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Creamline battles PLDT in PVL Reinforced Conference

VALDEZ-lead Creamline Cool Smashers — PVL

Games Today
(Philsports Arena)
2:30 p.m. — PLDT vs Creamline
5:30 p.m. — F2 Logistics vs Choco Mucho

CREAMLINE takes the first step towards a historic Grand Slam as it tackles opening day winner PLDT today in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Reinforced Conference at the PhilSports Arena.

The Cool Smashers topped both the Open and Invitational Conferences early this year that put them in a position to become the first team in the league to complete a slam.

Creamline skipper Alyssa Valdez knows they will be in for a tough fight.

“We’re just another team in the PVL,” said Ms. Valdez, who is back after being shelved for a month due to dengue.

Apart from Ms. Valdez, the Rebisco-owned, Sherwin Meneses-mentored franchise will parade a deep team headed by reinforcement Yeliz Basa of Turkey, Jia de Guzman, Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza, Ced Domingo, Jeanette Panaga, Michele Gumabao and SEA Grand Prix best libero Kyla Atienza.

They will be up against a PLDT team that boasts of 6-5 Elena Samoilenko, who uncorked a conference-high 35 points in a 17-25, 25-20, 24-26, 15-11 squeaker against United Auctioneers-Army in Sta. Rosa Saturday.

Game time is at 2:30 p.m.

F2 Logistics and Choco Mucho aim to bounce back from their stinging first game defeats as they collide at 5:30 p.m.

The Cargo Movers played minus American spiker Lindsay Stalzer and libero Dawn Macandili due to health reasons and succumbed to the Chery Tiggo Crossovers, 25-23, 25-21, 25-22, Tuesday.

There were no words yet if Mmes. Stalzer and Macandili would get to play on this one but their presence should boost the campaign of F2, which has just returned after skipping the Invitational.

On the same day, the Flying Titans likewise couldn’t get their bearings going and fell to the Petroi Gazz Angels, 27-25, 25-22, 28-26. — J. Villar

Bacolod Masskara Festival chess team championship

HOST Bacolod City has fielded in two fighting teams it hopes would contend in the 1st Masskara Festival National Inter-Provinces, Cities and Municipalities Chess Team Championships, the biggest local tournament since the pandemic that started yesterday at the Forest Part Resort.

One team will be spearheaded by Grandmaster Darwin Laylo and FIDE Master David Elorta, Jr. and backstopped by Jerry Areque and Brylle Arellano while International Master Joel Pimentel will lead the other squad.

“We’re giving it all to have a chance to win this strong tournament,” said Mr. Laylo, who was part of the national team that saw action in the World Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India a few months ago.

Grandmaster Joey Antonio, for his part, plays top board for Calapan City, a team that also has IM Emmanuel Emperado, Joselito Asi and Nezil Merilles.

The five-day event will stake more than P600,000 in cash prizes with the champion pocketing P150,000, second placer P100,000 and third placer P50,0000 courtesy of the city of Bacolod headed by Mayor Alfredo Benitez and the National Chess Federation of the Philippines.

The tournament will implement an Olympiad style format where each squad will be allowed to field in a maximum of five players with four to play, according to NCFP chief executive officer Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales.

Apart from Bacolod, Negros Occidental has entered several squads including San Carlos, Escalante, Silay City, Talisay City, Vicorias City, and Cadiz. — J. Villar

Gerrit Cole, Yankees take down Guardians in Game 1 of ALDS

NEW YORK — Gerrit Cole pitched effectively into the seventh inning, Anthony Rizzo hit a two-run homer and the New York Yankees opened the American League Division Series (ALDS) with a 4-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night.

Game 2 is Thursday in New York, where Cleveland’s Shane Bieber will oppose Nestor Cortes.

In his fifth postseason start as a Yankee and first at Yankee Stadium since signing with New York after the 2019 season, Cole allowed one run and four hits in 6 1/3 innings. Cole struck out eight and walked one after not getting out of the third inning in last season’s wild-card game at Boston.

Cole (1-0) improved to 3-1 in the postseason as a Yankee and exited to a standing ovation from the crowd after allowing a single to Myles Straw.

Harrison Bader hit a game-tying solo homer in his postseason debut with his hometown team, as the Yankees won their sixth straight postseason game over Cleveland. Jose Trevino hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly before Rizzo went deep.

Steven Kwan homered for Cleveland, which has scored four runs through its first three postseason games.

Cleveland’s Cal Quantrill (0-1) allowed four runs (three earned) and four hits in five-plus innings. He struck out five and walked three after winning his final 11 regular-season decisions.

Jonathan Loaisiga ended the seventh by getting Amed Rosario to ground into a double play. Wandy Peralta pitched a scoreless eighth after Loaisiga opened the inning by allowing a single to Jose Ramirez.

Peralta got the first out of the ninth before Clay Holmes recorded the final two outs.

