Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 12610

Ceres and Global trek back to AFC Cup action

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

LOCAL sides Ceres-Negros FC and Global Cebu FC return to 2018 AFC Cup action today coming from different directions.

Ceres takes on Home United FC in a Group F match in Singapore fresh from a 9-0 victory over Boeung Ket Angkor of Cambodia last time around while Global faces off with Bali United FC at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Group G looking to bounce back from its 1-0 loss to FLC Than Hoa FC of Vietnam in its group opener previously.

Both matches are set for 7:30 p.m.

Bacolod-based Ceres had a great start to its AFC Cup group play campaign at its home field of Panaad Park and Football Stadium on Feb. 13, pounding on Boeung Ket Angkor.

Forward Takumi Uesato and midfielders Bienvenido Maranon and OJ Porteria had a brace each in the rout with defender Carli de Murga and substitute Manny Ott adding a goal each. An own goal from Boeung Ket defender Sun Sovanrithy completed the shutout for the Philippine-based side.

The defending ASEAN Zone winner Ceres, and the inaugural Philippines Football League champion, said the victory was a testament to how far it has come as a club not only on local shores but also international.

It went on to say that it has been steadily building up its team and that it is well aware that the competition is viewing it keenly no longer as an underdog but straight up a contender.

“We are no longer underdogs in this campaign. Everybody is aware of us and we have to be aware of that and be ready,” said Ceres midfielder Stephan Schrock following their 9-0 victory.

He added that their mind-set has always been to go for the win each time and that would not change the rest of the way.

But while Ceres had its way in its last match, local football analyst Lorenzo Del Carmen does not expect such an easy time for the team this time around, saying it could be “trickier.”

“We can’t be quite sure. Each game will be different. Their next game away at Home United will prove trickier than this one,” said Mr. Del Carmen, who writes for local site Tiebreaker Times, when asked by BusinessWorld for his thoughts.

“They simply outmatched Boeung Ket. The away side had no idea how to defend against Ceres’ attacking football and were simply punished,” he added.

Ceres’ opponent today, Home United, is coming off a victory of its own, 1-0, over Shan United FC of Myanmar and is attempting to get the better of Ceres for solo leadership in its grouping.

GLOBAL FC
On the part of Global, it looks to redeem itself after being victimized late in its game against FLC Than Hoa in Hanoi on Feb. 10.

The team competed well three-fourths of the way only to see its efforts go crashing down when Senegalese forward Pape Omar Faye scored the marginal goal for the home team at the 74th minute.

Global tried to regroup after and angled to salvage a draw at least but just could not complete it en route to slumping to the loss.

It will face a Bali United team reeling from a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Yangon United FC in its last game.

Crowd support, second unit key to Gilas’ second win over Japan

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

HAD it rough right from the get-go, Gilas Pilipinas admitted its victory over Japan in the second window of group play of the FIBA Asian World Cup Qualifiers on Sunday night could have easily gone the other way if not for two key components — crowd support and the team’s second unit.

Coming off a loss in its last game against Australia on Feb. 22, the Philippine national men’s basketball team knew it had to win against the Japanese to fortify its spot in the next round of the qualifiers.

It did not come easy for the team but it got by and pulled off the 89-84 victory in front of the hometown crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena to improve to 3-1 after two competition windows and pushed itself to a good position to advance.

Meeting the media after their win, Gilas coach Chot Reyes and guard Kiefer Ravena underscored the key role that the Filipino crowd played as they struggled early in the contest and when they were threatened late in the game.

“We are not hiding the fact that we could not have won had it not for the fans who gave us a lot of adrenaline in the game. They were our sixth man,” said Mr. Reyes during the postgame press conference.

He was seconded by Mr. Ravena, who said with the kind of support they received from the fans it was hard not to go all-out and go for the win.

“The support of the fans was really big. And we thank them a lot. They pushed us especially when we had our struggles and it helped in this win,” said Mr. Ravena, a rookie in the Philippine Basketball Association.

