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BIR collection up 15% in Jan. from sugar tax boost

COLLECTIONS of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) surged in January on the back of tax reform, the agency’s chief said noting that additional duties imposed on sweetened drinks provided the biggest lift.

BIR Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay said preliminary data showed that the agency’s collections jumped last month by 15% year on year.

The agency collected P147.39 billion in January 2017. A 15% increase would bring the month’s tally to around P169.5 billion.

Although declining to give a ballpark figure, Mr. Dulay told reporters that new taxes imposed on sugar-sweetened beverages shored up collection by P1.4 billion in just 18 days.

“I can tell you that the new tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, (we collected) P2 billion in less than a month… That’s a new addition because in 2017, wala pa ‘yan (we didn’t have that boost),” Mr. Dulay told reporters on the sidelines of the BIR’s 2018 Tax Campaign Kick-off last Friday.

The Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law imposed additional excise taxes on sugary drinks, with the higher prices aimed at discouraging Filipinos from consuming soft drinks and similar unhealthy treats.

The new law, which took effect on Jan. 1, imposed an excise rate of P6 per liter on drinks containing caloric or non-caloric sweetener and P12 per liter on drinks containing high-fructose corn syrup. Instant coffee mixes and milk are exempted from these taxes.

Signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte as Republic Act No. 10963, the TRAIN removed some exemptions to value-added tax as it increased tax rates for fuel, automobiles, tobacco, coal, minerals, documentary stamps, foreign currency deposit units, capital gains for stocks not on the stock exchange, and stock transactions. It also introduced a new tax covering cosmetic procedures.

These are expected to more than offset lower rates for personal income taxes for those earning below P2 million, alongside a simpler system for computing donor and estate taxes.

The BIR is targeting to collect P2.039 trillion in taxes this 2018, which is 11.48% more than the P1.829 trillion goal it initially set early last year. If realized, this would also be 14.6% higher than the P1.779 trillion collected in 2017.

Mr. Dulay had said in January that the TRAIN is expected to contribute an additional P15.893 billion in tax revenues to the BIR this year.

During Friday’s tax campaign launch, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said the BIR’s efforts would receive a boost from the TRAIN law.

“While we expect some revenue losses from reducing the individual income tax rate and by raising exemption levels, we should be able to offset these losses with a whole new range of excise taxes. This should be easier for the BIR to calculate the excise taxes and collect them more efficiently,” Mr. Dominguez said in his speech. — Melissa Luz T. Lopez

Pressure mounts on Fed after budget deal

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve will face growing pressure to accelerate its planned interest-rate increases after a nearly $300-billion spending package signed into law Friday juices a US economy already souped up on tax cuts.

Economists at banks and consulting companies are busy marking up their economic forecasts in response to the legislation, saying it will help lift growth in 2018 to well above the 1.8% rate the Fed reckons is the economy’s long-run potential.

“It does shift the risks to the upside” to both growth and inflation, said former Fed official Peter Hooper, who is now chief economist at Deutsche Bank Securities in New York.

In their last quarterly projection in December, Fed officials penciled in three rate increases for this year, according to the median forecast in their so-called dot plot. They tacitly reaffirmed that view this week as they played down the economic impact of the recent stock market rout.

“So far, I’d say this is small potatoes,” New York Fed President William Dudley said Thursday in a Bloomberg Television and Radio interview.

In a note to clients Friday, JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief US economist Michael Feroli raised his forecast for growth this year to 2.6%, from 2.2% previously, and for next year to 1.9% from 1.6%. He also reaffirmed his call that the Fed will raise rates four times this year and next.

“We are now more confident that the Fed will need to move more aggressively than either the market or the dots currently anticipate,” said Mr. Feroli, a former Fed researcher.

Mr. Hooper said he too is more comfortable with his prediction that the Fed under new Chairman Jerome Powell will boost rates four times in 2018.

He reckons that the additional government expenditure will raise growth this year by 0.4 percentage point, potentially lifting Deutsche Bank’s economic growth forecast to 3% in 2018.

INFLATIONARY PRESSURES
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc., also sees as much as a 0.4 percentage point lift to 2018 growth from the budget package, adding that it comes at a time when the economy is already operating at its limits.

