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BVR pushing to advance local beach volleyball

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

SINCE being set up three years ago, Beach Volleyball Republic (BVR) has steadily built its legs, organizing beach volleyball tournaments in different parts of the country with the end game of advancing the growth of the sport.
Recently the group, founded by former collegiate volleyball stars, added another feather in its cap, hosting its first-ever FIVB Tour event, an opportunity it said it was grateful for because of the many learnings on various levels it afforded.
Took place at the Sands SM By The Bay from May 3 to 6, the FIVB Beach Volleyball Manila Open gathered some 60-plus teams from different parts of the world for the women’s and men’s categories with $10,000 in cash prizes and tournament points for qualification for other Fédération Internationale de Volleyball beach volleyball competitions up for grabs.
When the smoke cleared, the Japanese duo of Ayumi Kusano and Takemi Nishibori topped the women’s division while for the men’s it was the tandem of Max-Jonas Karpa and Milan Sievers of Germany which ruled the competition.
Misses Kusano and Nishibori put up a dominant performance over Spain’s Paula Soria and Maria Belen Carro, 21-14 and 21-18, to claim the gold medal and ended their campaign with an unblemished 6-0 record.
Messrs. Karpa and Sievers, meanwhile, got the better of Petr Bakhnar and Taras Myskiv of Russia in three sets, 15-21, 23-21 and 15-9.
For winning their respective categories, Teams Japan and Germany received the $1,000 top prize in the one-star tournament.
Seeing the successful staging of the FIVB Beach Volleyball Manila Open, BVR founders Bea Tan and Charo Soriano could not be more proud and happy, and said the event only amplified their desire to continue their vision of staging similar events to take appreciation for, and knowledge of, the sport to another plane among the Filipinos.
“From the onset of BVR we have been wanting to bring an international tournament because we felt what is the point of having ‘BVR on Tour’ if we don’t see the outside of beach volleyball,” said Ms. Tan in an interview session with sports media during the Manila Open run.
“So we are lucky that E-Plus Global and FIVB contacted us and asked us to host the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour. And it came at the right time because this is our third year. I think we are ripe to host such an event,” she added, referring to E-Plus Global Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian one-stop events management company, which promoted the event.
INSPIRATION
Ms. Soriano, meanwhile, said that with the staging of the Manila Open they hope it gets to inspire young people to pick up the sport much like they did in the 1990s with indoor volleyball when the FIVB held a Grand Prix event in the country.
“When I was young in the ’90s there was an FIVB Grand Prix for indoor volleyball here and a lot of young people then wanted to play volleyball. Our idols were the likes of Leila Barros and Maurizia Cacciatori. That time there was a spark among young people to play indoor and we hope that events such as this would bring inspiration to this generation for beach volleyball,” Ms. Soriano said.
From a player’s perspective, both Misses Soriano and Tan agree that the Manila Open should help develop the Filipinos’ skills.
“It’s a learning experience. It widened our perspective of the level of play outside of the country. We saw and learned a lot to make us better. We’ve seen firsthand how the Europeans play and the rest of Asia. We saw where we are right now,” said Ms. Soriano, who competed as well in the Manila Open in tandem with Ms. Tan.
Others who also represented the Philippines in the tournament were the team of Sisi Rondina and Dzi Gervacio, which made it to the quarterfinals, as well as BVR national champions Karen Quilario and Lot Catubag and DM Demontaño and Jackie Estoquia.
“This event was really a refresher for us in how we should go about BVR and a big push to grow beach volleyball,” Ms. Tan ended.