Mr. Reyes also threw a shout-out to the team’s second unit who got the team going all throughout the match.

Mr. Ravena, Troy Rosario, Roger Pogoy, Calvin Abueva and June Mar Fajardo all came off the bench to give their team a boost in crucial stages of the match — from them falling 20-4 behind early, to surviving the back-and-forth with Japan, to fending off the charge back by the visiting team late the contest that saw their lead cut down to just two points, 86-84, with 31 seconds remaining.

Naturalized player Andray Blatche and stalwart Jayson Castro proved to be steady for the team in the end but Mr. Reyes said the auxiliaries had a big impact in their victory.

“We kind of expected that we would struggle coming off a long trip from Australia. We were expecting it which is why when Japan built the early lead we did not panic yet as we knew eventually we will get it going,” said Mr. Reyes.

“We knew, too, that Japan was fighting for its tournament life and that they will jump on us. That is why we made sure the second unit was ready because we felt the second unit will get us back into the game. If you noticed the guys that played in Australia like Kiefer, June Mar, Pogoy and even Calvin came off the bench today. When we played Australia we were thinking of this game against Japan and luckily we were right,” he added.

Mr. Ravena, who finished with 13 points and five assists, provided the energy on both ends of the court when Gilas went down by double digits in the early goings of the first quarter while Mr. Rosario had 14 as well, most of it coming in the crucial stretch in the closing minutes of the first and opening moments of the second quarter where the team started to create some distance from its opponent.

Mr. Abueva had eight points while Mr. Fajardo had seven.

Mr. Blatche led the team with 18 points and 16 rebounds while Mr. Castro had eight, two coming with 12 seconds remaining that stopped Japan’s furious fightback.

“This is a big win for the team. We showed grit and determination not to give up even when things get rough,” said Mr. Reyes.

Gilas Pilipinas next plays in the third window against Chinese Taipei on June 29.

Seniors champs to defend titles

ASIDE from overall champion Luisita Golf Club, four other teams are returning to defend their division titles in the 32nd Philippine Airlines Senior Interclub golf team championships which get under way on Thursday in Bacolod City.

Orchard Golf and Country Club is sending the same crew that posted a 20-point victory over Negros Occidental (NOGCC) in the Founders division last year in Davao.

The team is composed of Ryan Abdon, Louie Garcia, Chito Servida, Anthony Ingalla, Luis Sajorda and Koreans Young Sook Kim, Jin Gon Lee and Jun Bai Lee.

Unlike last year, however, Orchard non-playing captain Francis Montallana said he expects tough competition from the host club NOGCC, Manila Golf, Valley and Cebu Country Club.

“NOGCC should be favored because they’re playing at Marapara, their home course,” Montallana said. “But the team is ready to play well.”

Aside from Marapara, the Bacolod Golf and Country Club, popularly known as Binitin, is the other venue.

Orchard flew yesterday in Bacolod in time for the official practice rounds.

Also expected to fly in are Luisita and the other defending champions — Aviator’s Alta Vista GCC, Sportswriters’ Iligan GCC and Friendship’s Lumbia Golf Club.

The four-day team event uses the Molave scoring system wherein a par is worth 3 points. Regulation score is worth 54 points.

Each team is allowed to field four players per round, but only the best three scores count.

The event serves as a prelude to the 71st PAL Men’s Regular Interclub championships set next week.

Streaking Batangas City, Muntinlupa clash; Navotas eyes win vs Bataan

BATANGAS CITY and Muntinlupa are two of the hottest teams in the MPBL-Anta Rajah Cup. Navotas and Bataan are also coming off contrasting victories.

Only two teams will continue their streak in tonight’s double header at the Navotas Sports Complex in the continuation of the event put up by Senator Manny Pacquiao with Kenneth Duremdes serving as commissioner.

The Tanduay-backed Athletics have not lost a game in five meetings and they want to extend their winning streak against the similarly hot Angelis Restor-supported Cagers beginning 7 p.m.