“It will fuel inflationary pressures,” Mr. Zandi said in an email. “How much inflation accelerates depends on how aggressively the Fed responds.”

Mr. Feroli said the extra growth will drive the unemployment rate even lower. He sees it dropping to 3.2% by the end of next year, from a near 17-year low of 4.1% in January.

That would leave joblessness well below the 4.6% level that Fed officials think is sustainable in the long run, according to their December projections.

Stephen Stanley, chief economist of Amherst Pierpont Securities LLC, said the Fed could get a little breathing room if the tax cut package lifts the potential growth rate of the economy — as he expects.

Mr. Feroli though argued that the central bank may not be able to delay its response to see whether such long-term benefits show through.

“The Fed doesn’t have the luxury to wait,” he said. — Bloomberg

Two-week term deposits on offer this week amid investor demand

By Melissa Luz T. Lopez,
Senior Reporter

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) will start offering two-week term deposits this week in response to “strong interest” among banks, as the central bank steps up its efforts to mop up excess liquidity in the system.

The central bank announced that the 14-day tenor will be offered this Wednesday with an initial P20-billion volume. This will add to the P40 billion worth of seven-day instruments and P20 billion under the 28-day term to be sold under the term deposit facility (TDF), bringing the total volume to P80 billion.

“The offering of the 14-day TDF tenor is in response to the strong interest of BSP’s various counter-parties for a tenor longer than seven days but shorter than 28 days following a series of BSP consultations,” the central bank said in a Feb. 9 statement posted on its Web site.

“This is also expected to further refine the BSP’s instruments and operations under the interest rate corridor system,” the BSP added, noting that the new tenor has been introduced in keeping with a “more market-based approach” in its operations.

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo said in December that they have been in talks with banks to possibly introduce a third tenor for the TDF, which will help the monetary authority capture excess money supply more efficiently.

The TDF is currently the central bank’s main tool to shore up surplus funds in the financial system. The window allows banks to park the idle cash they hold under the BSP in exchange for a small margin, which in turn will prod market rates to move closer to the three percent benchmark set by the central bank.

Some analysts have said that a two-week duration would be a viable offering for the term deposit auctions, as the market largely prefers short-termed instruments.

Mr. Guinigundo has also said that banks favor shorter tenors as these lend more “flexibility” in managing their funds as they deploy cash for lending, withdrawals, foreign exchange, offshore investments and debt payments.

Last week, the central bank reopened the month-long tenor as liquidity levels continued to normalize after some tightness seen over the holiday season in December.

Tenders reached P51.43 billion for the P20-billion auction size, which drove the average yield down to 3.0183% from the 3.4954% fetched during the Dec. 13 exercise.

Total demand reached P140.003 billion, more than double the P60 billion which the BSP wanted to sell.

AC Energy aiming to complete 3 biomass projects in 2 years

By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-Editor

AYALA CORP.’S energy unit targets to finish in the next two years the three recently acquired biomass projects to qualify for the guaranteed power rate offered under the extended feed-in-tariff (FiT) system, a company official said.

“We will rush it (construction). Tatapusin namin in two years itong tatlo (We will finish the three projects in two years). These will all be completed,” Don Mario Y. Dia, AC Energy Holdings, Inc. senior vice-president for external affairs, told reporters.

Mr. Dia was referring to the three plants under Negros Island Biomass Holdings, Inc. (Islabio), a company acquired last year by Presage Corp., a unit of Ayala-led AC Energy.

Islabio owns shares in three subsidiaries, namely: the 20-megawatt (MW) San Carlos Biopower, Inc., the 25-MW South Negros Biopower, Inc. and the 25-MW North Negros Biopower, Inc. They are all engaged in biomass power generation and sale of electricity.

While the San Carlos project has been delayed, Mr. Dia said it would be moving into the commissioning phase in the next two to three months.

“So that will be our first biomass that will be under FiT,” he said, referring to the system that offers a fixed rate for 20 years for the electricity produced by developers of solar, wind, biomass, ocean energy and run-of-river hydro power plants.

The FiT is granted to the first to finish projects by end-2017 or earlier if the limited capacity set by the Department of Energy (DoE) had been fully subscribed.

