promote being Green. Even Education and Health do not get the priority they require.
But, the fact remains that no matter how well-educated, well-fed, and healthy and wealthy you are, if the Earth goes, then we all go. And money and power will not save us. If we lose arable land for farming, potable water, and forests and oceans to environmental degradation, then we will have nothing to live on except the mountains of plastic that we have created over the years.
Not all is lost, however. For we can instead make a personal commitment to go Green, in ways that we can, no matter how small. And if more and more people — and businesses — make the effort to clean up after themselves, then perhaps in the future the need for government imprimatur will become less important if not altogether unnecessary.
There are things we can do ourselves and for ourselves. For instance, WALK or BIKE, if you can. Walking or biking can be good for your health, we are all told. If you can do it to and from work, then better. But, otherwise, even just for short trips to the store, or for errands, or simply for exercise, depend less on vehicles and fossil fuel for your mobility.
I don’t like to walk, honestly. But I find it more difficult to bike. However, given today’s fuel prices, I have found myself walking more — by choice. Thanks to the city government, as well as private developers, many parts of the city I live in have become more walkable or pedestrian-friendly. And this has allowed me to walk more often and drive less. Small thing, but big win.
A prime example of a welcome development is the extension of the elevated walkway along Dela Rosa St., which now stretches from Makati Medical Center all the way to Greenbelt. And by going through places like Glorietta and Landmark, you can actually walk in the shade and protected from rain all the way from the EDSA-Ayala MRT station to the Makati Post Office near the corner of Ayala and Buendia (Gil Puyat).
going green
In fact, despite its obvious disadvantages to me and a lot of other people, I would still prefer for the city government to make more areas of Makati City CBD car-free and exclusive pedestrian zones on weekends. Easier said than done, I know. But, I am certain more families — including the elderly and persons with disabilities — will opt to walk around as long as they can be assured of safety and convenience.
In recent months, our household has also been generating significantly less garbage by making small adjustments to what we buy and how we buy things from stores. We try to avoid, if we can, sachets and small retail packs. We have also made a conscious effort to buy more items in glass rather than plastic bottles, or packed in boxes or cans rather than plastic bags or wraps.
More important, we now keep reusable bags in the car as well as reusable containers. That way, when we buy vegetables and meats, for example, we use our own reusable containers and decline the use of stores’ plastic bags. This has also made it easier for us to store food, with sealed containers of fresh items going into the freezer or refrigerator directly from the grocery.
We try to avoid plastic straws and plastic bags; we opt for wooden chopsticks rather than plastic cutlery for takeout food; we ask for ceramic mugs rather than disposable cups when drinking coffee in coffee shops; and, we bring our own refillable water container from the house rather than buy bottled water when outdoors.
My wife has also put together a worm bin. Yes, we keep worms in a bin in the back patio. Most biodegradable items such as fruit and vegetable peelings, and coffee grounds and egg shells — including unbleached brown wastepaper — end up in the bin to “feed” the worms. The worms help in composting these items and, in turn, produce fertilizer for her plants.
Keeping plants in pots, rather than a large planter, also helps save water. We are now also looking into growing some of our own vegetables in the back patio, in small plant boxes that will require less soil and water. In fact, new technologies for “growing light” also makes it now possible to grow some vegetables indoors, and we are looking into that.
And, in segregating garbage, we also set aside the recyclables like cans, aluminum cans, recyclable bleached waste paper and recyclable plastic items. The garbage collector takes them weekly, and presumably makes money off them. On occasion, we load the stuff into the car and bring them to a recycling collection fair periodically hosted by a banking group in Makati City.
Honestly, I am uncertain as to how much actual positive impact on the environment all these initiatives have made. But, for sure, our home now produces less garbage than it used to. And we have been consuming less plastic. Also, I have been walking a lot more, and I feel better for it. Additional adjustments have also allowed us to save a bit on fuel expenses.
I hope we can sustain the effort. The changes were not easy, but we are getting used to them. And, I hope that more people can also make the personal commitment to go Green, to make small changes in their own lives, in the way they do things, as their contribution to helping protect the environment, or at least mitigating its degradation.
 
Marvin Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippines Press Council
matort@yahoo.com