Warriors, Rockets reach brink of West final

LOS ANGELES — The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets both raced to a pair of lopsided wins yesterday and can book their spots in the Western Conference final with victories on their home courts tomorrow.
Kevin Durant scored 38 points to power the reigning NBA champion Warriors over the New Orleans Pelicans, 118-92, and Chris Paul finished with 27 points and 12 rebounds as the Rockets defeated the Utah Jazz, 100-87.
Durant said his free form game plan allowed him to be aggressive and effective at the same time.
“I just try to tell myself that I’m at my best when I don’t care what happens after the game, the outcome or anything,” Durant said.
“That’s when I’m free and having fun out there, and forceful. I just try to play with force no matter if I missed shots or not, just keep shooting, keep being aggressive.”
Stephen Curry added 23 points as the Warriors seized a 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven second-round series.
The Warriors are seeking a fourth consecutive trip to the NBA finals and their third crown in four seasons.
Curry said the key was getting the ball to their hottest player, Durant.
“Just find ways to get him in scoring positions,” Curry said. “Sometimes, that’s not really hard to do — just throw it to him.
“Just keep the game simple at that point because he’s such a great scorer, you don’t have to really overthink things.”
The host Pelicans, led by 26 points and 12 rebounds from Anthony Davis, never led while Golden State stretched the lead to as many as 26 points.
Durant added nine rebounds while Draymond Green had eight points, nine rebounds and nine assists for the Warriors. Klay Thompson added 13 points and Quinn Cook added 12 off the bench.
The Warriors limited Pelicans difference makers Rajon Rondo and Nikola Mirotic to just six and seven points. New Orleans made four of 26 attempts from three-point range.

Chris Paul and Raul Neto
Chris Paul (#3) of the Houston Rockets controls the ball in front of Raul Neto (#25) of the Utah Jazz in the first half during Game Four of Round Two of the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Vivint Smart Home Arena on May 6 in Salt Lake City, Utah. — AFP

Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said they have to get more scoring from multiple players to win.
“I told you right from the start. You’re not going to beat them if you can’t score 115 points,” Gentry said. “I don’t care how good your defense is. I don’t care what you do. You have to be able to score 110, 115 points to have any chance to beat them.”
In Utah, NBA veteran Paul, celebrating his 33rd birthday, also had 12 rebounds while James Harden scored 24 points to power the Rockets to a 3-1 series lead.
‘CRAZY GAME’
“It was an emotional, crazy game,” said Paul, who is in his first season with the Rockets.
Clint Capela tallied 12 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks in the win.
Paul powered the offense and when he combined with Harden they were impossible to defend against.
“There are different ways to win,” said Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni. “We got a lot of stuff we can go to. The plan was to get that, so we wouldn’t be a one dimensional team.”
Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points and Joe Ingles finished with 15 for Utah.
RAPTORS PRESIDENT UJIRI FINED FOR ON-COURT REF TALK
Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri was fined $25,000 by the NBA for walking onto the playing court at halftime to verbally confront game officials, the league announced Sunday.
The incident took place Saturday during Toronto’s 105-103 loss at Cleveland, which gave the Cavaliers a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference second-round playoff series.
Ujiri, a 47-year-old Nigerian, played six years professionally in Europe as a guard before retiring in 2002.
Ujiri broke into the NBA as an international scout for the Denver Nuggets, then became a scouting director and later an assistant general manager for the Raptors before rejoining the Nuggets as vice-president of basketball operations.
In 2013, Ujiri became the first non-US person selected as NBA Executive of the Year. He departed for a five-year deal as the Raptors’ general manager and in 2016 signed an extension to serve as the Raptors president. — AFP

Ohtani solid in return as LA Angels rout Mariners

LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani, who returned from a sprained ankle, struck out six batters and took a shutout into the seventh inning as the Los Angeles Angels defeated the Seattle Mariners, 8-2, on Sunday.
The Japanese two-way star improved to 3-1 on the mound this season in making his first Major League Baseball start since April 24.
He threw a combination of fastballs and breaking pitches that left the Mariners’ batters befuddled in front of a crowd of 47,400 at Seattle’s Safeco Field.
“His stuff looked great,” manager Mike Scioscia said. “For not being out there for a while, his command was really sharp. Might have gotten a little bit tired in the seventh leading off, but outside of that, it’s a great outing for Shohei.”
Ohtani allowed six hits and walked two in what was his second time in five starts allowing less than three earned runs. He outdueled Seattle starter Felix Hernandez and didn’t allow a runner past second until Ryon Healy homered in the seventh.
“I felt a lot more normal than I expected,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “I felt like I was on normal days’ rest.”
Ohtani got plenty of help from the Angels batting order as Mike Trout, with his 12th, Zack Cozart and Chris Young hit home runs.
The first signs of trouble for Ohtani came in the seventh as he gave up a leadoff single to Mitch Haniger. He then surrendered the homer to Healy and delivered a four-pitch walk. He was pulled after throwing a total of 98 pitches.
“I didn’t feel fatigued at all, my command was off,” Ohtani said. “I left some pitches up in the zone. I was really frustrated with myself, the way I ended the game. It’s something I need to work on for my next start.” — AFP

