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Lady Eagles soar to fifth straight victory

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE hot winning streak of the Ateneo Lady Eagles in Season 80 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) continued yesterday after they soared to their fifth straight win with a hard-earned five-set victory over the University of Santo (UST) Tomas Golden Tigresses.
Struggled to take full flight early in the match, the Lady Eagles relied on a strong finishing kick to survive UST in their battle of on-a-roll teams, 25-22, 20-25, 16-25, 25-17 and 15-9.
The two teams did not waste much time getting it on to start the contest.
UST took control early with Sisi Rondina leading the charge as they held an 8-6 advantage by the first technical timeout.
Ateneo though would eventually get its groove, overtaking UST midway into the frame to seize a 16-14 lead at the second technical break.
The Lady Eagles stretched their cushion to 20-16 and angled to pull away before the Tigresses made a 4-1 run after to come within a point, 21-20.
The Katipunan-based spikers sued for time thereafter to regroup, which proved to work as they went on to close out things with a 4-2 sprint to claim the set.
UST and Ateneo continued to go back and forth in the second set, but unlike in the opening frame the Tigresses would do a better job staying the course.
With contributions coming from different directions and keeping their errors to a minimum, they turned a close 16-15 count to a pull-away sprint to level the match at a set apiece.
The Tigresses sustained their collective strong form from the second set to the third.
They raced to a 16-11 edge to start the frame and never looked back en route to a dominant set win and a 2-1 lead for the match.
In the fourth set the teams were at each other’s faces, fighting to a tight 12-all score midway into it.
Ateneo, however, would go on a 4-2 blast after to reach the second technical timeout first, 16-14.
It extended its lead to 21-15 as skipper Maddie Madayag and Jhoana Maraguinot hit the zone on their way to tying the game at two sets apiece.
Got their footing anew, it was Ateneo’s turn to go on a fast start to begin the final set, capitalizing on every opportunity presented to it.
The Lady Eagles soared to an early 8-3 lead.
UST was not to bow down sans a fight though, going on a 6-4 run to come within three points, 12-9.
It was the closest it could get though as it did not score thereafter and Ateneo pushed its way to the win.
The win improved the Lady Eagles to 9-3 and fortified their spot in the Final Four while the Tigresses dropped to 4-8 and saw their playoff hopes put in further jeopardy.
Kat Tolentino led Ateneo with 21 points followed by Maraguinot with 19.
Madayag had 11 points while Jules Samonte and Bea De Leon each had seven points.
Rondina paced UST with 21 points with Tine Francisco and Milena Alessandrini finishing with 10 each.
“We’re happy with the win as our hard work paid off. As you all know we trained during the Holy Week and it was a great feeling to have it result in a win,” said Madayag after their win.
“Our goal is to stay in the top two and despite already assured of a spot in the semifinals we remain hungry and determined to prove ourselves,” she added.
Ateneo returns on April 7 versus the University of the Philippines Lady Fighting Maroons while UST next plays on April 8 against league-leading and defending champions De La Salle Lady Spikers.

Philippine jiu-jitsu federation builds its legs

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
BARELY half a decade formed, the Jiu-Jitsu Federation of the Philippines (JJFP) has been steadily building its legs, creating and facilitating activities that bring together all jiu-jitsu clubs in the country to elevate the level of the sport in the country.
Formed in 2015, the JJFP is the National Sports Association (NSA) for jiu-jitsu in the Philippines, duly accredited by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), the Ju-Jitsu Asian Union (JJAU) and Ju-Jitsu International Federation (JJIF), and led by set of officers representing a mix of experienced sports management professionals, successful businessmen, and highly accomplished and respected leaders in the jiu-jitsu community.
It is currently headed by Ramon “Choy” Cojuangco as president and Jason Lim and Ferdinand Agustin serving as vice-president and secretary-general, respectively.
Since banding together, the JJFP has chalked up several feathers under its cap, winning titles in various international tournaments, including the Asian Beach Games and Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.
It now counts member athletes of over 2,000 spread all over the archipelago, a testament, JJFP said, to the steadily growing pickup of the sport by the Filipinos.
And with jiu-jitsu currently making its way to the mainstream consciousness like other combats sports karate and taekwondo, JJFP underscored it commitment to further enhancing the growth of the sport in the country while encouraging more people to consider it as something worth doing.
“The federation is open to all jiu-jitsu teams in the Philippines to join us as members. They just have to fulfill the requirements as mandated by the POC,” said TJ Sulit, JJFP assistant secretary-general, during the press conference hosted by the federation on March 28, where it got to detail how far it has come since being formed and its plans moving forward.
“Our goal has always been to form a strong team composed of the best athletes available who we hope to continue to get from our selections,” he added.
The JJFP has 25 national team members right now, which include Margarita Ochoa, Annie Ramirez, Kaila Napolis, Gian Dee, Marc Lim, and Apryl Eppinger.
For 2018, JJFP said it is going to be a busy year for the federation as it sets its sights on, among other things, the Asian Games in August in Indonesia, where jiu-jitsu will be played for the first time.
In the lead-up to it, our national team is set to compete in the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championships, April 16-29; Los Angeles, Jiu-Jitsu World League, May 19; and JJIF 2018 European Championships, June 8-10.
Also in the sight of the federation is the Manila Southeast Asian Games next year.