Future-proofing our jobs to meet the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The recently concluded Annual Public Policy Conference of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) aptly entitled “Harnessing the Fourth Industrial Revolution (FIRe): Creating Our Future Today” aims “to promote awareness and understanding of the FIRe and encourage everyone to be proactive in preparing for and adapting to the changes that come along with this industrial era.” According to the World Economic Forum, FIRe is building on the third industrial revolution, which focused on the digital revolution but this era is “characterized by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres.” Artificial intelligence and virtual reality are just some of the tools of this rapid technological change.
A lot of the advances that emanated from the third to the fourth industrial revolution points to the total automation of people’s lives, both personally and professionally. The growth of the internet, coupled with ever-stronger smartphones, has led to the proliferation of technologies that can easily replace people. For example, most people avoid lines in the bank by maximizing online transactions, which replaces tellers and reduces available jobs. It is no wonder that people, especially the young, are anxious about job security, tenure, and options.
This anxiety raises the question, “What should I learn today so that I’ll have a job in the future?,” which was posed in the Harvard Business Review Online article entitled “Seven Skills That Aren’t About to be Automated” by Adam Gustein and John Sviokla. This question is not only for jobseekers but also for senior high students choosing a college course. Important as well would be to know how current employees can avoid the chances of being relieved by newly minted robots.
In spite of the doom and gloom raised by the prospect of robots taking over the world, Gustein and Sviokla shared “seven skills that can not only make you unable to be automated, but will make you employable no matter what the future holds.” First would be communication skills that are “essential for getting people’s attention and moving them to action.” The authors said that “in effective communication, story and fact, rhetoric and science intertwine to enlist the emotions of others to take action on a topic or an initiative.” Computers and robots are not yet programmed for such, and do not have the necessarily soft skills and abilities to communicate compellingly.
The second skill that won’t be automated is “content,” which is a “combination of expertise and the ability to move new knowledge forward.” In this case, even if Google would most likely know all our expertise, it wouldn’t have the capacity to share these insights with stakeholders and make the world a better place.
The third skill is “context,” which cannot always be automated because of the environment one works in. Automated systems are said to be bad at recognizing context because they are modeled on old data, which may no longer be reliable. What is needed is the ability to develop one’s knowledge about contextual understanding (for example, the dynamics of two competing firms) to come up with decisions that are backed not only by previous data from the model but by various contexts as well.
This also relates to the fourth skill, which is about “emotional competence,” which “involves persuading individuals and groups by evoking emotion (while simultaneously recognizing that some team members don’t buy into what you’re saying).”
Teaching is the fifth skill that won’t be automated in spite of the presence of MOOCs and other learning management systems. Outside of the academe, the authors recommend that leaders work personally in identifying gaps in knowledge and skills and fill these up accordingly. Thus, leaders are teachers as well.
The sixth skill is “connections,” which cannot be entirely automated even if social media has made it easier to create and traverse personal networks because “humans manage the shape and tenor of those connections.”
The last skill is “an ethical compass,” which is not easily modeled into an algorithm and cannot be wholly automated. Thus, the “future workforce must possess strong moral values” to counter the absence of an ethical compass in the organization and to make them ready for the FIRe.
 
Brian C. Gozun is dean of the Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business and is 2018-2019 United Board Fellow. He encourages educational leaders to apply for this fellowship at unitedboard.org to change the world through whole person education.
brian.gozun@dlsu.edu.ph

Representing somebody else

By Tony Samson
THERE is a great imbalance between the available supply of celebrities and the high demand for their appearance (paid or unpaid). When the event for the star, rock or corporate, invited six months ago to be keynote speaker, ribbon cutter, master of ceremonies, or wedding sponsor finally comes around, he realizes it is too late to back out. He makes his excuse (I need to undergo minor surgery) and scrambles to offer a proxy as sacrificial lamb.
The designated substitute shows up on behalf of someone infinitely more stellar, maybe a boss he cannot turn down. Organizers of events cannot take offense at the absence of the invited guest (whose name is on the brochure) if he sent a representative in his stead. The welcome for the fake speaker is lukewarm — take any seat, Kuya.
The substitute is introduced as a “worthy representative.” (Is there ever an unworthy one?) When it’s time to deliver the speech, which he may actually have written, he prefaces it with an acceptable reason for the intended speaker’s absence. (He was struck down from his horse on his way to Damascus.) He assures the audience of the guest’s ardent desire to be here to deliver his speech in person. (He could not sleep all of last week looking forward to this event.) The substitute clears his throat and manfully accepts the lack of enthusiasm from the audience.
The proxy speaks confidently in the first person as the absent one. He skips the obligatory warm-up jokes at the start. (I see all of you expected to see someone important addressing you. I am less intimidating.) Those in the audience who feel duped are not in a forgiving mood. They all seem busy texting — I’m listening to a dope on the stage.
In ceremonial situations like standing as godparent at a wedding, the substitute approximates the donation expected of his principal when the plate is passed (He can reimburse later). He signs his own name “for” the one on the document, or if he dares, just signs over the name on the form.
The proxy feels uneasy with the switch. A big reception line expecting “the important one” to arrive is confronted with a grinning substitute. The disappointment is seldom masked. (Who are you?) As revenge, the organizers release a photo of the event to media, referring to the substitute anonymously as the representative of the big shot who was absent. (Don’t invite that welsher again.)
Is there an acceptable demeanor for the substitute?
Well, he needs to show up in the required attire, even if this is a pajama party. This allows him to blend in with the hosts and other guests, whom he may even know. In this situation, perfect strangers are preferred, especially those who do not realize how unimportant the substitute is. Still, the proxy must try to be unobtrusive and affect surprise at being served food. He must flee the scene as soon as his assigned task is done. No one will be asking after him.
A spokesman is another kind of proxy. The opinions he expresses are not his own. They reflect those of the chief he represents. It is possible that the views he publicly airs are at odds with the ones he privately holds. He may even be asked to comment on an issue he is not aware of and needs to check back on what company line has been adopted. (I don’t really know what that check-up was all about.) A wrong answer may replace the substitute with another one.
Why not simply skip an affair one cannot attend? Sending a proxy only seems to compound the offense. It is clear the event is not worth the invitee’s time. The substitute cannot be too thrilled anyway to end up as consolation prize, a gatecrasher who sits with somebody else’s name on his place card.
Sure, there are Hollywood stories of last-minute substitutes for movie roles who end up as bigger stars than the original choice. Then people forget who the original invitee was in the first place. But, that’s just in the movies.
In real life, the substitute is like generic medicine, cheaper and maybe equally effective. But who remembers the generic name?
 