Batangas City is coming off its toughest challenge encountered so far — an 87-79 overtime triumph over the Parañaque Patriots in a game that saw the ejection of Jonathan Belorio, who hit Jhaymo Eguilos in the head that resulted in a commotion during the third period.

“This one is the toughest win for us and we expect tougher games ahead. Muntinlupa is a different team, far from the one that lost its opening game,” added Batangas City coach Mac Tan.

Muntinlupa is on a four-game winning run, including a convincing win over erstwhile unbeaten Quezon City Capitals-Royal Manila. At 4-1, the Cagers are in solo second spot and a win over the Athletics could put them on top of the standings by virtue of the win over the other rule.

But while the curtain-raiser proves to be an explosive encounter, the main game will be much-anticipated as Navotas plays host to Bataan. The 9 p.m. encounter between the Big J Sports-backed Clutch and the BaiShipping-sponsored Defenders will be a battle between two teams coming off from contrasting wins.

The Clutch snapped back-to-back setbacks with a big bounce back victory over the Valenzuela Classic-Yulz. Valenzuela trailed for most of the way, but a happy shooting man named Yves Sazon lighted things up for coach Elvis Tolentino and his troops on their way to notching their third victory in five matches and forging a tie with their victims at fourth spot.

They will face a Defenders squad that is also coming off a win against the erstwhile winless squad Imus Bandera-GLC Truck and Equipment.

Al Carlos scored a career-high 22 points to provide the much needed help for Gary David, who tallied 20. — Rey Joble

Green powers up Spurs’ offense in win over Cavs

LOS ANGELES — LaMarcus Aldridge led the offensive attack in the paint and Danny Green shot the lights out from long distance as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 110-94, on Sunday.

Aldridge finished with 27 points and Green chipped in 22 as the Spurs snapped a four-game losing skid.

Green missed Friday’s loss to Denver with food poisoning but on Sunday he delivered the perfect side dish to Aldridge’s dynamic inside game with his five three-pointers.

“Every win is a big one for us,” Green said. “But this month we’ve had some ups and downs. This is a really good team, especially with the best player in the world over there.”

Indeed, Cavs’ superstar LeBron James flirted with a triple double by finishing with 33 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists but that’s not what James wanted to talk about after the loss.

The reigning All-Star Game MVP slammed officials after the game, saying they are not calling enough fouls on him.

“There’s no reason I should be going to the line four times in a game when I drive 100 times to the paint and I’m getting hit and slapped and grabbed and whatever and what not,” James said.

James thinks the officials are protecting players that shoot a lot of three-point shots and not calling enough fouls on players like him who like to drive to the basket.

‘CHICKS DIG LONG BALL’
“Chicks dig the long ball and that’s what it’s about,” James said.

San Antonio was called for 12 personal fouls — only three in the second half — and shot 32 free throws compared to 14 for Cleveland.

Cleveland dropped to 3-2 since overhauling their roster before the all-star break with three trades.

Dejounte Murray added 13 points and nine rebounds for San Antonio, who are playing without injured star Kawhi Leonard.

Elsewhere, Jrue Holiday scored 28 of his 36 points after halftime to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 123-121 overtime victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

Holiday chipped in nine rebounds and six assists for New Orleans, who won their season-high fifth straight game.

Milwaukee’s Jason Terry tossed up a potential game-winning three-pointer but the officials ruled it was after the buzzer.

Anthony Davis added 27 points and 13 rebounds for the Pelicans, who trailed by 18 early in the second half but outscored Milwaukee 38-19 in the third quarter.

James Harden scores 27 of his 41 points in the first half as the Houston Rockets held on to beat the Denver Nuggets, 119-114. — AFP

Cris Joven well prepared for this year’s Ronda Pilipinas

CRIS JOVEN seeks to improve on his third place last year as he rides for Army-Bicycology Shop in the Ronda Pilipinas 2018 presented by LBC unfolding on March in Vigan, Ilocos Sur and ending on March 18 in Filinvest, Alabang.