LeBron James milestone as Cavaliers wobble Raptors

LOS ANGELES — LeBron James passed another NBA milestone on Tuesday as the Cleveland Cavaliers kept their noses ahead of Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference playoff race with a win over first place Toronto.
James’s 27-point performance in a 112-106 victory at the Quicken Loans Arena helped the Cavs improve to 48-30, leaving them one win ahead of the 76ers in the battle for third seeding in the playoffs.
It was the 942nd time James has scored 20 points or more, seeing him vault over Kobe Bryant into third place in the all-time list. Only Karl Malone (1,134) and Kareem Abdul Jabbar (1,122) have had more 20-point games.
Meanwhile the Raptors’ fourth defeat in six games will fuel the anxiety felt by the Canadian franchise as they attempt to lock up number one seeding in the Eastern Conference.
The Raptors fell to 55-22 for the season following the loss but breathed a collective sigh of relief after second-placed Boston blew the chance to close within one win of top spot.
The Celtics slumped to a 106-102 loss against the Milwaukee Bucks, with Giannis Antetokounmpo scoring 29 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
In Cleveland, however, the 2016 NBA champion Cavs signaled they will be a threat for any team in the postseason as they attempt to reach a fourth straight NBA Finals.
As well as his 27 points, James contributed 10 rebounds and six assists on a night when the Cavs starters shared the scoring evenly.
All five starters made double figures, with Jose Calderon grabbing 19 points and Kevin Love weighing in with 18 points and 15 rebounds.
The Cavs’ defense also successfully shut down the Raptors’ offense, with Kyle Lowry restricted to just five points from his 28 minutes on court.
Lowry — who had raised eyebrows by traveling to San Antonio on Monday to cheer on his former college Villanova in the NCAA championship game — had a miserable night on court, making just one of seven three-point attempts.
It was left to DeMar DeRozan to provide Toronto’s focal point, with the 28-year-old finishing with 19 points.
Meanwhile in Philadelphia, the fourth-placed 76ers have the Cavs firmly in their sights after a blowout 121-95 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
J.J. Redick led the Sixers’ scoring with 19 points, while Marco Belinelli finished with 17 and Ben Simmons 15. Eight Sixers cracked double digits as the Nets fell to 25-53 for the season.
The Miami Heat also locked up their place in the playoffs with a 101-98 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Florida.
Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside both had double-doubles in a game that went down to the wire. Dragic had 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Whiteside finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds. — AFP

Sho-time! Japanese ace blasts 1st homer

LOS ANGELES — Japanese prodigy Shohei Ohtani blasted a home run on his home debut for the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday, just two days after pitching his team to victory over the Oakland Athletics.
The 23-year-old two-way star brought Angel Stadium to its feet after belting a three-run shot out of right field as the Angels made a dominating start to their game against the Cleveland Indians.
Ohtani’s three-run shot came off a curveball from Indians starter Josh Tomlin to cap a six-run first inning by the Angels.
Angels players pretended to ignore a baffled-looking Ohtani as he returned to the dugout ready to celebrate, before they turned around en masse to embrace the rising star. — AFP

Fourteen-time major champion Tiger Woods’s compelling comeback bid drives Masters drama