A.R. Samson is chairman and CEO, TOUCH xda
ar.samson@yahoo.com

Alaska fans playoff push with win over Columbian

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE Alaska Aces padded their cause to finish in the top four of the elimination round of the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup following a 104-94 victory over the Columbian Dyip in league action on Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
Had their playoff charge halted in their last game, the Aces came back to their winning ways with steady domination of the Dyip to have their record improve to 6-2, very much in the mix for a top four finish and a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals of the season-ending PBA tournament.
Import Mike Harris set the pace for the Aces to begin the contest, pulling his team to a 15-7 lead in the first five minutes.
They would continue to build on it, stretching their advantage to 10 points, 28-18, with under three minutes left before settling for a 33-24 lead after the opening 12 minutes of the match.
Alaska kept Columbian at bay to begin the second quarter, going on a 7-2 run to extend its distance to 14 points, 40-26, with just a minute lapsing.
The Dyip though would show resolve to stay within striking distance, led by import Akeem Wright and guard Jerramy King.
They would come within eight points, 49-41, a little over two minutes to go in the first half.
By the halftime break, Alaska was able to take its lead back to double digits, 53-43.
Columbian came off the lull firing, scoring seven quick points care of Mr. Wright and Jackson Corpuz to narrow the gap, 53-50, at the 10:47 mark.
Alaska, however, would recover fast, answering with a 19-7 blast in the next five minutes to build a 72-57 cushion.
It took it even further to a 20-point advantage, 84-64, with 1:47 left in the quarter.
The count stood at 85-72, and Alaska on top, three-fourths into the contest.
Chris Banchero jump-started things for the Aces in the final frame as the team went on to build a 92-77 lead at the 8:05 mark of the canto.
Columbian though would not go away without a fight, charging back to within seven points, 95-88, with four minutes left in the ball game.
Six straight baskets by Alaska as the clock hit the final two minutes of the game made it an 11-point lead, 101-88, for the team and it was never threatened after on its way to seizing the win.
Mr. Harris showed the way for Alaska with 44 points and 27 rebounds while Vic Manuel had 16 points.
Mr. Banchero had a double-double of 10 points and 11 assists.
Mr. Wright had a near triple-double of 19 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists for Columbian, which fell to 0-9 in the tournament after the loss.
Mr. Jackson also had 19 points.

La Salle beats UE, 79-59, shares 3rd place with FEU

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE De La Salle Green Archers are once again shooting in Season 81 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, winning their second straight game with a 79-59 pounding of the University of the East Red Warriors in the opener on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Finished their first-round assignment with a victory last time around, the Archers opened the second half of the season with a masterclass to beat the Warriors and improve to 5-3 while taking a share of third place, as of this writing, with the idle Far Eastern University Tamaraws.
La Salle held sway at the onset, streaking to a 13-6 lead over UE midway into the opening quarter.
It would then maintain control despite the fight back of the Warriors to hold a 21-16 advantage after the first period.
In the second quarter, the Archers sustained their solid play behind Andrei Caracut, Santi Santillan, and Justine Baltazar.
They held a 40-26 separation with 4:09 to go in the half.
Alvin Pasaol and Chris Conner tried to rally the Warriors back but they could not overhaul La Salle’s lead, which stood at 11 points, 47-36, by the halftime break.
The duo of Pasaol and Conner got things started for UE in the third period, helping their team to a 10-2 blast to pull the Warriors to within three points, 49-46, at the 5:46 mark.
That was the closest they would get though as Encho Serrano and the Archers responded with an 11-0 blast in the next four minutes.
La Salle eventually settled with a 66-49 lead at the end of three quarters.
Had firm control of the match to begin the payoff quarter, the Archers went for the early finish.
They stretched their lead to 21 points, 73-52, with 5:41 remaining in the contest.
From there La Salle just coasted along to book the victory.
Serrano top-scored for La Salle with 18 points, followed by Caracut with 16 and Santillan and Baltazar with 13 and 12, respectively.
Pasaol, meanwhile, led UE (1-7) with 22 points and 17 rebounds while Conner finished with 12 points.
“Heading into the game I told the players that with the way the teams are stacked up in the standings every game counts; that we have to be ready each time. This was a big win for us,” said La Salle coach Louie Gonzalez after their win.
The Archers return to action on Saturday, Oct. 20, against the Adamson Falcons while the Warriors collide with University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons on Sunday, Oct. 21.
SUSPENSIONS
Meanwhile, the UAAP slapped game suspensions on FEU’s Arvin Tolentino, Ateneo’s Thirdy Ravena, and UP’s Javi Gomez de Liano for recent unsportsmanlike actions.
Tolentino was handed out a two-game ban after incurring his second disqualifying foul, the last one against University of Santo Tomas’ Zachy Huang on Sunday, Oct. 14.
Ravena and Gomez de Liano received one-game suspensions each.
Ateneo’s Ravena was seen throwing a closed fist on UP’s Paul Desiderio also on Sunday while Gomez de Liano merited his after getting two technical fouls against the Eagles that led to his ejection.