Bernadeth Pons: a winner of a student-athlete

SHE finished her University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) career sans a championship to show for but Far Eastern University (FEU) star Bernadeth Pons said her collegiate journey was worthwhile and that she is leaving it a winner.
Ended her stay with FEU after they finished runner-up to the De La Salle Lady Spikers in the recently concluded UAAP Season 80 finals, Pons said she is looking back at her UAAP career with fondness and very proud of what she and her teammates had done during their run.
“I’m happy with how my UAAP career went. We did not win the title but at least on my final year we were able to reach the finals. I’m proud of my teammates. We fought hard till the very end. Hopefully this will serve as a stepping stone for the holdovers for next season to bounce back,” said Pons at her valedictory postgame press conference on May 2.
Pons, 21, was a key component for much of her stay in Morayta as her Lady Tamaraws team was a steady fixture in the Final Four of the UAAP.
In Season 80, Pons was on top of her game, leading FEU in points with nearly 16 points a game, fourth in the league, and in the top 10 in the UAAP in spikes, digs and receives.
She led the Lady Tamaraws to the finals after years of semifinal heartaches and she did so with solid performances in the windup of the elimination round, that had her winning player of the week honors, and in semifinals where they beat longtime tormentors Ateneo Lady Eagles.
In the finals though, they came face-to-face with a highly determined La Salle crew that in the end just had more to give en route to winning another UAAP three-peat.
But more than what she did on the court, Pons said she is also proud of what she had done off it, something she hopes her fellow student-athletes would take cue from.
“I think we set a good example to our teammates. Not only in playing but also in academics. We finished our studies on time while at the same time performed well on the court. I hope in such a way we were able to inspire them,” said Pons, who met members of media along with fellow graduating player Kyla Atienza and coach George Pascua.
NOT UNNOTICED
And the way she conducted throughout her career was certainly not left unnoticed.
“I’m proud to have been a teammate of Pons. She’s a true leader inside and out of the court,” said libero Atienza, who also played beach volleyball with the FEU star.
“Bernadeth is a true leader. Her mentality is ‘no one is to be left behind.’ So she really makes it a point to involve everyone. That is who she is,” Mr. Pascua, for his part, said.
Now done as a collegiate player, Pons said she is still weighing her options but made it known she is willing to help the Lady Tamaraws in whatever way she can.
It remains to be seen if it will be as part of Mr. Pascua’s coaching staff as she is yet to commit to it but the FEU coach expressed his desire to have Pons be part of his group.
“We will try to get her services. Her leadership and motivation skills will be important especially after what happened to us this year with our runner-up finish. Our goal is to win the championship and we want them (along with Atienza) to be part of it,” Mr. Pascua said. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Unconscious mode

2018 USA Championship
Saint Louis, USA
April 18-30, 2018

Final Standings
1. Samuel Shankland 2671, 8.5/11
2. Fabiano Caruana 2804, 8.0/11
3. Wesley So 2786, 6.5/11
4-6. Hikaru Nakamura 2787, Aleksandr Lenderman 2599, Ray Robson 2660, 5.5/11
7-8. Zviad Izoria 2599, Jeffery Xiong 2665, 5.0/11
9-11. Awonder Liang 2552, Yaroslav Zherebukh 2640, Varuzhan Akobian 2647, 4.5/11
12. Alexander Onischuk 2672, 3.0/11
Average Rating 2674 Category 17
Time Control: Players receive 90 minutes for the 1st 40 moves then 30 minutes play-to-finish with 30 seconds added to their clocks after every move starting move 1.
Back in 2010, when Sam Shankland was just 18 years old, he announced that he would be retiring from chess tournament competition after the 2010 US Junior (Under-20) Championship. That didn’t happen. After losing his first two games he suddenly went into “unconscious” mode and won 6 of his last 7 games to tie for first place with Parker Zhao and GM Ray Robson. His last round takedown of soon-to-be GM Conrad Holt was particularly brutal.