AUGUSTA — Tigermania has blossomed along with the azaleas at Augusta National, but 14-time major champion Tiger Woods is just one of the contenders at a Masters that promises to be a classic.
“I don’t think there’s one clear-cut favorite,” said Woods, who is vying to pull off a comeback that would rate among the greatest in sport.
His quest to better Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 major titles stalled after he grabbed number 14 at the 2008 US Open.
He owns four Masters green jackets, but hasn’t even teed it up in the stately confines of Augusta National in two years as back trouble threatened to end his career completely.
Pain free at last after spinal fusion surgery last April, Woods has ignited expectations with one runner-up finish and a tie for fifth in five official PGA Tour starts this year — his best finishes since 2015.
Woods himself is at a loss to explain the impressive swing speed and driving distance he never expected to see after having vertebrae in his lower back fused.
“For some reason it has come back,” he said. “All of a sudden I have this pop and my body and my speed’s back and my timing.”
He’ll need all of that, and his vaunted short game and solid putting, on the course famed for the difficulty of its fast, undulating greens.
“This golf course is something else,” Woods said.
The course, however, isn’t the only obstacle standing in Woods’s way, and he knows it.
Former Masters champions Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson signaled their intentions with recent wins, Mickelson ending a near five-year title drought in March and Watson halting a two-year dry-spell at Riviera before hoisting another trophy at the WGC Match-Play.
“I think there’s so many guys playing well at the same time. I think that’s what is making this year’s Masters so exciting, that there’s so many guys,” Woods said.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, vying to complete a career Grand Slam with a first green jacket, boosted his confidence with a victory at Bay Hill in March.
“I feel like I found something with my putting over the past few weeks, and in good time, because obviously you need to putt these greens very well,” McIlroy said. “I’m looking forward to see what the week holds.”
JOHNSON’S NO. 1 UNDER THREAT
World number one Dustin Johnson comes in on a mission, having missed the Masters last year thanks to a freak fall on the stairs that halted the hottest streak of his career in its tracks.
Johnson opened the year with a USPGA Tour Tournament of Champions win, but three players have a shot at toppling him from number one with a victory this week.
Justin Thomas, 24, heads that list, and arrives at the Masters buoyed by a win at the Honda Classic, a runner-up finish at the WGC-Mexico Championship and a fourth-placed finish at the WGC-Match Play.
Should Thomas falter, Spain’s third-ranked Jon Rahm or world number four Jordan Spieth — Masters champion in 2015 — could conceivably overtake Johnson this week.
“I think there’s a lot of players, a lot of the top quality players, young and old, are playing some of their best golf, and I think that’s going to lead to one of the most exciting Masters in years,” Mickelson said.
Spain’s Sergio Garcia faces a tall order in seeking to join Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo as the only players to successfully defend the Masters title.
England’s Justin Rose insists his runner-up finish to Garcia last year left him not demoralized but determined.
DANGEROUS TIGER
The age range of the players tipped to contend is astonishing.
“There are guys from their early 20s to Phil at 47 that have all played well,” Woods noted.
Among that younger crew, Woods is an inspiration and, to those who have played on US match play teams he has helped shepherd in the past two years, a mentor.
“It’s flattering, it’s nice,” Woods said. “But I still want to compete and I want to beat these guys and hopefully this will be a good week.”
McIlroy, for one, thinks it’s not too farfetched to think it could happen this week.
“Any time Tiger Woods is healthy and in this sort of form, he’s dangerous at any golf tournament,” McIlroy said. “But given his history here, I think even more so.” — AFP

Caruana’s big win

FIDE Candidates Tournament 2018
Berlin, Germany
March 10-28, 2018

Final Standings
1. Fabiano Caruana USA 2784, 9.0/14
2-3. Shakhriyar Mamedyarov AZE 2809, Sergey Karjakin RUS 2763, 8.0/14
4. Ding Liren CHN 2769, 7.5/14
5-6. Vladimir Kramnik RUS 2800, Alexander Grischuk RUS 2767, 6.5/14
7. Wesley So USA 2799, 6.0/14
8. Levon Aronian ARM 2794, 4.5/14
Average Rating: 2786 Category 22
Time Control: 100 minutes for the first 40 moves, then 50 minutes for the next 20 moves followed by 15 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to your clock after every move starting move 1.
The winner of the Candidates’ Tournament will be facing off against Magnus Carlsen in November of this year for the world title so there was an extra bit of tension when the last game came around.
Before the last round started Caruana was on first place with 8/13. Mamedyarov and Karjakin were half a point behind at 7.5/13 and Ding Liren was a further half point behind at 7/13. In normal circumstances a draw would have been enough for Caruana, but under the tie-break rules of this tournament should either Mamedyarov (vs Kramnik) or Karjakin (against Ding) win then they have the better tie-break points and would be adjudged the winner.
In short, to be sure of victory Caruana had to beat Grischuk, not an easy proposition under any circumstances.
When play started in the last round Wesley So vs Levon Aronian was a no-bearing match and quickly drawn.
The second game to finish was Sergey Karjakin vs Ding Liren, a game both players were trying hard to win. Karjakin seemed to be getting the upper hand but erred on move 27 and was a bit lucky to manage to draw.

Karjakin, Sergey (2763) — Ding Liren (2769) [C84]
FIDE Candidates 2018 Berlin GER (14), 27.03.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0–0 Be7 6.d3 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.a3 0–0 9.Nc3 Bg4 10.Be3 Nd4 11.Bxd4 exd4 12.Nd5 c5 13.a4 Be6 14.Nxf6+ Bxf6 15.Bxe6 fxe6 16.Qe2 Qd7 17.b3 e5 18.Ra2 b4 19.Nd2 Rae8 20.Raa1 Bd8 21.g3 g5 22.Nc4 Re6 23.a5 Ref6 24.f3 h5 25.Nb6 Qf7 26.Kg2 h4 27.Nd5?
Overlooks a nice tactic.
27…h3+! 28.Kg1
[28.Kxh3? g4+ 29.Kg2 (29.Kxg4 Qe6+ 30.Kg5 Rg6+ 31.Kh5 Rh6#) 29…gxf3+ 30.Rxf3 Rxf3 and wins]
28…Rxf3 29.g4! Kg7 30.Rxf3 Qxf3 31.Qxf3 Rxf3 32.Rf1 Rxf1+ 33.Kxf1 Bxa5 34.Ne7
Black is two pawns up but all of us know in closed positions a knight is better than a bishop, especially when most of the bishop’s pawns are in the same color squares.
34…Kf6 35.Nf5 Ke6 36.Ng3 Bd8 37.Nh1 a5 38.Ke2 d5 39.Nf2 Kd6 40.exd5 Kxd5 41.Ne4 Kc6 42.Kd2 Be7 43.Kc1 Kb5 44.Kb2 a4 45.Ka2 a3 ½–½
Now the only two games left were Grischuk vs Caruana and Kramnik vs Mamedyarov.