San Beda Red Lions seeking payback on Lyceum Pirates

NATIONAL Collegiate Athletic Association Season 94 leaders San Beda Red Lions and Lyceum Pirates reengage today with the former seeking some payback after falling in their first encounter in the tournament.
Set for 4 p.m. at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan, the league-leading and defending champions Lions (15-1) are out to level their tournament series with the Pirates (15-2) and make up for their 73-66 loss in the first round of the eliminations back in August.
In said game, San Beda was in the contest until a late charge by Lyceum gave the Pirates the leverage to go on and take the game.
Four Lions scored in double digits, led by Donald Tankoua with 19 points, but it was not enough to get the better of Lyceum, which with the win kept its unblemished record intact at that time.
San Beda is coming off a drubbing of the Arellano Chiefs, 90-52, on Oct. 11, led by Javee Mocon who had 24 points and 11 rebounds.
Mocon said they hope to use the victory as a springboard to turn the tables on the Pirates in their second meeting.
“Hopefully we can use this win as a springboard heading into our game against Lyceum, especially for our bench. We need them in that game. We want to exact payback on Pirates,” said Mocon heading into today’s game.
The Lyceum pirates, meanwhile, won in its last game against the College of St. Benilde Blazers, 77-64.
Reigning league most valuable player CJ Perez paced the Pirates against the Blazers on Oct. 11 with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals.
Like San Beda, Lyceum said it is looking forward to round two of the Lions-Pirates series even as it said it is expecting nothing less of a tough battle anew.
“We really look up to them (San Beda) as role models and how a team should be run. We have so much respect for San Beda and we know how hard it is to beat them, they will always bring the best out of our team,” said Lyceum coach Topex Robinson following their win over St. Benilde.
Incidentally, the game could well decide who gets to take the top spot heading into the Final Four, which begins next week. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Red Sox shut down Astros for 2-1 ALCS lead