Shankland, Samuel L. (2513) — Holt, Conrad (2402) [D17]
USA-ch U20 Saint Louis (9), 19.07.2010

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Nc3 dxc4 5.a4 Bf5 6.Nh4 Bg4
[6…e6 7.Nxf5 exf5 8.e3 Bb4 9.Bxc4 0–0 10.0–0 Nbd7 11.Qc2 g6 This is the main battleground. White has the two bishops but Black is counting on the fact that the c1–bishop is passively placed and his pawns and knights have sufficient control over the crucial center squares.
7.h3 Bh5 8.g4 Bg6 9.Nxg6 hxg6 10.e4 e5 11.Bxc4 exd4 12.e5 dxc3?
A blunder. 12…Bb4 looks like pretty much the only move here but I should say that white has a pretty overwhelming score in this line. It looks like Holt got suckered into a bad sequence.
13.Bxf7+!
This is why. Black cannot take the bishop because his queen will then be en prise. The rest of the game is just a rout.
13…Ke7 14.exf6+ gxf6 15.Qb3 Bh6 16.Bxh6 Rxh6 17.Rd1 Qc8 18.0–0 Kf8 19.Rfe1 c2 20.Bg8 Qc7 21.Rd8+ Kg7 22.Rde8 c1Q 23.Rxc1 Rh8 24.Rce1 Kh6 25.Qe3+ g5 26.Re7 Qd8 27.Qe6 1–0
After the tie-breaks of Armageddon games (Black players get a time handicap but draw is counted as a win for him) Shankland emerged the champion and earned an official invitation to the 2011 USA Championship. This was too good to pass up and Shankland postponed his retirement for an undetermined future date.
The 2011 USA adult Championship did not go too badly for him either, 3rd place at the first attempt is no mean feat and he was hooked to chess again.
The next episode of this “unconscious mode” came during the 2014 Tromso Chess Olympiad. This event, won by the surprising Chinese squad, was not a success for Team USA (bd01 Hikaru Nakamura, bd02 Gata Kamsky, bd03 Alexander Onischuk, bd04 Varuzhan Akobian and bd05 Samuel Shankland) as they only finished 14th. Samuel Shankland, who had in the meantime acquired the GM title, had absolutely nothing to do with the poor result. He scored 8 wins and 2 draws for 9/10, a performance rating of 2831.

Vazquez, Guillermo (2323) — Shankland, S. (2624) [B12]
41st Olympiad Open 2014 Tromso NOR (6.21), 08.08.2014

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5 4.h4 h5 5.Bg5
[5.c4 is supposed to be the best try for White]
5…Qb6 6.Bd3 Qxd4!?
It is rare that the preferred gambit is accepted. Usually Black plays solidly with 6…Bxd3 7.Qxd4 e6.
7.Nf3 Qg4
Keeping an eye on his f5–bishop. If Black takes the b2 pawn then White can simply play 8.Nbd2 or really try to wipe out his opponent with 7…Qxb2 8.Bxf5!? Qxa1 9.e6 with strong compensation for his sacrificed material.
8.0–0 Bxd3 9.Qxd3 e6 10.Nbd2 Be7 11.c4 Bxg5 12.Nxg5 Ne7
[12…Qxh4?! 13.cxd5! Qxg5 14.dxe6 fxe6 15.Ne4 followed by Nd6+ and Black is in trouble]
13.Qb3 b6 14.cxd5 cxd5 15.Rac1 Nbc6 16.f4 Rc8 17.Qd3 Nf5 18.Ndf3 0–0
Black has completed his development and shifts his focus to attack.
19.Nh2 Qg3 20.Qd1 <D>
POSITION AFTER 20.QD1
20…Nxe5! 21.Rxc8
Similar is 21.fxe5 is met by the same refutation as in the game
21…Rxc8 22.fxe5 Qe3+ 0–1
[22…Qe3+ 23.Kh1 (Or 23.Rf2 Rc1) 23…Ng3#]
I believe these sudden superhuman streaks which I call “unconscious mode” that GM Shankland puts on every once in a while is due to his complete immersion in the game — total concentration to the exclusion of everything else. Something clicks and the wins start pouring in.
After the Olympiad for the first time Sam had broken into the list of the world’s top 100 players.
Now we come to the 2018 US Chess Championship held at the Saint Louis Chess Club last month. Despite the presence of the Big 3 of US Chess (Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura) Samuel Shankland zoomed in with a huge score of +6 (6 wins more than losses. His exact score is 6 wins, 5 draws, 0 losses) to claim the US title and first prize of $50,000. This unconscious performance is equivalent to a performance rating of 2884, gaining him 30.4 rating points and seeing him break into the 2700 club in the world for the first time in his life.
Three rounds before the end Sam and Fabiano were tied for 1st with 5.5/8 and Wesley So was just half a point behind. It looked like an exciting finish and there were some discussions about tie-breaks and possible playoff scenarios, but Sam eliminated all that talk by winning all 3 of his remaining games. In contrast Caruana scored “only” 2.5/3 and Wesley had 3 draws.
This was the tournament winner’s favorite game.

