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Cordillera leaders to meet with senators on Aug. 10 to push autonomy bill

LEADERS AND tribal elders of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) are meeting with senators on Friday, Aug. 10 to push for the pending bill that will create the Autonomous Region of the Cordillera (ARC). In a statement, the Regional Development Council (RDC) of CAR said the meeting is intended “to gain support and fast-track the legislation.” The ARC bill (Senate Bill 1678) was filed in February by Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, who also led the now signed Bangsamoro Organic Law creating a more autonomous region in Mindanao. A counterpart bill in the House of Representatives (House Bill 5343) was filed by all six Cordillera representatives in 2017. Both the Senate and House versions are currently at the committee level. Wednesday’s meeting has been organized by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Institute for Autonomy and Governance, and the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office, in coordination with the RDC-CAR and the National Economic and Development Authority-CAR. The CAR was established in 1987 as a transition entity towards an autonomous Cordillera regional government as provided under the Constitution.

BoI signs agreement to promote Imus as prime investment site

THE BOARD of Investments (BoI) has signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the local government of Imus to promote the ease of doing business and position the city as a “premier investment location”. The city government, for its part, will give BoI the authority to facilitate business and investment applications. This is the third MoA signed by BoI with a local government unit, the first two being Cabuyao City and Naga city. “A responsive and responsible local government unit is critical (in) attracting more investments to come in,” Undersecretary Ceferino S. Rodolfo said in a statement. “We remain confident in the City of Imus and we hope to continue to see the City as one of the most competitive component cities in the country,” he added. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato

Cebu tourism sector eyes new foreign markets

SOUTH KOREAN visitors have significantly contributed to Cebu’s tourism industry in terms of spending, but the province cannot solely depend on the ‘Korean economy’, the regional tourism chief said. Department of Tourism-Central Visayas (DoT-6) Regional Director Shalimar H. Tamano said Cebu has to diversify its foreign tourist markets to avoid a major blow in case, for example, there is a sudden dip in Korean arrivals. This was echoed by Andrew Acquaah-Harrison, chief executive advisor of GMR-Megawide Cebu Airport Corp, operator of the Mactan Cebu International Airport, which has also been aggressively promoting Cebu to other overseas markets. Ms. Tamano noted a growing number of Chinese tourists and said the DoT-6 is also aiming to attract Indian travelers. In 2017, arrivals in Central Visayas, where Cebu is the tourism hub, hit approximately 6.9 million. The region’s top foreign market was Korea, accounting for 895,776. Others in the top 10 were China, Japan, USA, Taiwan, Australia, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada. — The Freeman

DICT eyes berth 4 operations by 2020

DAVAO CITY — Floirendo-owned Davao International Container Terminal, Inc. (DICT) is preparing for expansion with the operation of a fourth berth and container yard expansion at its port in Panabo City.
DICT Vice-president Bonifacio B. Licayan said they are already working on permits and are aiming to begin construction work by next year.
“We are eyeing to start operating berth 4 in early 2020,” Mr. Licayan said in an interview during a recent shipping conference held in Davao City.
For this year, Mr. Licayan said they are looking at handling cargo volume of up to 400,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEUs), higher than last year’s 345,000 TEUs.
“Actually, the port can do a lot more, up to 600,000 TEUs, only that a vessel should find a particular window and everybody wants on a weekend,” Mr. Licayan said.
He said the main obstacle in scheduling is accommodating two large vessels at the same time.
“You now have problems of matching two vessels, if you have one big one you can only accommodate a very small vessel on the other berth, but if you have regular-sized vessel, you can readily accommodate two vessels at a time,” he explained.
DICT currently has a berth stretching to 423 meters and an average draft of 15 meters at fender line, making it the only port in Mindanao that can accommodate Post-Panamax vessels. — Maya M. Padillo

Nation at a Glance — (08/08/18)

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

Pirates make it ‘Perfect 7’