HOUSTON — At some point, the incendiary chatter will dissipate and most everything uttered outside of the white lines will fade into the ether. But on Tuesday, what didn’t go unnoticed was who delivered for the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS).
Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi stifled the Houston Astros for six innings, setting the table for late-game, series-altering home runs from Steve Pearce and Jackie Bradley Jr. in an 8-2 Boston victory.
Bradley’s eighth-inning grand slam capped the scoring, giving the Red Sox a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Eovaldi served as the target for an off-day social media post curated by Astros third baseman Alex Bregman, with Pearce issuing the strongest rebuke from the Boston clubhouse on Monday.
Eovaldi had surrendered back-to-back-to-back home runs against the Astros while pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays on June 20, a moment Bregman highlighted with a since-deleted Instagram video.
In his first appearance in Houston since, Eovaldi (1-0) allowed two runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Both run-scoring hits, from Marwin Gonzalez in the first inning and Bregman in the fifth, came with two outs, but the Astros were otherwise silenced in clutch situations, going 1-for-8 overall with runners in scoring position.
Eovaldi met the challenge headlong.
“Nate was outstanding,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Stuff-wise, he’s one of the best left in October. His fastball, his cutter, he didn’t throw too many breaking balls. He did to Marwin, but overall a great outing.
“He didn’t get caught up in the moment either. For him, I know it was a special one. He’s from the area, and I bet there’s a lot of people, family members in the stands. And for him to be able to slow down the game in the second inning; the game was going very fast to us in the first. And all of a sudden in the second inning he slowed it down, and he did an outstanding job.”
Pearce, who played 21 games for the Astros in 2012, was robbed of a two-RBI hit to close the third when Astros left fielder Tony Kemp produced a marvelous leaping catch at the wall. The grab came in support of left-hander Dallas Keuchel, who limited the Red Sox to two runs over five innings.
In the sixth, Pearce exacted a measure of revenge, snapping a 2-2 tie with a 456-foot blast to left field off Astros right-hander Joe Smith (0-1). After declaring, “We’ll see who is talking at the end of the series,” in response to Bregman, Pearce pivoted and praised Eovaldi afterward.
“You can tell when he’s on early,” Pearce said of Eovaldi, who joined Boston one month after Pearce arrived in late June. “And even throwing strikes and he throws 97-plus on every pitch and it’s cutting, and he’s keeping hitters off balance and he’s very enjoyable playing behind.”
Bradley unleashed the knockout blow for a second consecutive game. It was Bradley who produced a bases-clearing double off Astros right-hander Gerrit Cole that secured the lead for good in Game 2. When he strolled to the plate with the bases loaded and the Red Sox leading 4-2 with two outs in the eighth inning Tuesday, Bradley pounced on fading Astros closer Roberto Osuna.
Osuna, making his first appearance of the series and pitching for the first time since Oct. 6, failed repeatedly to execute with two outs. With one on and two outs, he allowed a single to Rafael Devers on an 0-2 count before plunking consecutive batters, pinch hitters Brock Holt and Mitch Moreland, with two-strike pitches.
Moreland earned an RBI for his trouble before Bradley launched a 1-1 fastball into the right field seats. Bradley was 1-for-17 with the bases loaded during the regular season.
“It looked like a couple of weird things,” Astros manager A. J. Hinch said of Osuna. “The infield hit to (Xander) Bogaerts. He had a fielder’s choice, a great play by Bregman — his defense is pretty good. And then the hit by pitches. Barely touches Holt. … And then gets the two-strike count to Moreland and hits him going up and in.
“That sets up the Bradley at-bat, no margin for error. Big swing. So, it was really a matter of he didn’t finish at-bats as well as he normally does, whether it’s going to different pitches or executing the pitch. Execution was a little bit of a problem at the end of at-bats. And he lost a lot of those at-bats at a huge time of the game.”
Four Boston relievers blanked the Astros while allowing just one hit total over the final three innings.
The Astros, riding high after a late-inning rally in Game 1, suddenly find themselves on the other end of a spectrum where a series of near misses worked in favor of their opponent.
“It’s a gamble here, it’s a dogfight,” Keuchel said. “Unfortunately we were on the losing end.” — Reuters

Celtics cruise past Sixers in opener as injured Hayward, Irving return

BOSTON — Jayson Tatum contributed 23 points and nine rebounds to lead the host Boston Celtics to a 105-87 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night in the season opener for both teams.
Marcus Morris had 16 points and 10 rebounds as Boston defeated the 76ers for the 15th time in the past 17 regular-season meetings. The Celtics also ousted Philadelphia in a five-game, second-round playoff series last spring.
Jaylen Brown scored 12 points, and Terry Rozier added 11 points and eight rebounds for Boston. Gordon Hayward had 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting and notched four steals in 25 minutes in his first regular-season game since badly breaking his left ankle in last season’s opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“It was so good to be out there, such a blessing that I was able to play basketball again,” Hayward said in a postgame interview with TNT.
Kyrie Irving, who missed the 2018 postseason with a knee injury, had just seven points on two-of-14 shooting. Al Horford blocked five shots for the Celtics, who shot 43.3% from the field and were 11 of 37 from 3-point range.
Joel Embiid had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Philadelphia. Ben Simmons recorded 19 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists and four steals, and JJ Redick scored 16 points off the bench.
The 76ers shot 39.% from the field, including five of 26 from behind the arc.
The Celtics led by five at halftime and pushed the margin to eight when Irving hit two free throws for his first points of the game with 10:46 left in the third quarter.
Irving drained a 3-pointer to make it 59-47 with 9:03 left, the basket representing his first in 10 shots. Tatum followed with a dunk to make it a 14-point margin with 8:14 left.
The 76ers answered with 10 straight to get back into the contest, but Boston pulled away later in the stanza. Morris hit two baskets in the final 45.6 seconds to give the Celtics a 77-66 advantage entering the final quarter.
Brown scored five straight points early in the fourth to give Boston an 82-67 lead.
Irving’s hoop gave the Celtics an 87-70 lead with 9:02 to play. Philadelphia moved within single digits at 94-85 on two free throws by Embiid with 4:28 remaining, but a basket by Tatum and a 3-pointer by Rozier elevated Boston’s lead to 14 with 2:57 left.
Hayward drained a 3-pointer to make it 103-87 with 1:39 remaining as the Celtics closed it out.
Tatum scored 13 first-half points as Boston held a 47-42 lead at the break.
Irving missed all eight of his first-half field-goal attempts. — Reuters