For biomass development, 19 projects with a total capacity of 138.61 MW were awarded certificates of eligibility as of November last year, or a balance of 111.39 MW out of the 250-MW target.

The DoE has said it is keen on extending the biomass FiT for two years.

Mr. Dia is hopeful the projects would be given consideration for the FiT. He said the first project was already inspected by the DoE after completing 80% of its electromechanical component. 

“There’s an inspection done by the DoE. That has been done and once you get through that, they will endorse your plant to the ERC (Energy Regulatory Commission) for the final inspection,” he said.

Even ahead of the ERC’s awarding of the certificate of compliance, the two other projects are being constructed.

“We’re proceeding… We are of the impression that it is already signed,” Mr. Dia said, referring to a DoE circular that would extend the granting of the FiT.

He placed the cost of the projects at $45 million each, or a total of $135 million.

Bronzeoak Philippines, Inc., the projects’ proponent, previously said that ThomasLloyd CTI Asia Holdings was the principal financial sponsor. WBE (Hong Kong) International Green Energy Ltd., another shareholder, will provide engineering and construction services. Bronzeoak has since been acquired by AC Energy.

Last week, Energy Undersecretary Jesus Cristino P. Posadas told a forum that the FiT for biomass and run-of-river hydro “may be given consideration for the extension of two years or upon subscription of the set installation target capacity, whichever comes first.”

Mr. Posadas was quoting a speech prepared by Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi, who earlier said that he was considering the extension for the two technologies, but definitely not for solar and wind.

Biomass projects that were completed by 2016 were awarded a FiT of P6.63 per kilowatt-hour, while those completed last year qualified for the P6.5969 degressed rate.

Yields on gov’t debt climb on inflation, hawkish BSP

YIELDS on government securities (GS) rose last week amid a risk-off tone in the market due to concerns on near-term inflation as well as the hawkish sentiments from the Philippine and US central banks.

GS yields rose by an average of 14.84 basis points (bps) week-on-week, data from the Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. as of Feb. 9 showed.

With the exception of the 182-day and 20-year debt papers, GS yields at the secondary market moved northward. At the short-end of the yield curve, the 91-day Treasury bills (T-bills) increased 33.32 bps to fetch 2.7105%. Likewise, the 364-day T-bills moved up by 2.74 bps to 2.9265%).

On the other hand, yields on the 182-day papers rallied as yields went down 26.64 bps to 2.8711%.

Meanwhile, the Treasury bonds at the belly saw their yields increase. The two-, three-, four-, five- and seven-year papers added 10.39 bps (3.9152%), 17.40 bps (4.3699%), 54.28 bps (5.0064%), 15.27 bps (4.9193%), and 46.58 bps (6.1804%), respectively.

At the long-end, the rate of the 10-year tenor increased 32.39 bps to 6.5332%. Yields on the 20-year debt paper, on the other hand, went down by 37.37 bps (6.0013%).

Analysts mostly attributed the increase in GS yields to the higher-than-expected domestic inflation result for January, which hit the upper bound of the Philippine central bank’s target for the year.

For Guian Angelo S. Dumalagan, market economist at the Land Bank of the Philippines, the inflation print increased the possibility of “some hawkish moves” from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) this year.

Despite some buying interest coming from the BSP’s decision to keep policy rates unchanged, Mr. Dumalagan noted the BSP’s “slightly hawkish tone” in its monetary policy meeting last Thursday.

“Persistent bets of another US interest rate hike in March 2018 also drove yields higher,” he added.

A bond trader shared this assessment, adding that concerns on rising US interest rates sooner than expected led to the “risk-off tone” prevailing in global financial markets with sell-offs seen across asset classes except for “safe haven currencies.”

Commenting on the BSP’s move to keep policy rates unchanged, the bond trader said the BSP “lent only 10 minutes of relief, with sellers quick to unload into any ‘rally,’”

The BSP kept benchmark borrowing rates steady in its first policy meeting of the year despite expectations that inflation will breach 4% in the months ahead. The central bank discounted its impact as “temporary.”

However, the BSP raised its inflation forecast for the year, expecting price increases to overshoot its 2-4% target for 2018.