Grischuk, Alexander (2767) — Caruana, Fabiano (2784) [C43]
FIDE Berlin Candidates (14.1), 27.03.2018

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6
In the Berlin Candidates’ Tournament Fabi had Black seven times. Against 1.d4 he basically stuck to the formation 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 followed by 4…dxc4. Twice he defended against the Catalan (both drawn) and once, against Aronian, there appeared on the board a sharp Vienna Variation which he won when the Armenian’s attack machine ran out of juice.
In four of his Black games his opponent played 1.e4 and without fail he reeled off the Petroff, winning twice, losing once (the one where Karjakin sacrificed the exchange to put his bishop on d5) and drawing once.
Overall his main defenses held out well and there was no need to fall back on any back-up plans. I believe we have to credit Fabi’s chief second former FIDE world champion Rustam Kasimdzhanov for this excellent preparation. Aside from being a very strong player himself, seconding the greats is something he does very well.
3.d4 Nxe4 4.dxe5
As our BW readers know the main line is 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Nd7. The one Grischuk plays is regularly used by his friend GM Ian Nepomniachtchi. The roles are reversed — it is White who offers the exchange of his opponent’s centralized knight.
4…d5 5.Nbd2 Nxd2
Leaving the knight on e4 leads to an inferior endgame for Black: 5…Be7 6.Nxe4 dxe4 7.Qxd8+ Bxd8 8.Nd4 Bd7. White has something like a 70% score from this line, and just to drive home my point I will give you one example: 9.Bf4 Nc6 10.0–0–0 Nxd4 11.Rxd4 Bc6 12.Bc4 h6 (intending Bg5) 13.b4 a6 14.Kd2! Bg5 15.Ke3 f6 16.exf6 Bxf6 17.Rdd1 Ba4 18.Bb3! Bxb3 19.axb3 The weak pawn on e4 proved to be Black’s downfall. Ponomariov,R (2673)-Greenfeld,A (2570) Ohrid 2001 1–0 31.
6.Bxd2
GM Alexei Kuzmin wrote a theoretical in Chessbase Magazine where he shared that at one time he felt that the most promising continuation for White was 6.Qxd2 with the idea of first transferring the queen to the kingside by Qd2–f4–g3 and only then completing the development of the queenside. However, some games of Gelfand, where he met this queen maneuver with the prophylactic …h6 and later even the aggressive …g7–g5, changed his opinion. He now believes that the text move is stronger.
6…Be7
Kuzmin: The “obvious” 6…c5?! allows White to develop his bishop with tempo 7.Bg5 since 7…Be7 8.Bxe7 is bad because the undefended d5–pawn means that Black has to recapture with the king.
7.Bd3 c5
In his article GM Kuzmin studied 7…Nd7, 7…Bg4 and 7…c5 concluding that the latter is the most logical move but even here he prefers White.
8.c3 Nc6 9.0–0 Bg4 10.Re1 Qd7 11.h3 Bh5
Better than 11…Bf5 12.Qc2 Bxd3 13.Qxd3 0–0 14.Rad1 Qe6 15.a3 a6 16.Be3 Rad8 17.b4 cxb4 18.axb4 Rd7 19.Bd4 Re8 20.Re3 Bd8 21.Rde1 when White has all the play. Vallejo Pons,F (2696)-Perez Garcia,R (2426) Lugo 2009 1–0 47.
12.Bf4 Qe6 13.a3 0–0 14.b4 h6!
Eliminating any ideas based on g2–g4 together with Ng5.
15.Bg3 b6 16.Nd4!?
A very original idea which took Caruana aback but it fails on two counts: no. 1 the position at the end is not particularly favorable for White, and no. 2, with 24 moves to go to reach the 1st time control Grischuk has 13 minutes left.
16…Bxd1 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18.Raxd1 c4
White has the two bishops which would ordinarily be better than bishop+knight, but on the other hand Black’s dark-squared bishop has good squares to work with. I actually prefer Black here.
19.Bc2 b5 20.a4 a6 21.f3 Bg5!
In the post-game press conference Caruana pointed out here the possibility of 21…Nxb4!? 22.cxb4 Bxb4 23.Rf1 Bc5+ 24.Bf2 Bxf2+ 25.Kxf2 b4 but considering that the tournament situation might require only a draw he did not seriously consider playing it.
22.Bf2
White had four minutes left while Black had 13.
22…Bf4
The point of the bishop maneuver — e5 is a weakness he can work on.
23.Bc5 Rfd8 24.Bd6 Bg3 25.Re2 g5 26.Kf1 Kf7 27.Bc7 Re8 28.Bd6 Rac8!
A far-sighted move. You will see the point later.
29.Ra1 Red8 30.Bb1 Rd7 31.Ra3 d4!
Now we see why the black rooks are on the c- and d- files.
32.axb5 axb5 33.cxd4 Nxd4 34.Rea2 Nc6 35.Be4 Bxe5 36.Bxc6 Rxd6 37.Bxb5 Rd1+ 38.Ke2 Rg1 39.Ke3 Rb1 40.Ra7+ Kf6
The first time control has been reached. Kramnik vs Mamedyarov was still in play but it appeared to be headed for a draw. It was an easy decision for Caruana to make to continue playing on given that his position is clearly better and what’s more White does not seem to have any counterplay.
41.Bd7 Bf4+ 42.Ke2 Rd8 43.Rc2 Rxb4 44.Bc6 c3! 45.Rd7
[45.Rxc3 Rd2+ 46.Kf1 Rb1+ followed by mate]
45…Rc8 46.Be4
[46.Rxc3 Rb6 wins a piece]
46…h5!
To “fix” White’s g2–pawn.
47.Kd3 Rb2 48.Ke2
[48.Rxc3?? Rd2#]
48…h4 49.Rd1 Ke5 50.Ra1 Rd8 51.Rd1
Hereabouts Kramnik vs Mamedyarov was drawn so Fabiano only needed a draw to clinch the title, but he did not want to anger the gods of chess by agreeing to a draw in a completely won position so he went for the full point.
POSITION AFTER 51.RD1
51…Rdb8 52.Ra1 Bd2 53.Ra6 Rd8 54.Rc6 Rb1 55.Kf2 Ra1 56.Rc4 Rd4 57.Rc8 Rb4 58.Ke2 Kf4 59.Kf2 Rbb1 60.Rf8+ Ke5 61.Bd3 Rb2 62.Ke2 Re1+ 63.Kf2 Rc1! 64.Rxb2 cxb2 65.Rb8 Bc3 66.Be4 Bd4+ 67.Ke2 Kf4 68.Rb4 e5 69.Rb7 Kg3 0–1
Fabiano Caruana thus won the Berlin Candidates’ Tournament and with it the right to challenge Magnus Carlsen to a 12-game match for the world title come November 2018 in London, England.
 