Kramnik story

43rd Chess Olympiad (Open Division)
Batumi, Georgia
Sept. 23 — Oct. 6, 2018

Final Standings (Open)
Country Points TB1 TB2
1. China 18/22 372.5 28.5
2. USA 18/22 360.5 29.0
3. Russia 18/22 354.5 29.0
4. Poland 17/22 390.0 28.0
5. England 17/22 340.0 27.5
Total of 185 teams from 183 countries. Georgia as the host country was allowed to field three teams.
Time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 30 minutes play-to-finish, with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1.
For those BW readers who were able to witness the 1992 Manila Olympiad, I am sure you will recall that Vladimir Kramnik was the big story. He was plucked out of obscurity, a mere FIDE Master, to join Garry Kasparov, Alexander Khalifman, Sergei Dolmatov, Alexei Dreev and Alexei Vyzmanavin to represent Russia in the first post-USSR Olympiad.
Nobody had heard of Kramnik then but the story is that Garry Kasparov had vouched for him and in fact insisted that he be put on the team. Kramnik’s result completely vindicated Kasparov — he scored an incredible 8.5/9 which included wins over GMs Van Wely, Zigurds Lanka, Yasser Seirawan, Gia Georgadze, Emir Dizdarevic and John Nunn for a tournament performance rating of 2958, which was the highest in the Olympiad, even ahead of Garry Kasparov who had a performance rating of “only” 2908.
Manila 1992 was Kramnik’s launching pad to chess fame and his chess dream was finally culminated when he crowned himself chess king by winning the 2000 Braingames World Championship in London against no less than former his mentor Garry Kasparov 8.5-6.5. That was 18 years ago. Kramnik lost the title of Vishy Anand in 2007, challenged Anand at the World Chess Championship 2008 to regain his title, but lost.
Nevertheless, he remains a powerful contender for the title. Some quarters have noticed that Kramnik’s style has evolved — perhaps realizing that his stamina is no longer as stable as it used to be he no longer relies so much (some might say too much) on his technique. Lately in many cases he is already forcing decisions in the middlegame with its attendant risk. He no longer looks as unbeatable as before, some might say, but I have to point out that his well-known powers of study and analysis are obviously still there and his creativity just as original as before.
It will be many years before Kramnik will need to retire.
Here in Batumi Big Vlad did not start out well and lost inexplicably in the 4th round to one of Poland’s wonderboys Jacek Tomczak. It was a completely unnecessary loss.

Tomczak, Jacek (2614) — Kramnik, Vladimir (2779) [C45]
43rd Olympiad 2018 Batumi GEO (4.3), 27.09.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nxc6 bxc6 6.e5 Qe7 7.Qe2 Nd5 8.h4 Qe6 9.g3 Nb4!?
Tomczak tried to surprise Kramnik with the latest trend in the Scotch Game (8.h4) but Big Vlad was ready with this new move, which is strong. The Polish GM thought long and hard but his position slowly deteriorates.
10.c4 Ba6 11.Bf4 d5! 12.a3
Not 12.exd6? Nd3+
12…Bxc4 13.Qd1 Bxf1?!
Not the strongest. 13…Qf5 threatening 14…Qe4+ is hard to meet for White.
14.Kxf1 Na6 15.Nc3 Nc5! 16.b4 d4! 17.bxc5 dxc3 18.Qd4 Rd8?!
The “Kramnik” move here is 18…Qd5! forcing the exchange of queens with a very superior position in the endgame. Instead, he goes for a middlegame crush.
19.Qxc3 Qd5 20.Kg1 Bxc5 21.Rc1 Bb6 22.h5 0–0 23.h6 Rfe8 24.hxg7 Re6 25.Bg5 Qa2!
Preventing White from attacking h7 with Qc2.
26.Rh2 Rd5?
[26…Rd4 followed by 27…Rg6 is correct. Now White turns the tables]
27.Qb4!
Completely overlooked by Black. The threat is Qf8 mate.
27…c5
[27…Kxg7 28.Qh4 is the same as in the game]
28.Qh4 h6 29.Bxh6 Qb3 30.Bd2 Kxg7 31.Qh8+ Kg6 32.Qh7# 1–0
This game, together with a Jakovenko loss to GM Kamil Dragun, meant that the Russians lose to Poland 1.5-2.5 in round 4. Their woes were to continue – inround 6 there was a 2-2 draw with India which was not too bad but then came another draw, this time against Serbia, and it looked like their medal hopes had evaporated. Remember that in 2016 Baku Olympiad both the USA and Ukraine teams finished with 20/22 – they each only gave up two points. Now it is round 7 and already the Russians had give up four points. So everyone stopped keeping an eye on Russia and instead concentrated on the record-breaking performances of Azerbaijan, Poland and USA.
Now that they were no longer in the spotlight Russia came back with victories against Belarus (3-1), Italy (3-1), England (2.5-1.5) and France (2.5-1.5) and they actually tied for 1st at the end and were relegated to bronze only through having poor tiebreaks.
And Kramnik had a big part of that fight back as his chess really sparkled. I am going to show you now his best game from Batumi but first some background information.