Joven, 30, wound up third overall behind eventual champion Jan Paul Morales and Navy-Standard Insurance teammate Rudy Roque despite coming in with little preparation and will be come into the 12-stage race with a lot of optimism.

“Compared to last year, I’m better prepared now so hopefully I could contend and challenge them again,” said Joven, a proud son of Iriga, Camarines Sur, in Filipino.

Joven will also be backstopped by veteran campaigners Alfie Catalan, Merculio Ramos, Jr., Marvin Tapic, Reynaldo Navarro and Alvin Benosa as they challenge the big guns like Morales and former champions Santy Barnachea of Team Franzia and Iris Valenzuela of CCN Superteam.

The other members of the Army-Bicyclogy team are Lord Anthony del Rosario and Kenneth Solis in this race presented by LBC and supported by MVP Sports Foundation, CCN, Petron, Versa.ph, 3Q Sports Event Management, Inc., Boy Kanin, Franzia, Standard Insurance, Bike Xtreme, SH+, Guerciotti, Prolite, Green Planet, Maynilad, NLEX Cycling, Lightwater, LBC Foundation and PhilCycling.

A cool P1 million will be at stake in this 12-stage race that will be jump-started by the 40-kilometer (km.) Vigan criterium Stage One on March 3 and the 155.4-km. Vigan-Pagudpud Stage Two the next day.

The race resumes with the 223.5-km. Pagudpud-Tuguegarao Stage Three on March 5, 135.2-km. Tuguegarao-Isabela Stage Four on March 6, 179.4-km. Isabela-Nueva Ecija Stage Five on March 8, 111.8-km. Nueva Ecija-Tarlac Stage Six on March 9, 31.5-km. Individual Time Trial Stage Seven and 42.14-km. Team Time Trial Stage Eight both in Tarlac on March 10 and 11.

Winding up the race are the 207.2-km. Silang-Batangas-Tagaytay Stage Nine on March 15, 147.8-km. Tagaytay-Calaca Stage 10 on March 16, 92.72-km. Calaca-Calaca Stage 11 on March 17 and the 50-km. Filinvest Alabang criterium Stage 12 on March 18.

Other teams competing are the Tarlac Province, Go for Gold, Go for Gold Developmental team, South Luzon, Ilocos Sur Province, Nueva Ecija and Team Bike Xtreme.

Wesley So’s secrets

I wrote last week that Wesley So has recently authored two DVD’s in the Chessbase shop:

My Secret Weapon: 1.b3, and

My Black Secrets in the Modern Italian

With the kind permission of Wesley So I am presenting to our readers a game he annotated from the latter DVD. It is instructive, interesting and easy to follow. Go to www.chessbase.com and click “shop.” Beg, borrow, steal, but you have got to get these two DVDs!

Note: I have had to edit down the game below due to space limitations.

Anand, Viswanathan (2782) — So, Wesley (2788) [C50]
London Chess 2017 (9), 11.12.2017
[So, Wesley]

London was cold, snowy, sleety, rainy and windy. Although I fought hard in my games I couldn’t seem to create much heat. What to do? People seem to think that strong players can and should win whenever they want. My guess is the people who think that have never played the best chess players in the world in a lengthy tournament. Everyone fights to the death and more often than not, a win or loss can hang on one single move. Anyway, I had some great battles that did not end decisively and now I was at the last game. My last chance and I’m playing black against the great Anand. Hope dies hard and of course I had a flickering hope that I might crack a win this time but hey… I’m sure Vishy did too.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4

I was happy to see this move. I’d prepared mostly for 3.Bb5, but before this tournament I’d prepared a DVD for ChessBase in the Italian Game. In looking at the material for the work and familiarizing myself with the typical ideas, plans, and setups, I also noticed that it’s not easy for White to claim a clear cut advantage when Black knows what to do.

3…Bc5 4.0–0

The slow classical setup. For the time being, White just wants to castle and develop his pieces.