For Security Bank Corp. Head of Institutional Sales Carlyn Therese X. Dulay, the government’s rejection of bids for the fresh seven-year T-bonds at last Tuesday’s auction may have lent support to the increase in GS yields.

The papers, which will mature on Feb. 8, 2025, were met with demand worth P25.82 billion among investors, slightly bigger than the P20 billion that the government intended to borrow.

Had the government proceeded with a full award, the T-bonds could have fetched an average rate of 5.273% and a coupon rate of 5.5%, higher than the 4.39% average quoted when these were last sold. However, it would have still been lower than the 5.9432% yield on the seven-year maturity in the secondary market before the auction.

Earlier that day, the government reported headline inflation accelerating to 4% in January, which is faster than the 3.3% and 2.7% readings in December 2017 and January 2017, respectively.

For this week’s trading, Landbank’s Mr. Dumalagan said: “[W]e may again see an upward bias in GS yields amid expectations of stronger US data on retail sales and inflation,” he said.

“These reports are expected to further raise the chances of another US interest rate hike next month. The increase in yields, however, might be tempered by safe-haven buying amid possibly weaker GDP (gross domestic product) growth data from Japan.”

For Ms. Dulay and the bond trader, GS yield movements this week may take its cue from the government’s auction for the T-bills as well as “overall global sentiment.” — Dane Angelo M. Enerio

PHI eyes Dusit Thani hotels in Coron, Siargao

By Arra B. Francia, Reporter

THE local operator of Dusit Thani hotels is scouting for more locations to expand the international hotel brand’s footprint in the country, alongside the completion of nine projects in the next three years.

Philippine Hoteliers, Inc. (PHI) has identified four new locations where it is currently in talks with partners to develop hotels under the Dusit brand.  

“We’re looking at Palawan… Coron. We already have a location that we’re looking at, just looking at the legal aspects. We have signed an indication of interest. Then Siargao is also nice. And hopefully we can close a Boracay one,” PHI President and Vice-Chairman Evelyn R. Singson told reporters on the sidelines of a press conference last week.

Ms. Singson added the company is eyeing another potential location within the Makati area, where an existing Dusit Thani Manila is located.

Aside from these new locations, PHI is in the middle of adding nine hotels to its portfolio by 2021. Three of these projects will be in Cebu, including the Dusit Thani Mactan Cebu Resort developed with Robinsons Land Corp., and dusitD2 Hotel with the Gaisano group. 

Three more are under development in Davao, all in partnership with Torre Lorenzo Development Corp. (TLDC). These are Dusit Thani Hotel at Lubi Plantation in Davao Gulf, Dusit Thani Residence Davao, and dusitD2 Hotel. Another partnership with TLDC is the Dusit Princess Lipa Hotel, due for completion in 2021. 

Dusit Waves is also being built in La Union, a popular spot for surfers.

This year, PHI is scheduled to open a dusitD2 hotel in Bonifacio Global City (BGC). It will offer 125 rooms along with 175 serviced apartments that are owned by the Limcaoco family.

Located next to the dusitD2, the Dusit Hospitality Management College will be run in collaboration with Switzerland’s École hôtelière de Lausanne and France’s Institut Paul Bocus. It is scheduled to start accepting enrollees in the next school year, and will be fully integrated with dusitD2 to allow students to directly train in the hotel.

Ms. Singson noted the school will help meet the demand for employees for the Dusit hotels once they are completed. 

PHI’s aggressive expansion comes on the back of the country’s strong economic growth, which Ms. Singson noted is one of the fastest in the world.

“We believe that there’s a lot of potential. The Philippines is so naturally beautiful… We just have to improve our infrastructure, offer more accommodation. Our peace and order has to be assured, and maybe improve our airports. The potential is there, and we are seeing that,” Ms. Singson said.

Megaworld notches double-digit growth in 2017, says official

MEGAWORLD Corp. said earnings grew at a double-digit pace in 2017, citing general growth across its residential, office, leisure, and hospitality segments.

“(It was a) very good year. Double digit growth to say the least,” Megaworld Senior Vice-President Kevin Andrew L. Tan told reporters last week when asked how the company performed in 2017.

Megaworld has yet to disclose its 2017 financial results.