Carlsen, Magnus (2851) — Kramnik, Vladimir (2801) [D35]
Norway Chess 4th Stavanger (7), 27.04.2016

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Qf3 Bg6 8.Bxf6 Qxf6 9.Qxf6 gxf6 10.Nf3 Nd7 11.Nh4 Be7
Preparing to meet f2–f4 with …f7–f5. GM Viacheslav Ikonnikov wrote in Yearbook 120 that this position is called “Short’s endgame” as he was the one who made the greatest contributions to the development of the line. According to the author “White’s main task is to take control of the weak square f5 and try to exchange Black’s light-squared bishop (which is holding the broker pawn structure together) — but not on g6. The ideal situation would be an endgame with the white knight on f5 against Black’s dark-squared bishop.
12.Ne2!?
A new move at that time. Previously White usually continues 12.g3 Nb6 followed by 0–0–0 and Bd3. The text move is a discovery of Magnus’ second GM Jon Ludvig Hammer. White gives up castling in order to bring additional pressure to bear on f5.
12…Nb6 13.Ng3 Bb4+ 14.Kd1 Na4 15.Ngf5! Kd7 16.Rb1 Ke6?! 17.Bd3 Rhc8 18.Ke2 Bf8 19.g4 c5 20.Ng2!
Very strong, bringing his knight to f4 and also preparing h2–h4.
20…cxd4 21.exd4 Bd6 22.h4 h5 23.Ng7+ Ke7 24.gxh5 Bxd3+ 25.Kxd3 Kd7 26.Ne3 Nb6 27.Ng4 Rh8 28.Rhe1 Be7 29.Nf5 Bd8 30.h6 Rc8 31.b3 Rc6 32.Nge3 Bc7 33.Rbc1 Rxc1 34.Rxc1 Bf4 35.Rc5 Ke6 36.Ng7+ Kd6 37.Ng4 Nd7 38.Rc2 f5 39.Nxf5+ Ke6 40.Ng7+ Kd6 41.Re2 Kc6 42.Re8 Rxe8 43.Nxe8 Nf8 44.Ne5+ Bxe5 45.dxe5 Kd7 46.Nf6+ Ke6 47.h5 Kxe5 48.Nd7+ Nxd7 49.h7 Nc5+ 50.Ke2 1–0
This game was adjudged “Novelty of the Year 2016” by the readers of “New in Chess Yearbook.” You can see the candidates for that award in NIC Yearbook No. 122.
Kramnik must have studied this novelty and liked it, for he started playing 12. Ne2 as White himself. In round 8 of the Batumi Olympiad he got to use it against GM Aleksej Aleksandrov of Belarus, and the incredible concept he came up with won the Brilliancy Prize of the Round. It would perhaps have won the overall brilliancy prize, but there was another game played which had an even more beautiful finish. I will show it to you next Tuesday.

Kramnik, Vladimir (2779) — Aleksandrov, Aleksej (2602) [D35]
43rd Olympiad 2018 Batumi GEO (8.3), 02.10.2018

1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 d5 3.d4 Nf6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 c6 6.e3 Bf5 7.Qf3 Bg6 8.Bxf6 Qxf6 9.Qxf6 gxf6 10.Nf3 Nd7 11.Nh4 Be7 12.Ne2
The same position as previous.
12…f5!?
Intending to get rid of the h4–knight immediately so there is no more of this f5–outpost nonsense.
13.g3
[13.Nf3 to save the knight is possible, but why should he? Black is giving up his powerful dark-squared bishop for it.]
13…Bxh4 14.gxh4 Nf6 15.Rg1
Kramnik had previously reached this position against Nisipeanu and he tried 15.f3 Ke7 16.Rg1 Nh5 17.Kf2 Rae8 18.b4 f4! (seems like Black has already equalized here) 19.Nxf4 Nxf4 20.exf4 Kf6 21.a4 Bf5 22.Ra2 Re7 23.Re2 Rxe2+ 24.Bxe2 a6 25.Ke3 h6 26.Kd2 Ra8! (anticipating the opening of the a-file) 27.a5 White has no way to break through. Kramnik,V (2792)-Nisipeanu,L (2672) Dortmund 2018 1/2 46.
15…Ke7 16.Bh3 Rae8 17.Nf4 Kd6 18.Kd2 Re7 19.a4 a5 20.Ra3 Rhe8 21.Rb3 Kc7 22.Rc1 Kd6 23.Bg2 Nh5 <D>
POSITION AFTER 23…NG5
And now for the prize-winning conclusion.
24.Nxd5!! cxd5 25.Rb6+ Kd7 26.Bf1!
The hard-to-see point of the sacrifice.
26…Kd8 27.Bb5
Suddenly everything makes sense. The rook on e8 cannot move because of White’s threat of Rd6+
27…Re4 28.Rxb7 Nf6 29.b4 f4 30.bxa5 fxe3+ 31.fxe3 Rxh4 32.Bxe8 Rxh2+ 33.Kc3 Ne4+ 34.Kb3 Nd2+ 35.Kb4 Nc4 36.Bb5 Rb2+ 37.Kc5 Nxa5 38.Rd7+ Kc8 39.Kxd5+ Kb8 40.Rd8+ Kb7 41.Kd6 Kb6 42.Ra8 1–0
 