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE Lyceum Pirates are now 7-0 in Season 94 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) after adding the College of St. Benilde Blazers to their list of victims, 77-65, in league action on Tuesday at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.
Held under check in the opening half that was delayed for some time in the first quarter because of shot clock problems, the Pirates collectively stayed the course the rest of the way to book the win and stay unbeaten in the tournament.
Earlier in the day, the San Sebastian Golden Stags got back on the winning track following two straight previous losses after shooting down the Mapua Cardinals, 94-70.
St. Benilde held early control of the match before play was stopped to fix the shot clock.
When play resumed, the Pirates jacked up their play, led by CJ Perez and Jaycee Marcelino, but the Blazers would hold sway, 21-20, at the end of the first period.
The two teams continued to battle in the second period before Lyceum made a push to seize control by the halftime break, 34-31.
Towed by Edward Dixon and Clement Leutcheu, St. Benilde started strong in the third canto, outscoring Lyceum, 12-5, in the first three and a half minutes to seize the lead, 43-39.
Perez and Mike Nzeusseu, however, would conspire to lead a Pirates rally back in the next three minutes to race to a 52-43 lead.
Lyceum eventually settled for a 56-51 advantage heading into the fourth period.
With the Blazers too close for comfort, the Pirates made their move at the start of the payoff quarter.
They went on a 12-5 run to stretch their lead to 68-56 at the 5:44 mark.
St. Benilde tried to charge back but could not come any closer than nine points as Lyceum went on to close out the game.
Perez paced the Pirates with 22 points and 12 rebounds while Nzeusseu had 16 and 13.
Marcelino had 12 points.
Dixon and Justin Gutang each had 13 points for the Blazers, who dropped to 2-4 for the season.
“Credit to the players for not giving up. We were challenged early but we were able to hold them off the rest of the way. We expect to be continually challenged moving forward and we really have to bring our best each time,” Lyceum coach Topex Robinson said after the game.
BACK ON THE WINNING TRACK
San Sebastian, meanwhile, arrested a two-game losing streak with a thorough beating of Mapua in the opener of seniors play yesterday.
Boosted by the spirited play of Alvin Capobres, the Stags proved themselves a handful for the Cardinals, particularly in the second half.
Held a narrow one-point lead at the halftime break, 41-40, Capobres and the rest of the Stags stepped on the gas pedal in the third period to race to a 70-53 advantage after 30 minutes.
San Sebastian proceeded to a steady fourth period as it cruised its way to the victory that improved its record to 3-4.
Capobres had 21 points with Allyn Bulanadi adding 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.
Alex Desoyo had 12 points while JM Calma had 11 points and nine rebounds.
Cedric Pelayo led Mapua (2-4) with 15 points while Laurenz Victoria finished with 13.

Ceres seeks to hold on to ASEAN Zonal title versus Home Utd in Singapore

REIGNING AFC Cup ASEAN Zonal winner Ceres-Negros FC tries to hold on to its title as it plays Home United FC in Singapore in the second leg of their final today.
Held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg in Bacolod City on Aug. 1, the Busmen need to beat the Protectors convincingly in their home turf of Jelan Besar Stadium at 7:30 p.m. to keep the title and progress to the next round of the tournament.
Last week in the first leg at the Panaad Park and Football Stadium, Ceres got off to a good start with Australian striker Blake Powell scoring off a penalty in the eighth-minute mark to hand Ceres the early lead.
But the visitors found themselves leveled at 1-1 when forward Isaka Cernak scored at the 23rd minute off a rebound.
The two teams tried to seize the lead for the rest of the opening half but found themselves knotted at 1-1 at halftime.
The nip-and-tuck engagement continued at the start of the second half with both teams having their chances at getting the go-ahead.
As time wound up, Ceres tried hard to find a winner to give itself some cushion in the second leg but none would come, leaving the Bacolod team to settle for the draw.
While recognizing that they have some ground to cover to repeat as Zonal winner, veteran Ceres midfielder OJ Porteria believes they are capable of getting the job done on enemy territory.
“I think last year was a great motivator for us to come out in the second leg (at home) strong, because we knew we had to get the win. The same goes for this year, since they have the slight advantage with the away goal, we will be coming out fighting for our lives,” Mr. Porteria was quoted as saying by the AFC website in an interview, referring to last year’s edition of the Zonal final also against Home United where Ceres overturned a 1-2 deficit in Singapore to win 2-0 at home to clinch the inaugural title.
“I feel like if we won the first leg, we could get too comfortable, but with this result we have something to prove. Whether the game is in Bacolod or in Singapore it doesn’t really matter. We’ve got one job and that’s to finish this second leg with a win and I think this year and especially last year, the team has shown that when our backs are against the wall, we give it our all,” he added.
Ceres will continue to miss the services of top scorer Bienvenido Maranon, suspended following his sending-off against Yangon United in group play on May 16.
The eventual winner of the ASEAN Zonal Final between Ceres and Home United will play DPR Korea’s 4.25 SC in the Inter-Zone Semifinals later this month. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Alaska trades Abueva to Phoenix for first-round pick