Shankland, Samuel (2671) — Liang, Awonder (2552) [B13]
USA-ch 2018 Saint Louis USA (11), 29.04.2018

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 Nc6 5.c3 Nf6 6.Bf4 Bg4 7.Qb3 e5!
A new move which has recently been scoring well. The idea is that after 8.dxe5 Nh5 the bishop has to retreat and Black recaptures the e5–pawn with the knight with a perfectly playable position.
8.h3!
But Shankland was prepared! This move was played by Demchenko last February in Lisbon. Sam was hoping that Awonder hasn’t seen it yet, and he was on the mark.
8…exf4?!
Not the most accurate. Black had to play 8…Na5 first so that the b7–pawn will not be vulnerable to the queen. According to Shankland his preparation was 9.Qc2 exf4 10.hxg4 Nxg4 11.Kf1! (threatening Qe2+ winning the g4–knight) 11…h5 with a big fight ahead.
9.hxg4 Qe7+ 10.Kf1 0–0–0
The Demchenko game continued 10…Ne4 11.Qc2 (11.Qxd5?! Nxf2 with the point 12.Kxf2 Qe3+) 11…0–0–0 12.Nd2 Re8 13.Bxe4 dxe4 14.Re1 f5 15.gxf5 e3 16.fxe3 fxe3 17.Rh3 Qc7 18.Rexe3 Rxe3 19.Rxe3 White is a clear two pawns up. Demchenko,A (2671)-Yurtseven,M (2415) Lisbon 2018 1–0 25.
11.Nd2 g6
Too slow. He should have continued in the spirit of all-out war: 11…g5 12.Ngf3 h5 and I don’t know what is going to happen next.
12.Re1 Qc7 13.g5! Nh5 14.Be2 Ng7 15.Ngf3
Now Black’s kingside pawns are restrained and White can concentrate on his own attack on the enemy king.
15…Ne6 16.Bb5 Bg7 17.Qa4 Rd6 18.Nb3 b6 19.Nc1!
With the squares a5 and c5 taken away from it this knight now heads for b4.
19…Nb8 20.Nd3 Kb7 21.Nb4 Qd8 22.Ne5 Qc7
Black can only wait for White to execute.
23.Qb3
Targeting d5.
23…Rhd8 24.Rxh7 a6 25.Bd3 Ka7 26.Qa4 a5 27.Bb5 Kb7 28.Nbd3
Threatening 29.Nxf4 Nxf4 30.Rxg7.
28…Rg8 29.Nf3 Rh8 30.Rxh8 Bxh8 31.a3 Nc6 32.Bxc6+!
Forcibly liquidating the position into an easy endgame win.
32…Rxc6
[32…Qxc6 33.Qxc6+ Rxc6 34.Nde5 Bxe5 35.Nxe5 Rc7 36.Nxf7 Rxf7 37.Rxe6 is an easy win for White]
33.Nde5 Bxe5 34.Nxe5 Rd6 35.Qe8 Rd8
[35…Nxg5 36.Nxf7 Qc4+ (36…Nxf7? 37.Re7) 37.Kg1 Nxf7 38.Qxf7+ Ka6 39.Qxf4 is likewise hopeless for Black]
36.Qxf7 Nxg5 37.Qxc7+ Kxc7 38.Nxg6 f3 39.Nf4 Kc6 40.gxf3 Nxf3 41.Re6+ Kb5 42.Ke2 Ng1+ 43.Kd3 1–0
We will show you a few more games from Saint Louis on Thursday.
 