Bobby Ang is a founding member of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines and its first Executive Director. A Certified Public Accountant, he taught accounting in the University of Santo Tomas for 25 years and is currently Chief Audit Executive of the Equicom Group of Companies.
bobby@cpamd.net

Deep rotation

Considering how the Raptors have gone three and five since winning 11 straight matches spanning the end of February and the middle of March, fans have cause to argue that they’re in a slump. Not that the losses were dealt by patsies; on paper, there’s no shame bowing to such notables as the Thunder, Celtics, and Cavaliers. Meanwhile, their double-digit setback against the Clippers was deemed “just one of those nights. You can’t play how you want to play every single night,” All-Star DeMar DeRozan argued. Still, their goal to build momentum heading into the playoffs has effectively been stunted, and their last five regular-season outings may well determine their final seeding.
Certainly, the Raptors aren’t coasting. Even if the Celtics haven’t exceeded expectations by closing in on them despite the absence of top dog Kyrie Irving, they look to stay consistent in their effort, in large measure a reflection of head coach Dwane Casey’s belief that competitiveness is enhanced by culture. It’s why he deconstructed their star-driven system and went to a deep rotation early in the 2017-2018 campaign; he wanted all and sundry, DeRozan and starting point guard Kyle Lowry included, to be comfortable with the notion that only if they’re greater than the sum of their parts can they bolster their title hopes.
Which, for all intents, is why Casey insists on sticking to his substitution patterns even though the bench — hitherto a big reason for the Raptors’ success — has not been up to snuff of late. He saw how his previous predilections for isolation sets led to disappointment, and believes that staying the course is the only way they can upend the familiar beasts in the East, let alone stand toe to toe with the best of the West. A gamble? Sure. But from his vantage point, all the other options available to him are far riskier. Insanity, after all, is doing the same thing again and again in expectation of a different result.
In the aftermath of the Raptors’ second consecutive defeat at the hands of the Cavaliers’ yesterday, Casey expressed confidence his charges will right the ship on time. He noted that the challenges — today’s homestand against the Celtics, most especially — will help them build character and toughen them up for what lies ahead. All things considered, it’s the right perspective; else, complacency can set it, and all they’ll be doing is setting themselves up for yet another early exit.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