4…Nf6 5.d3 0–0

Here Black already has a flexible choice, with …a6,…a5,…d6, or …h6 all playable alternatives. I like 5…0–0, as I keep the option of going d7–d5 in one move and I am not necessarily afraid of the pin Bg5.

6.a4

Just the previous day, I’d been very impressed by Vishy’s game: 6.c3 d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 8.a4 (8.Re1 Bg4) 8…a6 9.Re1 Bg4 10.h3 Bh5 11.Nbd2 f6 12.Ne4 Ba7 13.b4 Kh8 14.Bd2 Nce7 15.b5 axb5 16.axb5 c6= with no problems. Black’s play here looks so convincing that in fact if Vishy went for this I wouldn’t have minded playing the exact same line starting with 8…a6 against him! Vachier Lagrave,M (2789)-Anand,V (2782) London 2017 ½–½ (27).

With both our kings castled short 6.Bg5 does not look dangerous, after 6…h6 7.Bh4 Black can just go 7…g5 8.Bg3 d6 9.c3 and here there are many possibilities, but I like 9…a6 to reserve a safe square for my bishop.

6.h3 is possible too. Black can play 6…d5 7.exd5 Nxd5 but it’s not the best timing, as d3 is solidly protected. So I would prefer 6…d6. 8.Nbd2 White is slightly better.

6.Re1 Ng4 7.Re2 gives Black the extra option of 7…Nd4!? (Or perhaps even better is 7…Kh8 8.h3 f5! 1–0 (57) So,W (2770)-Giri,A (2785) Bilbao 2016) 8.Nxd4 Bxd4 9.h3 Nf6 with simplifications.

6.Nbd2 is okay too, but it blocks the bishop from developing. Black can play 6…d6 7.c3 a5 8.Re1 Be6; 6.Nc3 is not scary, Black plays 6…h6 to prevent Bg5 then 7.Nd5 d6=

6…h6

A slight move-order subtlety. 6…a5 is natural, but I assume he would go 7.Bg5 which gives White extra possibilities, as now the b5 square is weak. Levon played 3 games in 2017 with 7…h6 8.Bh4 Be7 but I’m not particularly convinced and I haven’t analyzed it deeply enough either.

7.c3

[7.a5 is worthy of interest. White threatens a5–a6 so 7…a6 8.c3 d6 gives a slightly different pawn structure]

7…a5

I like this …a5 setup. Black fights for every bit of space in the queenside and controls the dark squares very well.

8.Nbd2

The move 8.d4 gives Black many possible options: 8…exd4 (8…Bb6 9.dxe5 Nxe4) 9.cxd4 Bb6 10.e5 d5 (Or 10…Ne8 11.Nc3 d6 seems to hold out well)

8…d6 9.h3 Be6

Trading pieces is welcome for Black.

10.Re1

[10.Bxe6 fxe6 looks a little worrying to me because of the doubled-pawns. But Black controls enough space and should be able to fight successfully. 11.Re1 d5 (Or 11…Qe8 12.Nf1 Nh5) ]

10…Bxc4 11.Nxc4 Re8 12.Be3

With g5 under my control he does not have really anything better than to exchange dark-squared bishops.

12…Bxe3 13.Nxe3 Qd7

The freeing break 13…d5 does not work yet 14.Qb3! dxe4 (14…d4 15.cxd4 exd4 16.Nf5 with a slightly better game for White) 15.dxe4 Nxe4 16.Qxb7 Re6 (16…Qd7 17.Rad1 Nd6 18.Nc4±) 17.Rad1; But I considered 13…Ne7 which is fine.

14.Qb3 Ne7

I was starting to get worried over my c4–b5 light squares though closer analysis shows White is not fast enough to exploit it. Then I decided to transfer my knight to a better square.