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

Overmatched

As expected, the Warriors dominated yesterday’s outing against the Pelicans. Determined to bounce back from their listless play in Game Three, they hit the ground running and stayed sharp until the final buzzer. It was a wire-to-wire effort that underscored their superiority over their no-less-resolute but decidedly overmatched opponents; they simply have too much firepower to be contained by any force other than their own.
The Warriors are, to be sure, not defending champions for nothing. On offense, they force the competition to pick a poison. They run an egalitarian system predicated on crisp ball movement, and when it’s stifled, they have the luxury of relying on Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant to produce off the dribble. And with Draymond Green’s court vision and Klay Thompson’s on-point shooting backstopping the effort, the result invariably overwhelms.
As the Warriors’ triumph yesterday proved, however, it’s their defense that truly makes them stand out. Most Valuable Player candidate Anthony Davis can be a handful considering his unique blend of size, athleticism, mobility, and skill, but he looked decidedly mortal in Game Four. True, he still managed to put up 26 and 12. Then again, he had to work for all that he put up on the board; he canned just eight of his 22 field-goal attempts and had a single assist to show in the face of concentrated coverage.
Granted, the Warriors still aren’t out of the woods. The Pelicans are, if nothing else, determined, and Davis is certainly a transcendent talent who can orchestrate a comeback under the right conditions. Still, the real enemies of the blue and gold are, well, the blue and gold. If they try not to be too cute and limit their turnovers while forcing their rivals into more, as they did yesterday, they’re all but unstoppable. They smell blood, and they’re ready to move on.
 
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.

PSEi drops ahead of GDP data, BSP policy review

THE MAIN INDEX opened the week on a negative note as investors were on a wait-and-see mode ahead of the release of first-quarter economic growth data.
The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi)went down 0.17% or 12.91 points to close at 7,533.28 Monday, May 7, immediately erasing its last-minute gain last Friday.
The broader all-shares index also edged down by 0.08% or 3.69 points to 4,601.61.
“The market slid by 12 points today on low volume trading… Investors are obviously on a cautious mode now especially with the absence of any positive catalysts in the market,” Timson Securities, Inc. Trader and Marketing Head Mark Levinson Koa said in a text message on Monday.
IB Gimenez Securities, Inc. Research Head Joylin F. Telagen noted that the market is waiting for the release of first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth figures, as well as the results of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) meeting later this week.
“I don’t expect much movement until the important data are released on Thursday, the first- quarter GDP and BSP meeting. This will determine market direction over the next few weeks,” Ms. Telagen said via text.
The Philippine Statistics Authority will be releasing first- quarter GDP data on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a BusinessWorld poll of 11 analysts last week showed nine expecting the BSP to hike interest rates at its policy review, after inflation picked up to a five-year high in April.
The central bank last raised key policy rates in September 2014, when inflation was trending above the 3-5% target that year. Benchmark rates currently range from 2.5-3.5% following some procedural adjustments introduced in June 2016.
“However, the month of May is also tagged as ‘sell on May and go away.’ So for me, personally, I’m just on watch mode and will enter the market when the right time comes,” Ms. Telagen added.
Four sectoral indices ended in the red on Monday, with the mining and oil sector plunging 2.88% or 297.01 points to 10,014.38, weighed down by a 5.15% drop in Semirara Mining and Power Corp. to P27.65 each on Monday after it announced the shutdown of one of its Calaca plants for another 90 days.
Financials declined 0.47% or 9.12 points to 1,897.75; property went down 0.30% or 10.59 points to 3,509.80; while holding firms shed 0.19% or 14.92 points to 7,577.23.
On the other hand, industrials added 0.47% or 51.48 points to 10,999.48, while services increased 0.35% or 5.30 points to 1,516.45.
Some 1.1 billion issues switched hands, resulting in a value turnover of P5.9 billion, down from Friday’s turnover of P6.25 billion.
Decliners narrowly outpaced advancers, 92 to 89, while 46 names were unchanged.
Foreign investors turned sellers, amounting to net sales of P462.74 million against net inflows of P532.12 million in the previous session. — Arra B. Francia