CALVIN Abueva’s stay with the Alaska Aces came to an end on Tuesday after the Philippine Basketball Association team decided to trade the volatile forward to the Phoenix Fuel Masters in exchange for a 2019 first-round pick.
Guard Karl Dehesa was also part of the deal for Mr. Abueva, the papers of which were sent to the PBA Commissioner’s Office for approval yesterday.
The trade effectively ended six years of partnership between “The Beast” and the Aces, who drafted the player second overall in the 2012 rookie draft behind San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo.
In a statement, Alaska said it deemed now was the right time to part ways with the 30-year-old player so as to give both parties a “fresh start.”
“We would like to thank Calvin for his six years of service with Alaska and the good memories. We felt as a franchise it was best for both Alaska and Calvin to have a fresh start at this time,” said Alaska in a statement.
The trade came on the heels of Mr. Abueva’s indefinite suspension by the team after going AWOL for some time that left many, particularly his team, wondering about his whereabouts.
While suspended, Mr. Abueva missed majority of his team’s matches in the ongoing Commissioner’s Cup, including the playoffs where the Aces eventually fell to San Miguel in their best-of-five semifinals in four games.
He was allowed by the Aces to play for Gilas Pilipinas in the third window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers last month but got involved in the infamous brawl between the Philippines and Australia and was meted a six-game suspension by the world basketball governing body.
In six years with the Aces, he posted career averages of 12.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 2.1 asists and a block per game. Apart from the steady numbers, he endeared himself to PBA fans for his no-nonsense and all-energy style of play.
The 2013 rookie of the year helped Alaska to the Commissioner’s Cup title on the same year and was a six-time All-Star.
He won the best player of the conference award in the 2016 Commissioner’s Cup.
In Phoenix, he rejoins former Alaska deputy Louie Alas, who is the head coach of the Fuel Masters. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and other major titelists together in spotlight at 100th PGA Championship