15.Nc4 Ng6 16.Rad1

I thought this was too slow, but the position is so sterile anyway. I told Vishy after the game that I thought 16.Re3 might be a bit better for White, as he is faster on the e-file. 16…b6 17.Rae1 Nh5! 18.Kh2 (18.d4 Nhf4) 18…Nhf4 but the computer disagrees with me anyway and it turns out that he has problems with my knight on f4.

16…b6 17.Qc2

Again this looks slow. I thought his queen was just fine where it was but it might be needed to protect the kingside from Nf4 sometimes. 17.d4 exd4 18.Rxd4 Re6 gives White problems along the e-file; 17.Qb5 Nf4=

17…d5

I could play other moves, such as Qc6 or Nh5 but generally if d6–d5 works I should just go for it.

18.exd5 Qxd5 19.b3

I was a little surprised with this as now it’s clear that I have no problems whatsoever. I expected 19.Ne3 Qc6 (19…Qb7 20.Nc4 draw.) 20.d4=

19…Rad8

Centralizing the rooks.

20.d4 exd4 21.Rxd4 Rxe1+ 22.Nxe1 Qa8 23.Rxd8+ Qxd8

By now I realize that Vishy is probably happy to force the draw.

24.Qd3?!

This is not the best way though as the queen can be kicked by my knights with Nf4, Nd5 etc.

24.Nd3 Nd5 might be a bit uncomfortable for White;

24.Qd2 Qxd2 25.Nxd2 Nf4;

I thought 24.b4 is the simplest, to trade pawns and weaken my queenside.

24…Qe7!

It is wise for Black to keep queens for now. I calculated this long line: 24…Qxd3 25.Nxd3 Nd5 26.b4 Ngf4 (26…Nxc3 27.bxa5 bxa5 28.Nc5) 27.bxa5 bxa5 28.Nc5 Ne6 29.Ne4 (29.Nxe6 fxe6 30.Nxa5 Nxc3 leaves me a pawn up.) 29…f5 30.Ng3 g6 31.Ne2 Nef4 32.Nxf4 Nxf4. But then it turns out I am not even winning a pawn: 33.Ne5! Ne2+ (33…Kg7 34.c4) 34.Kf1 Nxc3 35.Nxg6 Nxa4 36.Ne7+ Kf7 37.Nc6 is equal.

25.Nc2 Nf4 26.Qd2 N6d5 27.Kf1 <D>

[27.Kh2 Qe2 28.g3 Qxd2 29.Nxd2 Ne6 30.c4 Nb4 31.Nxb4 axb4 Black is only slightly better]

Position after 27.Kf1

27…Nxc3 28.N4e3?

The losing mistake. He still had a lot of time here. Obviously on a good day he would have surely spotted 28.Nxb6, but in London, Vishy and Michael Adams were a bit out of form. 28.Nxb6! might be enough for a draw. 28…cxb6 (28…Qg5 29.Ne1) 29.Qxc3 Qe2+ 30.Kg1 Qd1+ 31.Kh2 Ne2 32.Qc8+ The point of the knight sacrifice. 32…Kh7 33.Qf5+ is equal.

28…Ne4 29.Qd4 c5 30.Qd1 Qf6

Being quite low on time, I chose a logical looking move. Black wins right away after 30…Qh4! 31.Ng4 Nxh3! (31…f5 32.Qd7 Qh5 wins too, albeit a more complicated one) 32.gxh3 (32.g3 Qg5) 32…Qxh3+ 33.Kg1 Nc3 34.Qd8+ Kh7 and White’s king has no defense. I spotted 31…Nxh3! but I just couldn’t believe that it wins on the spot! Maybe I need to have more belief in myself. 35.Nh2 Ne2+ 36.Kh1 Qf5–+.

31.Ng4

Resistance could’ve been much tougher with 31.Qd7 threatening Qe8 check. 31…Kh7 32.f3 Ng3+ 33.Kf2 Qh4 34.Qg4; 31.f3 Ng3+ 32.Kf2 Qh4 is a bit different as White has no Qg4.