Trump, Xi wait to see who blinks first as trade fight heats up

The leaders of the world’s two biggest economies are waiting to see who backs down after firing the opening shots in a trade war.
U.S. President Donald Trump took aim at China’s plans to dominate strategic technologies Tuesday by slapping tariffs on 1,333 of the country’s products — from semiconductors to lithium batteries. Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping’s government hit back with proposed levies on key American imports including soybeans and Boeing Co. jets, a tougher response than many expected.
“This is a game of chicken, with both sides seeing the other as the bigger chicken,” said Scott Kennedy, a China scholar at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. “They are positioned in a way that could create miscalculations on both sides and create an escalatory ladder.”
While the stiff Chinese response sent U.S. stock futures and commodity prices tumbling, attention now turns to whether Trump will look to make a deal. The U.S. president — who last month boasted that “trade wars are good and easy to win” — has also directed the Treasury Department to draft restrictions on Chinese investment, which could prompt further retaliation from Beijing.
Both sides still have time to back down: Trump’s tariffs must pass a 60-day public comment, and China said its duties will take effect at the same time. Beijing has urged dialogue, and Xi is expected to pledge greater openness to foreign trade and investment at a Chinese economic forum Tuesday.
Still, the two leaders each have reasons to believe the other might blink first. China’s Communist Party has relied on the country’s decades-long economic boom to sustain one-party rule and can’t afford a downturn that could spark a meltdown in its ballooning debt pile.
“Chinese strategists are seeing no good economic argument for escalating the situation,” said Erlend Ek, an agriculture and trade research manager at China Policy, a consulting firm based in Beijing. “They see good economic reasons for de-escalating it, however.”
Meanwhile, Trump faces a mounting series of political concerns, including midterm congressional elections in November. China’s tariff list struck at Midwest farming districts that Republicans need to retain control of Congress, and the broader trade worries have cooled frothy stock prices that Trump had claimed credit for at campaign-style rallies.
Trump Pressure
“Contrary to China, where the government can easily create a unified voice, the Trump administration will have to manage diverse interests from a whole industrial and commercial spectrum,” said Jingzhou Tao, a managing partner of Dechert LLP’s Beijing office. “The question is whether Trump is ready to accept that pressure from different interest groups.”
China’s tariffs come shortly after it detailed $3 billion of reciprocal levies against U.S. products from pork to wine. Those came in response to earlier Trump measures against steel and aluminum imports.
Efforts to end the fight are complicated by uncertainty about whether Trump is seeking quick, headline-grabbing concessions or a fundamental realignment of trade ties. China’s Commerce Ministry this week accused the Trump administration of rebuffing a March 26 attempt at dialogue, a day after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin reported “very productive conversations” with Beijing and expressed optimism about a deal.
Controlling the Narrative
Trump may be looking for a bigger fight over Xi’s “ Made in China 2025” plan to to dominate strategic technologies. Beijing has signaled a willingness to allow more foreign participation in sectors that could improve its services economy — such as banking and insurance — but could harden its stance if the dispute threatens China’s broader ambitions.
“It has been crystal clear that the U.S.’s true intention is coming hard after China’s high-end tech industries and Made in China 2025 project,” said He Weiwen, deputy director of the Center for China and Globalization in Beijing and a former Commerce Ministry official. “This is a strategic move hindering China’s effort to grow into leading role in high-tech industries and overtaking the U.S. someday.”
Xi has used the trade dispute to cast himself as a defender of globalization and bodies like the World Trade Organization — both traditional U.S. roles. His government on Wednesday called on the entire WTO membership “to lock arms with China in fighting against the U.S. blatant protectionist acts.”
While economies such as the European Union and Japan share Trump’s concerns about China’s economic policies, they’ve also been targeted by his trade actions, said Siddharth Mohandas, a former adviser to ex-Secretary of State John Kerry who’s now director of research at the Asia Group in Washington.
“What you are seeing is a contest of narratives between the Chinese government and the American government,” Mohandas said. “The question is: which one will win out?” — Bloomberg

Oil falls to two-week low as China retaliates in US trade war

Oil fell after China said it would levy tariffs on $50 billion of U.S. imports in retaliation against measures by President Donald Trump, fanning concerns that economic growth and fuel demand could be hurt.
Futures in New York slipped as much as 2.1 percent to the lowest intraday price since March 20. China’s Ministry of Commerce said it would levy 25 percent tariffs on imports of 106 U.S. products including automobiles and aircraft. That wiped out earlier support for prices as Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries output dropped to the lowest in a year in March.
“It’s only logical to see profit-taking in light of looming trade tensions and possible financial market turbulence,” said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt.
Global equities sank after China unveiled its charges, which match the scale of proposed U.S. tariffs announced earlier this week and ratchets up tension in a brewing trade war between the world’s two largest economies. With products ranging from gas turbines to steel and aluminum affected, the spat threatens to raise costs, slow economic growth and hit oil demand.
West Texas Intermediate for May delivery was at $62.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down $1.13, at 11 a.m. in London, after rising 50 cents on Tuesday. Total volume traded was 12 above the 100-day average.
Brent for June settlement lost $1.11 to $67.01 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange, after adding 48 cents on Tuesday. The global benchmark crude traded at a $4.62 premium to June WTI.
In the U.S., crude stockpiles unexpectedly fell 3.28 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report. That would be the biggest drop since January if confirmed by the Energy Information Administration’s data Wednesday. Inventories are forecast to have risen by 2 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg survey. — Bloomberg