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

Hayward, Irving winning return

As expected, Celtics fans rained the most cheers on returning forward Gordon Hayward yesterday. Acknowledging the long and often painful rehabilitation process that the 2010 ninth overall pick underwent following a freak accident on Opening Night last year, the 18,624 who filled the TD Garden to capacity made their appreciation for him known from the get-go; they gave him a standing ovation during pregame introductions and applauded him heartily every time he touched the ball.
No doubt, Hayward was elated with the reception, and, more importantly, with the fact that he survived the game without any untoward incident. Never mind that he played poorly by his All-Star standards; he definitely felt jitters, missing his first four shots en route to a four-of-12 clip for 10 points. As far as he and all the other Celtics were concerned, he made significant headway in the 25 minutes he burned rubber; he stayed active and exhibited no fear of contact throughout, in the process also coming up with five boards, four swipes, and a third-best plus-10 line.
To be sure, Hayward wasn’t the only misfiring Celtic yesterday. Of the starters who took more than 10 field goal attempts, only sophomore Jayson Tatum managed to sink at least half. Fellow live-action returnee Kyrie Irving was particularly inaccurate, missing nine straight from tipoff, failing to score until the second half, and finishing with a mere seven markers. All the same, they wound up pleased with the outcome, a blowout victory over the rival Sixers.
If there’s any silver lining, it’s that the Celtics still managed to stamp their class despite their evident lack of sharpness. Tapped to run the table in the East, they showed that their status as preemptive favorites stems from their capacity to excel on defense regardless of circumstance. True, they scored 105, anyway. More telling, however, was their masterful shutdown of the Sixers, who could do no better than post 87 on 39.1% shooting. No wonder Hayward was smiling at the buzzer. He knew he had already done better than last year, with the best yet to come.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

Stocks extend climb on Wall St., bargain hunting

LOCAL SHARES continued their recovery on Wednesday, tracking the upswing seen in international markets, complemented by bargain hunting of oversold stocks.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) jumped 1.61% or 112.66 points to 7,099.68 yesterday, propelling the main index back to the 7,000 level. The broader all-shares index likewise climbed 1.22% or 52.57 points to 4,342.28.
“I think the index was also tracking the global stocks performance driven by optimism of strong corporate earnings,” IB Gimenez Securities, Inc. Research Head Joylin F. Telagen said in a text message.
Wall Street indices soared overnight, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 2.17% or 547.87 points to 25,798.42. The S&P 500 index edged higher by 2.15% or 59.13 points to 2,809.92, while the Nasdaq Composite index rallied 2.89% or 214.75 points to 7,645.49.
Analysts attributed the rise of global stocks from the solid earnings reports of companies like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, as well as an uptick in tech shares.
Most Asian indices also went up, lifted by Wall Street’s strong performance.
“Aside from that, some investors bought back selected oversold stocks ahead of the third- quarter earnings results,” IB Gimenez Securities’ Ms. Telagen added.
Eagle Equities, Inc. President Joseph Y. Roxas noted the same, saying in a separate text that investors felt “maybe the worst is over for inflation that the selling has been overdone.”
The main index closed to as low as 6,884.38 in the previous week, as investors turned a cautious eye on the slower-than-expected growth of the Philippine economy, in addition to rising tensions in the trade war between the United States and China.
Overall sentiment was also down due to tensions between the US and Saudi Arabia amid the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which some analysts anticipated could affect oil prices.
At home, all sectoral indices climbed back to positive territory. Mining and oil soared 2.74% or 243.56 points to 9,131.61, followed by financials which surged 2.72% or 42.51 points to 1,601.21. Industrials gained 2.69% or 284.42 points to 10,831.73; property firmed up 1.39% or 48.95 points to 3,547.86; holding firms rose 0.86% or 58.23 points to 6,800.57; and services went up 0.46% or 6.85 points to 1,484.56.
Some 527.59 million issues valued at P5.74 billion switched hands, rising from Tuesday’s P4.75-billion turnover.
Advancers were more than double the decliners, 129 to 57, while 46 names closed unchanged.
Net foreign outflows also more than doubled on Wednesday, swelling to P633.66 million from the P223.54 million posted in the previous session.
Papa Securities Corp. trader Gabriel Jose F. Perez placed the PSEi’s initial resistance from 7,130 to 7,140. — Arra B. Francia

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