31…Qc3 32.Nce3 h5 33.Nh2 Qb2 0–1

Here Vishy had to resign, as he will inevitably lose a second pawn. An unexpected win for me! It’s quite difficult to win with the Black pieces against players of this caliber. You need to be in really good form, or your opponent in really bad form. As I missed chances against Nepomniatchi and Aronian earlier in the tournament, this win was received with a big sigh of relief!

I have said many times that a good exercise for self-improvement is to annotate your own games. As you can see from the above this is a skill that Wesley So has mastered very well.

 

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

Wizards thrive without Wall

When news of John Wall’s impending surgery hit hoops circles late last month, not a few quarters figured the Wizards to be dead meat. After all, they sported a pedestrian 27-22 slate, and the five-time All-Star’s absence for the next six to eight weeks was sure to put a crimp on their already-questionable competitiveness. True, they were in the so-called Leastern Conference, where even those struggling to play .500 ball had a chance to make the playoffs. On the other hand, their campaign up to that point could best be described as up and down, and appeared headed for worse without their acknowledged leader.

Fast forward four weeks, and it looks like the Wizards will be just fine. In fact, they have thrived without Wall, going eight and three since he had his left knee cleaned up, and looking every bit like the conference power they were projected to be. And it isn’t just because they sit just half a game behind the still-in-transition Cavaliers for third place in the conference. The quality of their victories show the extent of their progress; en route, they’ve prevailed against such notables as the Thunder, the Raptors, the aforesaid defending East champions, and the Sixers.

These days, the Wizards are a confident bunch. It helps, of course, that they have another capable All-Star in Bradley Beal to spearhead their cause. More importantly, however, Wall’s forced sidelining has provided them with the impetus to prove their worth — as if they want all and sundry to see they remain a force — without him. If anything, they seem to rejoice in dealing with adversity without having to rely on him; starting Center Marcin Gortat even went so far as to indicate in a social-media post how much more of a “team” they are in his absence.

There’s evidence of the Wizards drawing strength in themselves, to be sure. Certainly, their performance sans Wall underscores their capacity to be greater than the sum of their parts. Every single player from Beal down has stepped up. Among others, Tomas Satoransky has thrived in a starter’s role, Otto Porter has gladly accepted a bigger offensive load, and Kelly Oubre has been a spark plug off the bench. That said, they understand that the only way they can go deep in the postseason is if they get him back at full strength.

Parenthetically, Wall’s problems with his left knee limited his effectiveness on the court, in large measure accounting for the Wizards’ woes early on. He needed to have it scoped, and, to their credit, they bonded in the aftermath. Moving forward, though, Beal is right. They’re much, much better with him — or, to be more precise, the unhampered him — in action. That they didn’t have to take a step back in order to make sure they can then take two steps ahead is a testament to their spirit.

Needless to say, Wall’s impending return will compel the Wizards to adjust anew. Nonetheless, they’ll be better prepped for the best-of-seven affairs to come with him on board. He’s integral to their success. He knows it. They know it. Everybody knows it.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.

Meralco net income up by 27%

Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) reported a net income of P4.46 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, higher by 27% compared with P3.5 billion a year earlier as new consumer accounts and high consumer spending boosted energy sales, the distribution utility said on Monday, Feb. 26.

“[Fourth-quarter 2017] sales volume [at 10,701 gigawatt-hours] is 7% higher than 10,039 GWh in the fourth quarter of 2016 mainly due to new residential accounts and ramp-up of accounts energized in 2016 complemented by high consumer spending,” said Betty C. Siy-Yap, Meralco senior vice-president and chief finance officer, in a press conference.

Adjusted for one-time, exceptional transactions, core net income rose by 5% to P4.84 billion from P4.62 billion previously.

“For the commercial sector, the real estate, hotels and restaurants and retail trade drove the volume growth,” Mr. Siy-Yap said. “On the industrial front, semiconductor, basic metals, food and beverage industries continued to provide additional volumes.”