China’s counterpunch to Trump’s tariffs sparks global selloff

Tit-for-tat tariff threats from the U.S. and China ignited fears that a trade war was beginning between the world’s two largest economies, sending U.S. stock futures tumbling and sinking European and Asian equities.
China on Wednesday, matching the scale of proposed U.S. tariffs announced the previous day, said it would levy an additional 25 percent levy on around $50 billion of U.S. imports including soybeans, automobiles, chemicals and aircraft.
The step escalates the risk of a trade war between the world’s two largest trading nations, with the Trump administration’s latest offensive based on alleged infringements of intellectual property in China. While the dispute centers around a $375 billion goods trade imbalance in favor of China, the U.S. is also now targeting high-tech sectors that Beijing sees as the future for its economy, prompting an angry reaction.
“China’s response was tougher than what the market was expecting — investors didn’t foresee the country levying additional tariffs on sensitive and important products such as soybeans and airplanes,” said Gao Qi, Singapore-based strategist at Scotiabank.
“Investors believe a trade war will hurt both countries and their economies eventually.”
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell nearly 2.5 percent at 11:56 in London with early trading on the S&P 500 sinking almost 2 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dropped 0.6 percent to the lowest in almost eight weeks.
Beijing’s proposed targets strike at the core of commercial relations between the two countries, and at some of the most politically sensitive goods in core Trump constituencies. For example, China is the world’s largest soybean importer and biggest buyer of U.S. soybeans in trade worth about $14 billion last year.
Both sides have calibrated their current actions around the figure of $50 billion worth of imports — the U.S. estimate of the annual damage to the domestic economy caused by China’s intellectual-property infringements. That number accounts for roughly one-third of China’s imports from the United States last year, versus less than one-tenth of China’s exports to the U.S., according to data from International Monetary Fund.
The implementation date of China’s retaliatory tariffs depends on the outcome of bilateral negotiations, and the U.S. decisions, Deputy Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao, told reporters after a news conference in Beijing. “Now both sides have put up our lists. We believe both countries have the ability and wisdom to address the problem,” Zhu said.
The U.S. list of planned charges on more than 1,300 product categories focused on China’s industrial machinery and technology exports. China’s envoy to the World Trade Organization, Zhang Xiangchen, called it “an intentional and gross violation of the WTO’s fundamental principles of non-discrimination and bound tariffs.”
Stocks to Watch After Trump Announces Proposed China Tariffs
Industries including aerospace, information and communications technology, robotics and machinery were among those targeted by the U.S. Trade Representative on Tuesday. The agency said it chose products to minimize the impact on the U.S. economy and consumers.
In addition to advanced technologies such as communication satellites, the U.S. list includes items ranging from various types of steel to television components, medical devices, dishwashers, snow blowers and even flame throwers.
“The U.S. list suggests that the government is targeting the ‘Made in China 2025’ initiative, while China’s retaliation intends to bring Americans back to the negotiation table,” said Zhou Hao, an economist at Commerzbank AG in Singapore, said in an email.
What Bloomberg economists say …
“The U.S. proposal on tariffs aims to hit China’s industrial ambitions without hurting U.S. consumers,” said Tom Orlik, chief Asia economist at Bloomberg Economics in Beijing. “On both objectives, it will likely fall short. In sum – we think the macro impact will be limited and the strategic objectives difficult to achieve.”
The release of the list by U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer leads into a roughly 60-day period when the public can provide feedback and the government holds hearings on the tariffs. The 25 percent tariffs come on top of any existing levies.
China’s Made in China 2025 plan was announced in 2015, and highlighted 10 sectors for support on the way to China becoming an advanced manufacturing power, from information technology, to robotics and aerospace. China also has a separate development strategy for artificial intelligence, published last year.
“The current tariff measures from both parties are very unlikely to be implemented,” said Ren Qing, a partner at Global Law in Beijing who has advised the Chinese government on its response to the intellectual-property investigation. “People from American industries may exert pressure on the U.S. government and influence final policy implementation.” — Bloomberg