Cleveland went ahead with one out in the third when Kwan hit a 2-0 fastball into the right-field seats. Cole left the bases loaded by striking out Andres Gimenez.

New York tied the game in the bottom half when Bader blasted a full-count sinker into the left-field stands and went ahead in the fifth after Josh Donaldson was called out trying to stretch a single to open the inning.

Donaldson hit a fly ball that appeared to bounce off the top of the right-field wall, and he thought it was gone. Instead, he was easily thrown out after rounding first.

After Donaldson’s miscue, Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled and his ball went under right fielder Oscar Gonzalez’s legs, allowing the shortstop to reach third. Kiner-Falefa then gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead when he scored on Trevino’s fly ball.

New York added two more in the sixth to knock out Quantrill when Rizzo blasted a full-count offering into the second deck in right. — Reuters

Yordan Alvarez belts walk-off HR, lifts Astros over M’s in Game 1

HOUSTON — Yordan Alvarez smacked a walk-off, three-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning as the Houston Astros stormed back from a trio of four-run deficits to defeat the Seattle Mariners 8-7 in Game 1 of their American League Division Series on Tuesday.

The Astros’ left fielder capped a 3-for-5, five-RBI performance with his walk-off shot to complete the Houston comeback. The Astros trailed 4-0 in the second inning, 6-2 in the fourth and 7-3 in the seventh before fashioning their stunning rally, scoring a combined five runs off Andres Munoz, Paul Sewald and Robbie Ray.

With history calling, Alvarez drilled an 0-1 sinker from Ray into the upper deck in right. Alvarez became the second player in major league history to record a walk-off postseason home run with his team down to the final out, with Kirk Gibson doing so in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. It marked the first walk-off postseason homer with a team trailing by multiple runs and the seventh in Astros history, their first since Carlos Correa ended Game 5 of the 2020 ALCS.

“Very emotional, very special moment,” Alvarez said. “(Astros starter) Justin Verlander didn’t have the greatest outing, didn’t have the outing that we’re used to seeing from him. But just very special that I was able to help the team win.

“When I hit that ball and I saw the ball go, obviously, I could feel all the fans getting super loud and super excited. And I’m still super excited. To this moment, I still haven’t fully assimilated what happened, but I think it’s just one of the most special moments of my career.”

The Mariners can relate to how the end of Tuesday’s game felt from the opposite dugout. Seattle rallied from a seven-run deficit to oust the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday and sweep that best-of-three AL wild-card series.

The Mariners rocked Verlander, Houston’s best pitcher, and were three outs away from securing a 1-0 series lead with their ace, Luis Castillo, scheduled to start Game 2 on Thursday. Now the onus falls upon Seattle to rebound from this staggering blow, a haymaker that came unexpectedly.

“Yeah, it’s a tough one, there’s no question about it,” Mariners manager Scott Servais said. “I thought we played a very good ball game today. We did a lot of great things offensively. Certainly, we got on Verlander early in the game and did exactly what we needed to do there.

“But as I talked early about it and our team about it, it’s like a heavyweight fight. You’re going to get punched. It’s how you respond in those moments and that’s a tough one.”

Verlander, making his first postseason start since Game 6 of the 2019 World Series, did not look the part of an AL Cy Young Award favorite. He allowed six runs on 10 hits and one walk with three strikeouts over four innings, matching the most earned runs he’s allowed in a postseason start while surpassing the eight hits he surrendered in Game 5 of the 2011 AL Championship Series against the Texas Rangers. Houston lamented the five days between its regular-season finale and the series opener against the Mariners, and Verlander appeared rusty given the results.

But Houston kept pushing back offensively. Alvarez produced a two-run double off Seattle starter Logan Gilbert that sliced a 4-0 deficit in half. Yuli Gurriel smacked a leadoff home run off Gilbert in the fourth that pulled Houston to within 6-3.

When Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suarez smoked a solo home run to left off Astros reliever Cristian Javier with one out in the seventh, Seattle appeared to have finally wrested control of Game 1. But Alex Bregman clubbed his 13th career postseason homer — tied with the Dodgers’ Justin Turner for the most all-time by a third baseman — off Munoz in the eighth, scoring Alvarez, as Houston clawed to within 7-5.

Rafael Montero (1-0) pitched a perfect ninth for the Astros. In the bottom of the inning, Sewald got two outs, but hit pinch hitter David Hensley with a pitch before allowing a single to another rookie, Jeremy Pena. Servais removed Sewald in favor of the lefty Ray (0-1) to pitch to Alvarez.

“Today I thought we had it in hand,” Servais said. “You got to give them credit. Certainly, they have been in this spot many times before and you don’t quit.” — Reuters

Russians can compete at Australian Open, Djokovic would be welcome — Tiley

MELBOURNE — Russian and Belarusian players will be able to compete at the Australian Open as neutrals while Novak Djokovic would also be welcome to play if he can obtain a visa, tournament director Craig Tiley said on Wednesday.