DoubleDragon unveils first phase of DD Meridian Park

DoubleDragon Properties Corp. unveiled on Monday, May 7, its flagship office and retail project in Metro Manila with majority of its tenants coming from Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (POGO) companies.
Called the DoubleDragon Plaza, the 280,000 square meter office hub is the first of three phases of the company’s DD Meridian Park project along the Bay Area in Pasay City. — Arra B. Francia

DDMeridian-DoubleDragonplaza
DoubleDragon Plaza at DD-Meridian Park is a 4.75-hectare commercial block in the Bay Area (Pasay City) with leasable space of up to 280,000 square meters. — www.doubledragon.com.ph

Duty Free to open two retail stores in June

Duty Free Philippines Corporation (DFPC) will be opening a luxury story and a new shopping outlet next month– the Duty Free Philippines Luxe Store and the NAIA Terminal 3 Landside Store.
In a press release, DFPC said the two new retail stores will be its biggest shopping destinations, targeted to tourists and balikbayans.
“Our initiative is driven by the Department of Tourism’s commitment to promote the Philippines as a premiere tourist destination,” DFPC Chief Operating Officer Vico A. Angala was quoted as saying.
The Luxe Store is a 4,200-square meter multi-level building located at the tourist center of the SM Mall of Asia complex in Pasay. DFPC said it is the “first ultra-luxurious travel retail destination,” which will offer a wide range of high-end imported products from brands such as Bally, Ferragamo, Coach and Michael Kors.
On the other hand, the Landside Store, located at the arrival lobby of NAIA Terminal 3, will feature the more familiar Duty Free goods–imported chocolates, perfumes, liquor and grocery items that are priced lower than in local markets. — Denise A. Valdez

Holcim profit drops in first quarter

Holcim Philippines, Inc. reported a 26.5% drop in its attributable profit for the first three months of 2018, although noting that sales volumes have started to recover alongside the pick up in demand.  — Arra B. Francia

SM first-quarter profit grows 15%

The country’s largest shopping mall operator booked a 15% profit increase during the first quarter of 2018, fuelled by its strategy of developing more malls and residential projects in the provinces.
SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime) said in a statement Monday, May 7, that its net income stood at P7.6 billion for the first three months of the year, higher than the P6.6 billion it reported in the same period a year ago. Consolidated revenues accelerated at a similar pace at 14% to P23.4 billion for the quarter.
“The growing revenue contribution of our mall operations in the provinces and increasing reservation sales of our residential projects in Metro Manila drove our bottom line higher and kept us in line with our first quarter target in 2018,” SM Prime President and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey C. Lim said in a statement. — Arra B. Francia

SMPC sees lower energy generation in first quarter

Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SMPC) expects its first-quarter energy generation to be lower by at least 20% because of the series of power plant closures during the period, company officials said.
“This year we are down on a year-on-year basis,” Victor A. Consunji, SMPC president and chief operating officer, told reporters after the company’s annual stockholders meeting in Makati City on Monday, May 7.
The projected decline in energy generation for the quarter reverses SMPC’s robust growth for 2017 when it recorded a 21% increase to 5,202 megawatt-hours (MWh) because the augmented capacity of Sem-Calaca Power Corp.’s first unit and the higher availability of the second unit.
SMPC’s Southwest Luzon Power Generation Corp. also recorded full commercial operation of its two-unit circulating fluidized bed each with a capacity of 150 MW.
Mr. Consunji said SMPC would be reporting its first-quarter performance later this week, which will disclose in detail the decline in the company’s energy generation. He declined to quantify the corresponding value of the power generation slide. — Victor A. Saulon

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