ST. LOUIS — Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and 29 other major champions began preparing for the spotlight of supergroup pairings as practice rounds opening Monday for the 100th PGA Championship.
An elite field with 98 of the world’s 100 top-ranked players gathers at Bellerive Country Club for the year’s final major tournament, which starts Thursday.
Woods, a 14-time major champion, tries to end a 10-year major victory drought in his comeback from spinal fusion surgery while three-time major winner Jordan Spieth tries to complete a Career Grand Slam with a victory.
Add on-form McIlroy, a four-time major winner who was a runner-up at the Open Championship, plus reigning Masters champion Patrick Reed, two-time US Open winner Brooks Koepka and reigning Open Championship winner Francesco Molinari of Italy and it’s clear to see why expectations are high for a thrill-packed final major of 2018.
“I like the way the PGA sets it up,” Koepka said. “It’s very difficult. It’s a battle for sure.”
Second-ranked defending champion Justin Thomas, 14-time major champion Woods in his first PGA Championship since 2015 and McIlroy are grouped together for the first two rounds as are Molinari, Reed and Koepka.
World number three Justin Rose of England, Spain’s seventh-ranked Jon Rahm and eighth-ranked Spieth play together the first two days as do top-ranked Dustin Johnson and past Masters winners Bubba Watson and Adam Scott.
Thomas and Rose could overtake Johnson for world number one this week, but Rose would need a victory and Thomas no worse than a solo second finish.
The last August edition of the event before next year’s move to May also has Thomas coming off a win at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational against a similar world-class field.
“I’m just in a great place mentally right now,” Thomas said. “I was just so patient and calm.”
Since 1980, only two players have won the week before the PGA and then captured the Wanamaker Trophy, Woods in 2007 and McIlroy in 2014. And not since Woods in 2006-07 has anyone won the PGA in consecutive years.
“Tiger has been a pretty big influence for me,” Thomas said. “He motivated me to get where I am now. So it’s great to have him back now.”
Woods briefly led on Sunday at the Open Championship before sharing sixth after his best final round in five years saw him share fourth at the US PGA National.
But 51st-ranked Woods hasn’t seen Bellerive in 17 years so nine holes of practice each day will be critical in his search for an 80th career victory and first in any event in five years.
“I’ll take a look at the course for feel more than anything,” Woods said. “I need to get a feel for the golf course now and how the holes are playing. I need to get some reps on the greens and see what’s there.” — AFP

Teener IM Miciano stuns GM Zeng of China, shares lead in The Netherlands chessfest

INTERNATIONAL Master (IM) John Marvin Miciano shocked sixth seed Grandmaster (GM) Zeng Chongsheng of China in 39 moves of a Caro-Kann Defense to remain perfect and on top along with three others after four rounds of the 22nd Hogeschool Zeeland chess tournament in Vlissingen, The Netherlands Monday night.
Playing white for the third time in four days, Miciano, 17, continued to benefit from his change of tact from a quiet, positional player to aggressive, attacking chess in slaying Zeng, who has a higher rating of 2532 to compared the latter’s 2411.
When the smoke of battle dissipated, Miciano was set to checkmate Zeng in two moves before the latter resigned realizing the inevitability of the loss.
Zeng thus became the first GM Miciano beat in four tournaments in Europe that included three tournaments in Spain.
The Far Eastern University standout now has four points to share the lead with top seed GM Sandro Mareco of Argentina, fifth pick GM Vyacheslav Ikonnikov of Russia and IM Antonio Scunha Viani of India.
Miciano was playing Ikonnikov in the fifth round at press time hoping to keep his place at the helm in this nine-round tournament 240 chessers from 19 countries including 12 GMs, 16 IMs and 14 FIDE Masters.
GM Jayson Gonzales, Miciano’s coach, smashed FM Warre De Waele of Belgium in just 23 moves of a Slav duel to zoom to a 16-player group at fifth spot with 3.5 points apiece.
It included IM Marcel Peek of the Netherlands whom Gonzales was battling in the fifth round.
WGM Janelle Mae Frayna, whose trip is backed by the Philippine Sports Commission and The Philippine Star President and Chief executive Officer Miguel Belmonte, was not as fortunate as she fell to Dutch IM Max Warmerdam and out of the top 50 with 2.5 points.

Toronto tournament a test for shot-clock innovation

TORONTO, CANADA — This week’s Toronto Masters is serving as a test bed for a time saving shot-clock innovation, with Wimbledon semi-finalist John Isner fully on board with the idea.
A trial run of the 25-second on-court countdown clock which began last week at the ATP-WTA tournament in Washington will run through the US Open, with the Tours then expected to make decisions about continuing the innovation.
Eighth-seed Isner is confident the plan will work well and will not be a source of extra tension or distraction for players.
“I played the one match with the shot clock, and I didn’t find it to be an issue at all,” the American said on Monday.
“I didn’t feel rushed. And I’m generally one of the slower players as well.
“I don’t bounce the ball a lot or pick at things, but I just kind of take my sweet time behind the baseline before I serve.”
The clock is designed to prevent time-wasting and maintain a regular pace of play.
“We’ve built common sense into the protocols,” ATP rules and competition VP Gayle Bradshaw said on opening day in Toronto. “We’re trying to be sensible here.”
The wide-scale experiment will end with the ATP and WTA ruling on whether to keep using it.
Bradshaw, a former chair umpire, said that leeway is built into the system to account for delays from the likes of crowd noise and player injury time outs. — AFP