The property firm of tycoon Andrew L. Tan is the country’s largest lessor of office spaces, ending the first nine months of last year with a total of 888,500 square meters (sq.m.). It had set a target to breach the one million sq.m. mark for its office space inventory by the end of 2017.

This segment was what drove the company’s net income 11% higher in the January to September period, allowing it to post an attributable profit of P9.98 billion. Rental income for the period climbed by 19% to P8.82 billion, contributing to its P37.1-billion consolidated revenues for the period.

Megaworld is currently beefing up its network of shopping malls to increase its contribution to recurring revenues by 2020. Mr. Tan said they will have a total of 28 malls at the end of this period, which will account for half of its P20-billion target for recurring revenues in 2020.

“At the very least one or two malls in every township. We have 23 townships so that’s at least 23 malls, plus a few more that’s stand alone,” said Mr. Tan, who also heads the company’s Lifestyle Malls division. 

With a total of 15 malls already operational, the Megaworld executive said the segment currently accounts for around 40% of recurring income.

“The mall business, there’s a lot of players. It’s a very crowded industry so the challenge is really to create a point of differentiation… We look at our mall business as part of a business strategy, which is the township model,” Mr. Tan said.

Megaworld is the property arm of Alliance Global Group, Inc., which also has core interests in liquor, gaming, and quick service restaurants.

The company currently has 23 townships located across the Philippines. This includes the 640-hectare Eastland Heights in Antipolo, Rizal and the 35.6-hectare Capital Town in Pampanga where Megaworld will spend P30 billion in the next 10 years. 

Shares in Megaworld were down by 10 centavos or 2% to finish at P4.90 apiece at the Philippine Stock Exchange last Friday. — Arra B. Francia

Revitalized NLEX halts Alaska winning streak

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE NLEX Road Warriors extended their rejuvenated push of late in the PBA Philippine Cup, adding erstwhile streaking Alaska Aces in their list of conquered foes with a 96-89 victory yesterday in their matinee encounter at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Riding a two-game winning streak entering the match, NLEX took its ascent to three wins in a row after dominating Alaska early and fending off the latter’s ferocious fight back in the final canto, halting in the process the Aces’ conference-high six-game winning run.

NLEX took control of the opening period, relying on the offensive outbursts of veterans Larry Fonacier and JR Quiñahan to race to a 29-18 advantage.

The Road Warriors sustained their fiery start in the opening quarter as the second canto commenced, outscoring the Aces, 11-6, in the first five minutes to lead, 40-24.

Alaska managed to cut NLEX’s lead to 12 points, 41-29, with less than four minutes to play as it stepped up its defensive pressure.

NLEX, however, regained control with rookie Kiefer Ravena facilitating offense for the team.

The Road Warriors went on an 11-0 blast after to stretch their lead to 23 points, 52-29, before settling for a 20-point gap, 52-32, by the halftime break.

Off the break, NLEX continued to lord it over Alaska, establishing a 30-point lead, 69-39, with 6:50 remaining on the clock.

An 8-0 run by the Aces in the next minute and a half cut the lead to 22 points, 69-47.

NLEX though would stop the bleeding, answering back with a 6-0 blast of its own and stayed in solid form as the quarter ended, holding a 79-54 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.

Alaska continued to fight in the fourth period despite the deep hole it was in. It was able to slash NLEX’s lead to just 11 points, 87-76, with 4:25 to go in the game on the strength of forcing turnovers and fast-break points.

Mr. Quiñahan broke NLEX’s drought with a jumper to take their lead to 13 points, 89-76.

At the two-minute warning, the Road Warriors held an eight-point cushion, 91-83, seeing it further cut down to two, 91-89, with 13 ticks to go.

NLEX guard Kevin Alas was fouled thereafter but split his free throws to still open the door for Alaska, 92-89.

The Aces sued for time to set up a play to tie or come further close, but they threw the ball away off the inbounds pass.

Alaska fouled Mr. Ravena with eight seconds to play. The first-year guard converted his charities and extended their lead, 94-89.

Two more free throws from Mr. Fonacier after settled things and gave the win to NLEX.

Mr. Fonacier and Raul Soyud led NLEX with 15 points each while Mr. Ravena had a double-double of 12 points and 10 assists.