Apple is said to work on touchless control, curved iPhone screen

Apple Inc. is working on touchless gesture control and curved screens for future iPhones, projects that may help the company differentiate its most-important product in an increasingly crowded market, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The control feature would let iPhone users perform some tasks by moving their finger close to the screen without actually tapping it. The technology likely won’t be ready for consumers for at least two years, if Apple chooses to go forward with it, a person familiar with the work said.
Apple has long embraced new ways for humans to interact with computers. Co-Founder Steve Jobs popularized the mouse in the early 1980s. Apple’s latest iPhones have a feature called 3D Touch that responds differently depending on different finger pressures. The new gesture technology would take into account the proximity of a finger to the screen, the person said.
Apple is also developing iPhone displays that curve inward gradually from top to bottom, one of the people familiar with the situation said. That’s different than the latest Samsung smartphone screens, which curve down at the edges. So far, every iPhone model has used a flat display. The iPhone X’s OLED screen curves slightly at the bottom, but the shape is mostly invisible to the human eye.
OLED, or organic light emitting diode, displays can be shaped into curves or even folded, unlike the less-flexible LCD screen technology used in prior iPhones. A curved iPhone may be as little as two to three years away, the person said. Apple is also working on new screen technology, known as MicroLED, but that’s at least three to five years away, Bloomberg News reported last month.
Both features are still in the early research and development stage and Apple could choose to not go forward with the enhancements. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.
The work comes as the Cupertino, California-based smartphone pioneer looks to make its gadgets stand out. Smartphones have become increasingly similar as Apple, Samsung Electronics Co., Google, and Huawei Technologies Co. adopt features like full screens, advanced cameras, and facial recognition at roughly the same time.
In the fourth quarter, Apple was responsible for about 20 percent of smartphone shipments following the launch of the iPhone X and iPhone 8, beating out second place Samsung and Huawei, according to IDC. To stay ahead, Apple needs compelling new features and designs. Samsung is already working on a foldable smartphone, while Huawei is seeing increased success in Asia.
Samsung launched a feature called Air Gestures several years ago that lets users accept calls and flip through web pages by waving their hand across the top of the phone. Google’s ATAP research group has been working on similar technology through a program known as Project Soli. Apple’s design would require gestures to be closer to the screen than with Project Soli, the person familiar with the situation said. The feature would be based on technology built into the display itself rather than via a motion sensor on the phone’s bezel, like with Samsung’s implementation, the person explained.
While the Apple projects aren’t imminent, the company has near-term plans to expand OLED technology to more devices, according to other people familiar with the matter. It will release a second iPhone with that type of screen later this year; a larger model with a 6.5-inch screen, up from the 5.8-inch size in the current iPhone X. The company is also working on an update to the iPhone X’s size and a new, lower-cost LCD model.
To access adequate OLED supplies for these new devices, Apple is expanding its sourcing from Samsung to also include LG Display, the people said. — Bloomberg

Coming soon to your favorite casino: cryptocurrencies

A seamless payment method with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin replacing physical tokens—this is how you might transact in casinos might once blockchain technology is integrated into their operations.

“I will give two facts for the gaming industry in the next couple of years: one, if you’re not accepting Bitcoin cash as a payment method for your games, do it,” Jimmy Nguyen, CEO of blockchain research and development firm nChain Group, said in a panel discussion at the Asean Gaming Summit last March 21 in Pasay City. “Second, think of ways on how your games and game applications can eliminate intermediaries, people or companies in the middle.”

Nguyen emphasized that adapting blockchain will “transform how things operate” and bring “more efficiency” in the industry.

“The power of blockchain is to eliminate intermediaries,” he said. “It started with Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency eliminating the need for a central issuer of money, so you can send money to people directly anywhere in the world.”

He further said: “We foresee a future where [blockchain] technology is able to power Bitcoin cash micro transactions on any browser-based application and that includes games in the gaming [industry] as well.”

Casinos, he said, can even conduct initial coin offerings (ICO) to generate fund “as long as the coin has some technical functions.” Companies, particularly fintech startups, are using ICO to generate funds for a new product by selling their own tokens.

“For example if it can be used in a game that you can’t do with a normal cryptocurrency or you cannot do with a normal credit card or cash payment,” he said.

While experts are keen towards integration of this technology in daily trades, companies may have a hard time achieving it. Regulation and security issues have bombarded cryptocurrencies amid their sudden popularity worldwide, with countries like South Korea, China, and even the Philippines keeping a strict eye on companies involving cryptocurrencies in their operations.

Adapting

Some companies in the global gaming industry are already adapting this concept.

Just this week, an alliance of gaming manufacturers from different countries including China, Japan, South Korea, and U.S., launched GAME CASH (GSH), a unified payment system powered by blockchain.

“[Last year was] a year of explosive growth of games and the first year of wide application of blockchain technology; 2018 will be the year of gaming blockchain,” GSH Foundation said in a statement. “As the industry develops so rapidly, GSH, as the most important part of the gaming industry blockchain, will play a key role in the creation of the whole industry prosperity.”

Under GSH, players from member countries can use Game Cash (GCash), a virtual currency based on the Ethernet 2.0 protocol, as a common payment token. They can also exchange gaming coins in the alliance and convert unused gaming coins back to GCash.

“It [does] not only solve the problem of recharge redundancy and waste, but also greatly improves the player’s confidence and enhances the fluidity across the whole gaming industry,” it added.

The payment system, the foundation said, aims to integrate gaming industry resource worldwide for the creation of a common cryptocurrency payment system through blockchain technology

“This payment system will make all the gaming channels connected to fully solve the sore points from the industry and the game players,” the foundation said. “The gaming industry has been developing vigorously in the past 10 years, but there are endless kinds of malpractices, black box operations, security and user privacy issues, payment problems, etc. With the emergence of GSH alliance, these problems will be solved once and for all.”

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