Reconsideration

Like most basketball-loving Filipinos, I, too, welcomed the decision of top officials of the sport in the land to reconsider their previous stand not to send a men’s basketball team to the 18th Asian Games in Indonesia later this month; seeing how only through to it can fans be appeased with the whole issue, better heed the call and move on.
While admittedly I understood where the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) was coming from when it initially decided not to participate in the quadrennial Games, deeming “the time and chance to participate in the 2018 Asian Games would not be optimal” due to the limited time to prepare and shortened talent pool, considering how criticism over the decision and clamor to reconsider snowballed in just short a time, however, officials were well advised to change their position lest they find public support for their program wane and continuously questioned.
This is apart, of course, from giving the country another potential medal source in the Asian Games. Notwithstanding the short preparation, the Philippines is still one of the more competitive basketball countries in this part of the world and could only be expected to be there in the mix of things.
Aside from listening to the clamor of the Filipino fans to participate in the Games, cited by the SBP and the Philippine Basketball Association as reasons as well for the reconsideration was the outright support of PBA team owners to form a team and intercessions by public officials, notably Bong Go, Special Assistant to the President, and Allan Peter Cayetano, Foreign Affairs Secretary and Chairman of the Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee.
In the Asian Games, SBP, as originally penciled as its Plan B, is sending a PBA-backed team composed of the core of the Rain or Shine team, namely, Maverick Ahanmisi, Chris Tiu, Gabe Norwood, James Yap, Beau Belga and Raymond Almazan, and backstopped by players from the other squads in the league — Christian Standhardinger (San Miguel), Stanley Pringle (GlobalPort), JP Erram (Blackwater), Paul Lee (Magnolia), Don Trollano (TNT) and Asi Taulava (NLEX).
Part of the pool of players as well are Gilas cadet players Kobe Paras and Ricci Rivero.
Coach is Yeng Guiao of NLEX to be assisted by Caloy Garcia of Rain or Shine.
To recall, the core of the TNT KaTropa team was set to represent the Philippines in the Asiad before some of their players got suspended after the brawl that happened between Gilas Pilipinas and Australia in the third window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers last month, forcing SBP to turn to other sources.
Rain or Shine was then announced to represent the country on July 26, but hours later had its selection recalled as local basketball officials decided not to send a team altogether, which only fueled resentment and criticism.
In regrouping, familiarity was cited as one key reason for the composition of the team, which makes a whole lot of sense given it was left with a short time to prepare and train.
Rain or Shine undeniably was the best team in the ongoing Commissioner’s Cup outside of finalists San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra while the players culled from the other teams have particular skills sets and qualities that could help the Asiad-bound squad.
During the formal announcement of the reconsideration on Sunday, this space asked Coach Yeng what kind of team are they envisioning as they trim the roster from a pool of 14 players to the final 12.
“When you go international, you got to have the shooters and you have to have the quality big men. I guess, that will be the basis for the next eight days of practice, who can give those,” Guiao said, something I believe he has going with the players he has right now.
Yes, they are not the “primary” talent available but they are a collection that could potentially make things happen.
In hindsight, one just could only wish all these delays in preparation did not happen. But good thing reconsideration was made for the way things were panning out in the aftermath of the pullout as it could have gotten worse.
To Coach Yeng and the rest of the Asiad-bound team, all the best in your campaign. All support for you guys.
All’s well that ends well.
 
Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld senior reporter covering the Sports beat.
msmurillo@bworldonline.com

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