Jeron Teng, JVee Casio and Vic Manuel paced Alaska with 12 points apiece.

“Good thing we had a good start. We built a big lead and it helped us withstand that big fight back by Alaska in the end. Happy we pulled this off,” said Mr. Ravena, who was named player of the game along with Mr. Fonacier, postmatch.

The Road Warriors (5-4) get back on the court on Sunday, Feb. 18, against the Blackwater Elite while Alaska (6-3) plays a day earlier versus the San Miguel Beermen in an out-of-town game in Batangas City.

NU wallops UE to keep campaign unblemished

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

LEAGUE-LEADING National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs won their third straight victory in University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 women’s volleyball yesterday, defeating the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors, 25-15, 18-25, 25-23 and 25-19, to sustain their solid start to their campaign and stay on top of the heap.

One of the just two teams left unblemished as Season 80 entered a new week, the Lady Bulldogs stayed the course amid a determined challenge from the Lady Warriors to fashion out the four-set victory and kept their spotless record intact.

The two teams had it tight to begin the match, fighting to an 8-7 count by the first technical timeout with NU on top.

The Lady Bulldogs would create some distance after to claim a five-point cushion, 16-11, midway into the frame.

UE tried to claw its way back but NU would stand its ground, speeding its way to close out the first set on a 9-4 blast and take a 1-0 lead.

In the second frame, the nip-and-tuck beginning continued. But unlike in the first set, the Lady Warriors did not let go of the rope and kept in step with their opponents.

Tied at 8-all at one point, UE kept its composure, claiming the lead at 15-14 and going to outscore NU, 10-4, the rest of the way to pull even at a set apiece.

The Lady Warriors maintained their spirited fight to start the third set, racing to an 8-4 lead by the first technical knockout.

NU though would turn things around after, overhauling its deficit by the next stoppage, 16-15.

The team jostled to establish control in the homestretch of the set, knotted at 20-all heading into the last fifth of the third frame.

UE took a 22-20 lead before NU leveled things at 22-all. It is something the Lady Bulldogs would capitalize on, with setter Jasmine Nabor figuring prominently, as they used it as leverage to complete the set comeback.

The fourth set had the protagonists battling it tight in the early goings, tied at 11-all midway into it.

NU was first to the second technical, 16-12, as middle blocker and team captain Jaja Santiago took charge.

The Lady Bulldogs extended their lead further to 22-13 but the Lady Warriors would not go away without a fight as they pulled within five points, 24-19.

It was the closest they would get though as Santiago and the Lady Bulldogs went for the finish after.

Santiago led the way for NU (3-0) with 23 points, 18 of which coming from attacks, four from blocks and one service ace.

Nabor finished with three points and 40 excellent sets while Roselyn Doria had 12 points and Aiko Urdas adding eight for NU in the win.

UE (0-3), meanwhile, was paced by Mary Anne Mendrez and Shaya Adorador with 11 points apiece.

“It was not a pretty win but we will take it,” said NU coach Babes Castillo during the post-match press conference.

Next opponents for NU are the defending champions De La Salle Lady Spikers on Sunday, Feb. 18, while UE plays the Ateneo Lady Eagles on Saturday.

Collado’s career game allows QC Capitals to join Batangas City Athletics on MPBL leaderboard

IMUS — Big man Jessie Collado asserted his might anew as he came up with a career game in powering Quezon City to an 87-78 victory over erstwhile unbeaten Navotas Clutch in the MPBL-Anta Rajah Cup at the City of Imus Sports Complex here.

Mr. Collado had another monster game, coming away with a double-double performance. He produced 16 points and a league-high 19 rebounds on top of four blocks for the Royal Manila-backed Capitals, who joined the Batangas City Athletics-Tanduay in a share of the lead with identical 3-0 win-loss record.

The Athletics walloped home team Imus Bandera-GLC Truck and Equipment, 74-56.

Mr. Collado is making a strong case for the MVP award this early as he has been named Best Player of the Game for the third consecutive match for Quezon City. His effort was not surprising at all for his head coach Vis Valencia.

“He’s got as big heart. When you look at Kuya J (Collado), his production was real quality, no doubt about it,” said Mr. Valencia.

But Mr. Valencia is not counting on one man alone as he saw the entire squad playing consistently.

“We didn’t change our game plan. What worked for us in our last two wins, we continued doing that,” he added.

Another team making its presence felt is Batangas City, which ran roughshod over the home team.

The Athletics jumped the gun early, taking a 19-9 lead and never looked back. They led by as many as 24 points, a layup by ex-PBA player Lester Alvarez, that gave his squad a 70-46 spread with only 4:54 left in the match.

But while Batangas City showed more balance in its production, Imus was like a one man show.

The Bandera came up with only 22 points at the half, 16 of those came from Ian Melencio, who had 16 of their total production in the first 20 minutes of play.

Mr. Melencio’s output was slowed down in the second half as he could only score seven the rest of the way.

Now that his team is on top along with Quezon City, Batangas City coach Mac Tan believes his squad will be the target of all the teams.

“Now the rest of the teams are targeting us,” added Mr. Tan. “Hopefully, the players could stick around. We still need to come out hungry. In (last) night’s game, we played better for 30 minutes compared to our last two games.” — Rey Joble

Romero KO’s Rockhold but comes out with no title

CUBAN Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Yoel “Soldier of God” Romero defeated American Luke Rockhold in their main event at “UFC 221” in Perth, Australia, yesterday but came out sans the interim middleweight title after missing weight just as American Curtis “Razor” Blades silenced a partisan crowd with a unanimous decision victory over hometown bet Mark “Super Samoan” Hunt in the co-featured fight.

Originally set as a clash for the interim title in middleweight, Mr. Romero missed out on the opportunity to have a belt wrapped around his waist after failing to meet the 185-lb. limit during official weigh-ins.

In his first try, Mr. Romero came in at 188 lbs. and after a two-hour period for his second try was only able to come in at 187.7 lbs. that all but doomed his chances for the interim belt.

But despite fighting a “regular” fight, it did not deter Mr. Romero from proving his worth in the division, dominating and eventually putting the lights out on former champion Rockhold.

Following a feeling-out period in the first round, Mr. Romero just exploded in the second and third rounds.

Mr. Romero caught Mr. Rockhold with a solid right hand and jabs early on in the second round before the latter found his footing anew and got some payback as the round drew to a close.

In the third round the two fighters engaged right away. Seeing an opening Mr. Romero unleashed a powerful left hand from the top, sending Mr. Rockhold out cold down the canvas.

For good measure Mr. Romero followed it up with another left before the referee stopped the contest at the 1:48 mark of the third.

Despite the win, Mr. Romero expressed regret not being able to get his hands on the interim title.

“I’m so sorry for the weight cut being so bad for me. That was the first time in my career I couldn’t get down,” said Mr. Romero, who improved to 13-2 after the win.

Mr. Rockhold, for his part, slumped to 16-4 and his second defeat in his last three fights.

Currently holding the UFC middleweight title is Robert Whittaker, who would have faced Mr. Romero anew in a possible unification bout had the latter made the cut.

THREE-FIGHT WINNING STREAK
Meanwhile in the co-main event, Mr. Blaydes (9-1) stretched his current winning streak to three by getting the better of Mr. Hunt (13-12-1) by unanimous decision, 30-26, 30-26 and 29-27.

Got hurt in the early goings of their scheduled three-rounder, Chicago native Blaydes adjusted accordingly as the fight progressed, got it going and stepped up in the next two rounds to book and leave his imprint which did not go unnoticed to the judges as they went for him after the smoke cleared.

After surviving the solid punches of Mr. Hunt in the first round, Mr. Blaydes came out aggressive in the second with a steady ground and pound and never relent after.

In the third round, Mr. Blaydes went for takedowns right away. Mr. Hunt tried to get back on his feet and briefly managed to a couple of times before the American dragged him down again one last time. Relying on his crafty wrestling skills, Mr. Blaydes just dictated the pace on the ground the rest of the way en route to the victory.

“He (Hunt) came the way I expected him to. I just calmed down and went for the ground and pound,” said Mr. Blaydes amid the boos from the Australian crowd.