For full-year 2017, Meralco recorded a 3% rise in core net income at P20.2 billion, before exceptional items. Reported net income was up 6% to P20.38 billion.

Core income excludes the effect of foreign exchange gains or losses, impairment charges, mark-to-market adjustments, gain on disposal of investment and other one-off items.

“2017 turned out to be another good year for Meralco,” said Oscar S. Reyes, Meralco president and chief executive officer, citing an improvement on both the commercial, operating and financial fronts.

Mr. Reyes attributed the increase to the “combined effects” of a growing customer base and positive economic conditions, with gross domestic product growth of 6.7%, moderate inflation at 3.2% and the softening of the peso at P49.93 to a dollar. He also cited stable power supply and lower power plant outages. — Victor V. Saulon

Inflation likely to pick up pace in next two months — FMIC

Inflation will likely peak at 4.5% over the next two months as it reels from the impact of higher crude prices and new taxes imposed on basic goods, which will likely trigger a policy rate hike from the central bank by March.

Analysts at First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) said they expect inflation to pick up by March and April at 4.5%, before slowing to back to within the 2-4% target range set by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

“[W]e think that inflation will accelerate in H1 but will start to decelerate thereafter as food and crude oil prices normalize,” the research firm said in its monthly report published Monday, Feb. 26.

Prices shot up by 4% in January, beating market expectations and logging the fastest in over three years.

BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. has attributed the price spike to the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, as well as to rising oil and food prices. However, the central bank chief said the impact of tax reform is likely temporary and would eventually “stabilize.” — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

DBP posts 22% net income growth in 2017

Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) saw its net income rise in 2017 on the back of steady growth in its loan portfolio.

In a press briefing on Monday, Feb. 26, DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Cecilia C. Borromeo said the state-owned lender booked a P5.1 billion net income in 2017, 22% higher than the P4.2 billion posted in 2016.

“There are a lot of positive things going in our institution. We are experiencing robust growth in our financials,” Ms. Borromeo said.

DBP’s net income growth was mainly spurred by its gross loan portfolio which grew to P293.47 billion by 22% from the P240.9 billion logged in a comparable year-ago period.

The lender’s deposits expanded to P412.36 billion last year, up 16% from the P356.24 billion recorded in 2016.

Overall, DBP’s total assets reached P597.41 billion, growing 11% from the P536.11 figure in 2016. — Karl Angelo N. Vidal

Aquino questions credibility of Dengvaxia forensic examiner

FORMER President Benigno S.C. Aquino on Monday, Feb. 26, slammed an “unqualified” forensic expert during the House inquiry into the Dengvaxia controversy where he appeared as resource person.

“Masakit po nito: Lahat na lang po may opinyon, kwalipikado man o hindi, lalo na po yung isang maingay na ang certification ay tila isang antas lang ang lamang sa nabibiling diploma sa Recto,” Mr. Aquino said, reading from his prepared statement.

Mr. Aquino alleged that the certification of the forensic expert came from a “questionable course.”

“Galing po ang certification ng maingay na ito, sa kwestyunableng kurso kung saan manonood ka lang raw ng video ng isang oras kalahati, saka mag-exam na open book, at matapos mong magbayad ng 660 dollars ay certified ka na sa forensics (The certification of this expert is from a questionable course, where you just watch a video for one-and-a-half hours, then take an exam, and after you pay $660 you are a certified forensic expert) ,” he said.

The former chief executive also said that it is the duty of the government to appease the public in times of calamity.

This is after parents are reportedly resisting the other immunization programs of the Department of Health (DoH).

DoH Secretary Francisco T. Duque III made the same call during the hearing and added that other government agencies should be “prudent” in releasing statements about the Dengvaxia vaccine to avoid creating hysteria and affecting the programs of the department.

Mr. Duque added that the Public Attorney’s Office and the University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital, which are conducting separate studies, should work together in investigating the deaths possibly linked to the anti-dengue vaccine.

1...12,60912,61012,611...13,861Page 12,610 of 13,861
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube