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Marcos eyes cheap drugs as storm deaths hit 110

PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

PHILIPPINE President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Tuesday sought a deal with drug companies for cheap nonprescription flu medicines for victims of Typhoon Nalgae (Paeng), as the death toll hit 110.

Mr. Marcos, who flew to Maguindanao del Norte province in the country’s south, said medicines were not being prioritized in disaster response.

“We can make arrangements with the big drug companies to buy [medicines] in bulk at cheap prices,” he told Social Welfare Secretary Erwin T. Tulfo at a briefing.

Before Mr. Marcos’ order, Mr. Tulfo said the agency would distribute health kits including paracetamol, cough syrup and tablets, as well as fever syrup for children.

Several areas in Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte were still submerged in floodwater, according to the local disaster agency.

Seventy-nine deaths had been confirmed including 59 in the autonomous region of Bangsamoro, two in Soccsksargen and 18 in Western Visayas, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said in a bulletin (NDRRMC).

Thirty-one deaths were still being confirmed including 12 in the Calabarzon region, five in Eastern Visayas, four each in Western Visayas and Zamboanga Peninsula, two in Mimaropa, one each in Bicol, Central Visayas, Soccsksargen and the Cordillera Administrative Region, it said.

The agency said 69 people had been injured, while 63 were still missing. The typhoon affected 2.42 million people from 741,777 families in 70 provinces.

Maguindanao Governor Bai Mariam Sangki-Mangudadatu told the briefing led by Mr. Marcos the local government was still conducting search and rescue operations.

He said 622,605 people from 124,501 families in 30 of the 36 municipalities and 370 out of the 508 villages in the province had been affected by Nalgae, which made landfall in the country at least five times.

Ten bridges in the province were damaged, one of which would have made relief efforts to Cotabato province, which is 114.5 kilometers away from Maguindanao, easier.

Nalgae, which left the Philippines on Monday afternoon, caused P12.4 million in housing damage.

Many businesses incurred additional losses after the typhoon led to brownouts, forcing some establishments to use fossil fuel generators to continue their operations during the storm.

NDRRMC said brownouts had been experienced in 294 cities and municipalities, while water supply disruptions were felt in 17 areas.

Meanwhile, the state weather bureau said Queenie, which entered the Philippines on Sunday, had weakened from a tropical storm into a tropical depression as of 8 am on Tuesday.

Queenie’s maximum sustained winds had weakened to 45 kilometers from 65 kilometers per hour (kph), it said in an 11 a.m. bulletin. Its gustiness also fell to 55 kph from 80 kph as it moved westward.

Queenie may lose the characteristics of a tropical cyclone within 12 hours, it added.

Queenie brought light to moderate with at times heavy rains over Caraga and Davao Oriental in southern Philippines, the agency said, adding that flooding and rain-induced landslides were possible.

It added that moderate to rough seas could prevail over the eastern seaboard of Mindanao, which may be risky for those using small seacraft.

Mr. Marcos asked Public Works Secretary Manuel M. Bonoan to set up a district office in the Bangsamoro region so it would be easier to repair damaged bridges and roads.

“Why is there no district office in [the Bangsamoro]?” Mr. Marcos asked. “You should look into that because it will make everything much easier.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Economists: Video games could be a source of revenue

A customer plays a game at a computer shop in Quezon City, Sept. 2, 2020. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

A BILL that seeks to regulate video games could provide a new source of revenue for the government, according to economists.

“This could be an alternative and creative way to raise new sources of tax revenue for the government,” Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said in a Viber message on Tuesday.

He cited the need to pay for the more than P5-trillion debt that the state has incurred since the coronavirus pandemic started in 2020.

Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian on Monday said he would push a bill that seeks to regulate video games.

Under his Senate Bill 1063, regulation of the local video game industry would fall under the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

The agency can ban video games “unfit for consumption in the Philippines,” the lawmaker said, citing the need to curb video game addiction among children.

The Philippine video gaming industry is the 25th largest in the world by revenue, with earnings of more than $572 million, according to Pangasinan Rep. Christopher V.P. de Venecia, who sought an inquiry into the state of the sector in March.

Mr. Ricafort said demand for video games might decrease due to stricter regulations and if the government decides to increase taxes.

“It would also be interesting to benchmark regulations based on global best practices with the objective of protecting the interest of the general public, especially children,” he said.

John Paolo R. Rivera, an economist at the Asian Institute of Management, said the bill’s social objectives are more important that the financial gain.

“While the objective of this bill is noble, if the social gains from this such as better focus of students on studies and regulation of violence from video games are greater than the perceived earnings, then why not,” he said in a Viber message.  “Society and the economy will benefit in the long run.”

Under the measure, minors will be prohibited from buying video games rated for “adults only.” It will also require games to display age ratings on both their physical and digital covers.

Almost half of the country’s more than 110 million people play video games and local game developers are recognized globally, Mr. De Venecia has said.

The esports sector offers opportunities to generate revenue through creative avenues, namely streaming, shoutcasting and content creation, the congressman said in a House of Representatives resolution in the previous Congress.

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr., founder of free market think thank Minimal Government Thinkers, said the measure could badly affect the economy.

“Gaming became dynamic precisely because there was little or no state intervention,” he said in a Viber message.

Several local groups have sought more government support for the Philippine esports industry, including seeing it as a legitimate creative sector and sport.

Filipino esports teams have won medals at international competitions, including the Southeast Asian and Asian games.

At the recent Southeast Asian games, Philippine Team Sibol won silver medals at the League of Legends and Crossfire events, while the Mobile Legends: Bang team, consisting of players from gaming organization Blacklist International, brought home a gold medal. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

House reps renew push for bills relating to climate change in typhoon’s aftermath

KEVIN MORILLO VIA PGQ

LAWMAKERS on Tuesday renewed calls to fast-track the passage of bills that are seen to help mitigate the impact of changing weather patterns, including measures on land use and the creation of a department on disaster management.   

House Bill 3956 or the proposed National Land Use Act of the Philippines seeks to establish parameters on land utilization and physical resources to protect vulnerable communities from climate change-related disasters.  

“The bill outlines land use policies to determine areas allocated for agricultural production, housing and settlements, energy development, industries, and other economically productive sites, and protected zones for environmental sustainability,” Davao City Rep. Paolo Z. Duterte, one of the authors of the bill, said in a statement.  

“The rational and efficient planning and use of our land resources are also vital in ensuring that we get to identify high-risk and danger-prone locations in our communities,” he said.   

The proposed law is included in the priority measures listed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.     

Manila Rep. Joel R. Chua, meanwhile, said the aftermath of tropical storm Nalgae, locally named Paeng, underscores the need to create a department focusing on disaster management.   

He noted that the House of Representatives in the previous Congress approved a measure for the establishment of Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR).   

A counterpart bill was not passed by the Senate as several legislators questioned its practicality and the funding required to set up another department.    

“The House has been approving DDR bills, those bills are later met by stiff but baseless opposition,” Mr. Chua said.    

Ang Probinsyano Party-list Rep. Alfred C. Delos Santos, for his part, pushed for House Bill 1915, which seeks the inclusion of evacuation policies for livestock and work animals in disaster response.   

“The government lacks guidelines on this. There should be efforts to evacuate livestock and work animals because families and enterprises especially in the provinces will depend on these animals’ post-disaster for their livelihood,” he said in a statement. — Matthew Carl L. Montecillo and Kyanna Angela Bulan

Flooded Bangsamoro towns suffer at least P50-M in agricultural damage

MAFAR BARMM

DAMAGE to crops and aquaculture in flooded towns in the southern province of Maguindanao del Sur has reached over P50 million, according to the Bangsamoro agriculture ministry.  

Rice, corn and vegetable farms spread across some 1,580 hectares in the towns of Datu Abdullah Sangki and Ampatuan were affected, with damage cost estimated at P39.31 million, the Bangsamoro region’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform reported following field validation on Oct. 31.   

Fish farms stocked with tilapia, catfish and carp were damaged with losses pegged at over P9.38 million.   

For livestock, damage was estimated at P1.69 million.  

Other parts of Maguindanao province also recorded damage in banana and coconut plantations as well as farms with other high-value crops.   

The ministry said damage validation in all areas were targeted for completion by Oct. 31, and assessment results will be used to “determine what urgent interventions must be carried out for the farmers, fisherfolk, and agrarian reform beneficiaries in the region.”  

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, composed of five provinces in southern Philippines, has been experiencing rains over the past weeks and the rainfall volume was aggravated by tropical storm Nalgae, named Paeng locally, which struck a wide area of the country.   

The biggest death toll from the storm was in the region with 59 people confirmed to have died and 16 still missing as of Nov. 1, based on the national disaster management council’s latest report.  

Maguindanao Provincial Administrator Cyrus E. Torreña said state weather agency PAGASA provided sufficient rainfall and flood warnings and should not be accused of failing to issue timely forecasts.  

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Saturday questioned why the flooding and landslides were not anticipated.  

“Actually… we are not blaming PAGASA in this situation,” Mr. Torreña said in Filipino in an interview Monday evening with The Chiefs over One News.   

“You know our weather patterns now, it can just suddenly change,” he said.    

Mr. Torreña explained that it is most likely that saturated upland areas due to incessant rains could no longer absorb water, which triggered mudslides and flashfloods.  

“And there was overflow in rivers,” he added. — MSJ

Several storm-hit areas still without power supply

Teams from the Marinduque Electric Cooperative, Inc. on Monday restore power facilities toppled by Tropical Storm Paeng. — MARELCO

POWER SUPPLY in several areas affected by Tropical Storm Nalgae, locally named Paeng, have yet to be restored as of Tuesday, according to reports from electricity distributors.   

Three electric cooperatives — covering Aurora, Nueva Ecija and Busuanga — were still under total power interruption, based on reports submitted to the National Electrification Administration (NEA).   

Twelve other cooperatives in Luzon and the Visayas, the northern and central parts of the Philippines, reported damage to their facilities with a total estimated cost of P7.42 million. 

NEA said 13 electric cooperatives in areas that were still under tropical cyclone wind signal #1 as of Monday have yet to report their status.    

About 96 electric cooperatives serving 1,174 municipalities were affected. Of these, 73.6% or 867 have been fully energized, the agency said.     

Meanwhile, the country’s largest distributor, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), said 13,168 customers were still without power as of Tuesday. Majority of these customers are in Laguna, and the rest are in Quezon, Bulacan, Batangas, Cavite, Rizal, and Metro Manila.    

The company said about four million customers experienced momentary and sustained power interruptions within its franchise area during the storm that swept through the country the weekend.     

“We are now on the last mile of our restoration activities. While there are still few isolated areas because of flooding, we are optimistic that if conditions permit, we will be able to restore services to the remaining customers within the day,” Meralco Vice President and Head of Corporate Communications Joe R. Zaldarriaga said in a statement on Viber.   

In a separate report, the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines said it has completed the restoration of its 63 power transmission lines that were affected by the storm. — Ashley Erika O. Jose

Filipinos flock to cemeteries for Nov. 1 tradition

PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

CEMETERIES across the Philippines were abuzz on Tuesday as Filipinos were again allowed to observe the Nov. 1 tradition of bringing flowers, lighting candles and even sharing a meal with family at the burial site of departed loved ones.   

Anjonalyn Arago was one of the millions of workers in the capital region Metro Manila who traveled to her hometown Puerto Galera to join relatives and friends on the Catholic feast, which is one of the most important observances in the Philippines.   

Just like most Filipinos, Ms. Arago and her relatives were expected to spend the day at the gravesite, eating and chatting — scenes common in Filipino reunions.   

“We always make sure to visit our aunt every year on or before Nov. 1. It’s a once-in-a-year moment with our family and friends,” she said in a Facebook Messenger chat.  

In the capital Manila alone, about 300,000 people visited public and private cemeteries, the city’s police district told BusinessWorld.   

At the Manila North Cemetery, one of the largest and oldest cemeteries in the capital region, people were still required to wear face masks — which are now optional in both indoor and outdoor spaces in the country except in medical facilities and public transportation.   

John Paolo R. Rivera, an economist at the Asian Institute of Management, said the Nov. 1 holiday benefits small businesses and enterprising vendors, such as those who sell candles, flowers and food just outside the cemeteries.   

“Filipinos are entrepreneurial. They will take advantage of this once-in-a-year demand,” he said in a Viber message. “Small players will benefit, especially those in the business of food and beverages.”  

He added that rest and recreation establishments would also see an increase in earnings, although domestic travel plans for the four-day weekend were disrupted by Tropical Storm Paeng, internationally named Nalgae. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

Solon questions ample preparations as public schools return to full face-to-face classes 

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

ELEMENTARY and high school students in public schools are returning to full face-to-face classes on Wednesday after more than two years of online or blended learning due to the coronavirus pandemic, but a solon representing a teachers’ party-list group said the government has not provided enough support for a safe return to physical classes.      

“Face-to-face classes in the country are long overdue. The education crisis continues to worsen the longer we keep our students from their schools,” ACT-Teachers Party-list Rep. France L. Castro told BusinessWorld through a Viber message.  

“Having said that, we do not think the government has done enough to support our schools and teachers in the preparation for the full implementation of face-to-face classes.”   

In July, the Department of Education (DepEd) released an order mandating both public and private learning institutions to have full face-to-face classes by Nov 2. The DepEd later amended the order to allow private schools to offer blended learning.   

Mary Frances Balajadia, a grade 1 teacher in a public school, said she saw the detrimental effects of the past two years on students when they resumed part-time in-person classes in August.  

“The problem I encountered when schools went back to F2F was I had to go back to the basics. I had to teach kids lessons for kinder students, like holding a pencil, writing in between the lines and the sound of letters,” Ms. Balajadia said in a Messenger chat.   

Rhina S. Recato, a Math teach in a private school, said her school’s main concern was ensuring the implementation of health protocols.   

“Unwanted COVID cases occurred while we were having face-to-face classes,” Ms. Recato said in Messenger chat. “That’s why our school released a circular letter informing everyone, especially the parents, not to let their children attend school if they are having some symptoms.”   

Dranreb R. Biso, a senior high school teacher at Lagro High School, said some teachers were happy to return to in-person classes, noting that social interaction matters in learning settings.   

“(Social interaction) is important for kids to learn and it helps relieve anxiety from both the students and teachers,” he said in a Messenger chat.  

Ms. Castro said the Department of Education needs to allocate more funds to support public schools and teachers given the challenges of returning to in-person classes.  

“The Department of Education needs funds to fulfill its mandate of providing quality and accessible education for all, it does not need confidential funds, especially at a time when we are experiencing a worsening education crisis,” she said. — Matthew Carl L. Montecillo

Closure of licensed offshore gaming operators raises legal issues — solon

REUTERS

A CONGRESSMAN has questioned the statement released by major business groups supporting the total closure of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), saying such a move raises legal issues.

Last week, the Foundation for Economic Freedom, Makati Business Club, and the Management Association of the Philippines issued a joint statement expressing support for the closure of POGOs. 

Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda said the groups’ position “fails to answer the question: how do you legally prevent fully compliant businesses from operating without being confiscatory?” 

“These same groups,” he said in a Viber message, “would be up in arms if we closed down any other business that did not break the law.” 

He asked: “What rights to due process, equal protection, private property, and non-impairment of contracts do Makati Business Club members have that we can deprive valid and legally compliant POGOs of?” 

Hansley A. Juliano, a political economy researcher studying at Nagoya University’s Graduate School of International Development in Japan, however, said shutting down the offshore gaming industry would be more beneficial to the country.   

“Rep. Salceda is falling into the sunk cost fallacy. It’s the same as gambling hoping to win when you’re already deep in debt,” Mr. Juliano said in a Facebook Messenger chat.   

“We have to remember that industry regulations exist as a concept, and POGOs are not supposed to be exempt from that,” he said. “Sure we can make exceptions for operations that have shown benefits, but the collective impression of POGOs has been negative.”  

Law enforcement agencies have been dealing with crimes linked to POGOs, including kidnap for ransom, prostitution and human trafficking, and online scamming, among others.   

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said that a “delicate balancing act indeed from a policy and business standpoint” is needed “in view of the risks involved.”  

“This is a delicate issue especially on legitimate POGO operations in the country in view of local (employment) involved, business given to suppliers of POGOs, and their contribution to the economy in terms of rental income on office, residential, and commercial real estate, their spending that add to sales to various businesses and industries,” he said in a separate Facebook Messenger chat. — Kyanna Angela Bulan

Yulo advances in 3 events plus all-around at World Gymnastics

GYMNAST Carlos Yulo — FIG/WORLD GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2022

GYMNAST Carlos Yulo knew before he left for the 51st World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool, England that he would give it all to excel in four events — floor exercise, vault, parallel bars and the individual all-around.

He was on target yesterday.

The pocket-sized wonder from Leveriza, Manila advanced to the finals of the three individual disciplines he originally set out to be competitive in, boosting his all-around chances in the process.

“It’s a really good result but it’s just the qualifying. I’m not being boastful, it’s not the final yet so if I can do it in the final maybe I will say I’m satisfied,” said Mr. Yulo.

The quintuple Southeast Asian Games gold winner was electric in the floor exercise, his favorite event, where he blew away the competition in the qualifying round with a score of 15.266 — the only score that breached the 15-point mark.

Mr. Yulo was second in the vault (14.849), fourth in the parallel bars (15.300) and a surprising third in the individual all-around finals (84.644), where he put himself in position to medal.

He had an awkward start after an 11.666 in the pommel horse, his Achilles’ heel, which landed him in 102nd place. He posted a score of 13.533 (31st) in the high bar and 14.066 (10th) in the still rings, good enough to propel him to the first group of the individual all-around for the first time.

Only the Japanese duo of Watary Tanigawa (84.731) and Tokyo Olympics champion Daisuke Hashimoto (84.665) were better.

He hopes to pull off the shocker of shockers and pull the rug from under the two titans of the sport.

“Of course, I would like to beat them. This is the first time I’m going to be in the first group and it is a big, big achievement for me,” he said.

In the floor exercise, Mr. Yulo executed his routine — 2.5 twist to front double pike, double layout, double full out, front layout to Randi, triple full side pass, 1.5 to front double full, and a 3.5 twist — to near perfection.

Mr. Yulo is thus poised to replicate his golden effort in Stuttgart, Germany in 2019 and bury the ghost of a catastrophic fifth-place finish in Kitakyushu last year.

“I’m going to try to beat what I did today (yesterday), to be more aggressive,” said Mr. Yulo, who had a vault gold and a parallel bars silver in Kitakyushu. — Joey Villar

National University out for revenge vs Ateneo after UP loss

THE BULLDOGS, who dealt the Fighting Maroons their lone loss in the first round, absorbed a 75-63 defeat in their second meeting. — PHILIPPINE STAR/ RUSSELL PALMA

Games Today
(Mall of Asia Arena)
11 a.m. — UST vs UE
1 p.m. — UP vs AdU
4:30 p.m. — FEU vs DLSU
6:30 p.m. — NU vs Ateneo

AFTER being on the receiving end of a payback loss at the hands of University of the Philippines (UP) to start the second round, National U (NU) is out to take its own revenge against Ateneo in the chase for UAAP Season 85 leadership at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Bulldogs, who dealt the Fighting Maroons their lone loss in the first round, absorbed a 75-63 defeat in their second meeting and are hoping to use the defeat as added fuel to also get back at the Blue Eagles.

NU is running third with a 5-3 card, just behind UP (7-1) and Ateneo (5-2), making the duel in the main game at 6:30 p.m. a critical matchup as both teams seek to remain in the thick of the breakaway group.

At 1 p.m., reigning champion UP seeks to widen the gap from the rest of the field against Adamson (3-4) after the 11 a.m. card between Santo Tomas (1-6) and University of the East (3-5).

Streaking Far Eastern U (3-5) and skidding La Salle (3-4) then collide at 4:30 p.m. to complete the pivotal four-game bill as teams jockey for safe spots nearing the Final Four.

But the spotlight — and the challenge to prove itself anew — is on NU, which must play like a whole different squad if it is to exact revenge against Ateneo after a sound 77-60 beating in the first round.

“This is part of the adversity we have to brave in order to become successful, especially against Ateneo. Sabi ko sa team, iba na iyung hitsura niyo ngayon. Hindi na kayo iyung dating nauna nilang nakalaban (I told the team, you are showing a different look this time. You are no longer the team Ateneo met early in the season). Coming in this game is a different story,” NU coach Jeff Napa said.

“Pero paano magiging ibang story kung hindi nila titingnan kung sino man iyung nasa harapan nila. Kailangan, kahit sino man yan, kailangan nilang harapin as a group. (How can they write a different story if they don’t confront whoever is in front of them head-on). We’re 16 men strong, kailangan one page kami nang tatakbuhin (we have to all be on the same page),” he added.

Standing in the way of that bid of NU, once holder of the No. 1 spot early in the first round before a sudden skid, however is a well-rested Ateneo squad following the UAAP’s suspension of Saturday games due to typhoon Paeng.

The Blue Eagles haven’t played since Oct. 23 when they clipped the Red Warriors to stay on the coattails of rival and last season’s tormentor UP.

“The second round is going to be competitive and challenging but we feel good. We feel good about where we’re at, we feel good about our team. We’re ready to go,” said coach Tab Baldwin. — John Bryan Ulanday

San Beda faces Arellano to firm up top 4 NCAA spot

THE SAN Beda Red Lions devoured the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, 72-64, last week, keeping them entrenched at No. 3 with a 7-4 record. — NCAA/GMA-SYNERGY

Games Today
(Filoil EcoOil Centre)
12 p.m. — San Beda vs AU
3 p.m. — Mapua vs JRU

SAN BEDA hopes to solidify its place in the magic four as it tackles an unpredictable Arellano University (AU) today in NCAA Season 98 at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

Drawing a career effort from Tony Ynot, the Lions devoured the Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals, 72-64, last week, keeping them entrenched at No. 3 with a 7-4 record.

It trails top teams College of St. Benilde (9-2) and Letran (10-3).

Mr. Ynot will try to replicate his unforgettable performance last time after unleashing 25 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals — his best effort in San Beda uniform.

The Chiefs have likewise come from a win, a 77-63 result over Lyceum of the Philippines (8-5) last Thursday, breathing life into their Final Four bid with a 5-6 mark.

Like Mr. Ynot, AU’s Cade Flores will be seeking a fitting follow up to his 25-point, 13-rebound effort last game.

“It feels good but we want to get this run going,” the Fil-Aussie banger said. Game time is at 12 p.m.

Also trying to remain in the Final Four hunt are Jose Rizal U (JRU) (5-4) and Mapua (4-9), which clash at 3 p.m. — Joey Villar

Paul George sinks late winner as LA Clippers edge Rockets

LA CLIPPERS guard Paul George (13) dribbles down court in the first half against the Houston Rockets at Crypto.com Arena. — RICHARD MACKSON-USA TODAY SPORTS

PAUL George made a contested 15-foot baseline jumper with 6.2 seconds left to give the Los Angeles Clippers a 95-93 victory over the visiting Houston Rockets on Monday night.

Mr. George had 35 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and six steals for the Clippers, who scored the game’s final seven points to break a four-game losing  streak. Los Angeles never led in the fourth quarter until Mr. George sank his tiebreaking basket in the final seconds.

Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard missed his fourth consecutive game due to a knee ailment that will keep him out for at least two more contests. John Wall was held out for rest.

Ivica Zubac recorded 16 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots while Marcus Morris Sr. added 11 points for Los Angeles.

Kenyon Martin, Jr. scored 23 points off the bench and Alperen Sengun had 14 points and nine rebounds for Houston, which completed a winless four-game road trip and dropped to 0-6 on the road this season.

Kevin Porter Jr. and Jalen Green scored 13 points apiece and Eric Gordon had 12 for the Rockets.

Houston led by five points on four occasions in the final quarter, but Mr. George’s fifth 3-pointer of the game knotted the score at 93 with 40.2 seconds remaining.

After a Houston timeout, George stole the ball from Gordon. The Clippers then used a timeout of their own and the ball went to Mr. George, who outmaneuvered Mr. Gordon to hit the deciding shot.

Mr. Gordon had an opportunity to tie the score but missed a left-handed layup just before the buzzer while being defended by Nicolas Batum.

The Clippers shot 42.5 % from the field, including 9 of 36 (25%) from 3-point range.

Houston connected on 38.6% of its shots and was 8 of 28 (28.6%) from behind the arc.

Los Angeles held a 71-65 lead after Norman Powell’s basket with 3:08 left in the third quarter.

The Rockets answered with 11 straight points to take a five-point lead.

Mr. Martin’s three-point play gave the Rockets a 74-71 lead, and Tari Eason made two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining to end the spurt.

Houston led 76-73 entering the fourth quarter and later scored five straight points to hold an 83-78 lead with 7:08 left in the game.

Mr. Porter stole the ball from Mr. George and drove in for a dunk to make it 90-86 with 4:02 to play.

Mr. Zubac slammed home a dunk with 1:17 left to cut the Clippers’ deficit to 93-90. Mr. Martin scored 13 and Mr. Gordon added 12 as the Rockets led 52-51 at the break.

Mr. George had 14 in the half for Los Angeles. — Reuters

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