“I understand that you are cheering for your hero. I came to win and I just did what I needed to do,” he added even as he expressed his desire to fight in his hometown of Chicago in his succeeding fights.

In other fights at UFC 221: Romero vs. Rockhold, heavyweight Tai Tuivasa beat Cyril Asker by technical knockout (punches and elbows) in the first round, welterweight Jake Matthews defeated Li Jingliang by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-26 and 30-26), and light heavyweight Tyson Pedro submitted Saparbek Safarov in the opening round by way of kimura.

Next for the UFC is “UFC Fight Night 126” on Feb. 19 (Manila time) in Austin, Texas, that will be headlined by the welterweight clash between no. 11 contender Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone and Yancy Medeiros.

In the Philippines, Cignal TV, the country’s foremost direct-to-home (DTH) company, is the home of the UFC after the two groups agreed to an extensive deal that will see the UFC beamed on various platforms. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Pelicans rebound to beat Brooklyn in 2 overtimes

LOS ANGELES — Anthony Davis scored 44 points and Rajon Rondo had a triple double as the New Orleans Pelicans ended a three-game losing streak with a 138-128 double overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets.

The Pelicans won despite blowing a 28-point lead in the third quarter to the Nets on Saturday in front of a crowd of 16,500 at the Barclays Center arena.

Davis added 17 rebounds and Rondo finished with 25 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans. Nikola Mirotic had 21 points and 16 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday chipped in 22 points.

“We just wanted to keep fighting, doing what we did to get the lead,” said Davis.

Allen Crabbe made eight three-pointers and scored 28 points for the Nets, who appeared sluggish in the first half which put them in a deep hole. They then launched a furious rally in regulation which finished with Crabbe’s three pointer with 12 seconds remaining to send the game into the first overtime.

Spencer Dinwiddie finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds, and D’Angelo Russell came off the bench to score 21 points and nine assists.

“Obviously, we didn’t play like us,” Crabbe said. “So, coach didn’t even come in and yell at us. He said you figure it out and get it together.”

Elsewhere, Klay Thompson had the hot hand as the Golden State Warriors gave head coach Steve Kerr his 250th career win with a 122-105 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.

Thompson scored 10 of his 25 points in a third quarter that was significant because it allowed Golden State to seize control of the contest at Oracle Arena.

Thompson hit his first five three-point attempts while Stephen Curry and Draymond Green scored 17 points each as Golden State won their second straight contest.

“We stuck to the program,” Curry said. “Our defense stepped up. Klay hit some big shots. We got success off our offence and that opened up the game.”

Curry also chipped in eight assists and Green was celebrating because he had his first game of the last three where he didn’t get slapped with a technical foul.

Kerr, the 2016 coach of the year, became the fastest to 250 coaching wins in NBA history, achieving the milestone in 302 games. That betters his former coach, Phil Jackson, who reached the mark in 346 games.

Kerr received 39 victories during a leave of absence following complications from back surgery at the start of the 2015-2016 season, when his assistant Luke Walton coached Golden State.

BIRTHDAY BOY
Zaza Pachulia celebrated his 34th birthday by scoring 12 points and Kevin Durant added a season-low 10 points but he also dished out six assists.

LaMarcus Aldridge and Kyle Anderson led San Antonio with 20 points apiece, while Manu Ginobili had 13 points and six assists off the bench in the loss.

Golden State plays their final home game before the all-star break against Phoenix on Monday.

In Dallas, Germany’s Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 22 points and Harrison Barnes had 21 as the Dallas Mavericks spoiled Isaiah Thomas’s Los Angeles debut with a 130-123 win over the Lakers.

Thomas finished with 22 points an ill-fated 15-game stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. This is Thomas’s fifth team in seven NBA seasons.

In Chicago, Czech point guard Tomas Satoransky had his career night cut short when he was left bleeding from the head after being fouled on a drive to the net by Chicago Bulls Bobby Portis.

Satoransky, who finished with 25 points in a 101-90 win, was taken to the dressing room with 2 1/2 minutes left.

Portis was ejected from the game by the officials for his hit on an unsuspecting Satoransky.

“Everybody knows the rule. It’s a dangerous play,” said Wizard coach Scott Brooks. — AFP

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