Tennis authorities banned Russian and Belarusian players from international team competitions after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year but allowed them to compete at regular tour events.

The French Open and US Open Grand Slams allowed them to compete as neutrals, though Wimbledon imposed an outright ban.

“At this point, Russian and Belarusian players will be eligible to play in the Australian Open,” Tiley told reporters.

“The only difference will be that they cannot represent Russia — cannot represent the flag of Russia.

“They cannot participate in any activity such as the anthem of Russia and they have to play as independent players under a neutral name.

“But they will be welcome to the Australian Open in January.”

Belarus has been used as a staging ground for Russia’s invasion, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.

Tiley said nine-times Australian Open champion Djokovic would also be eligible if he is able to overturn a visa ban as part of his deportation in January.

The Serbian great was kicked out of the country for not being vaccinated against COVID-19 and is barred from re-entering until 2025, though the Australian government can waive the ban at its discretion.

Tiley said he had not had any contact with the government about Djokovic and that Australian Open organizers could not lobby on the Serb’s behalf.

“At this point … Novak and the federal government need to work out the situation and then we’ll follow any instruction after that,” Tiley said.

“It’s not a matter we can lobby on. It’s a matter that definitely stays between the two of them and then depending on the outcome of that we would welcome him to the Australian Open.”

Djokovic, who also missed the U.S. Open over his vaccination status, said last month he was waiting for “positive news” from Australian authorities.

However, Australia’s former Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews, an opposition lawmaker, said this week she was opposed to the government lifting Djokovic’s ban, saying it would be a “slap in the face” for Australians who have been vaccinated. — Reuters

PSE index inches up ahead of US inflation data

LOCAL STOCKS closed nearly flat on Wednesday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the release of September US inflation data, which could provide clues on the US Federal Reserve’s next move.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went up by 6.26 points or 0.1% to close at 5,853.63, while the broader all shares gained 3.14 points or 0.1% to finish at 3,155.58.

AP Securities, Inc. Equity Research Analyst Carlos Angelo O. Temporal said Philippine shares barely moved on Wednesday ahead of the release of US inflation data.

“The PSEi was up incrementally after trading within a narrow band, coupled with low value turnover, as investors stayed on the sidelines, wary of US inflation data due out on Thursday,” Mr. Temporal said.

“Rising bond yields abroad following BoE’s (Bank of England) announcement that it will be concluding its bond-buying program within the week has also tempered sentiment further,” he added.

Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said shares traded “quietly” ahead of the release of US consumer price index report on Oct. 13 and the minutes of Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) September meeting and US producer price index (PPI) data overnight.

“US stocks fell off their highs and bond yields ticked up when the BoE said its market intervention would be over soon and pension funds have just three days to rebalance positions,” Mr. Limlingan said.

“Many are looking forward to the September PPI, a gauge of final-demand wholesale prices, and the FOMC minutes due Wednesday. While Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell has acknowledged that aggressive interest rate increases could be painful, the central bank will continue to charge forward in its fight to lower inflation,” he added.

Back home, sectoral indices ended mixed. Holding firms went up by 14.07 points or 0.25% to 5,618.21; property gained 3.98 points or 0.16% to end at 2,484.81; and industrials rose by 12.10 points or 0.14% to 8,658.39. 

Meanwhile, mining and oil declined by 46.08 points or 0.44% to 10,413.83; financials dropped by 2.86 points or 0.19% to 1,498.23; and services shed 1.58 points or 0.1% to close at 1,522.95. 

Value turnover declined to P3.7 billion on Wednesday with 1.27 billion shares changing hands from the P4.22 billion with 906.40 million issues traded on Tuesday.

Decliners narrowly outnumbered advancers, 87 versus 82, while 55 names closed unchanged at the end of trading on Wednesday.

Net foreign selling went up to P327.60 million on Wednesday from the P226.27 million recorded on Tuesday.

AP Securities’ Mr. Temporal placed the PSEi’s support at 5,700 and resistance at 6,000. — A.E.O. Jose

At least 1 dead, 1 missing in Cagayan as storm Maymay dumps rain over northern PHL 

EMERGENCY response teams evacuate residents in some villages in the town of Lal-lo in Cagayan on Oct. 12 before flooding worsens due to rain from tropical depression Maymay. — CAGAYAN PIO

AT least one person was reported dead and another missing in Cagayan province in northern Philippines as tropical depression Maymay brought continuous rains despite staying almost stationary over the Philippine Sea and away from land, local authorities reported on Wednesday.

The Cagayan provincial information office, in a statement on its Facebook page, said the fatality was from the town of Buguey. Search operations, meanwhile, are ongoing for a missing fisherman from Sta. Ana.

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office reported 1,210 families affected by flooding in six towns.

Several bridges and road sections were impassable while some parts of Allacapan town lost power supply, the provincial government said.

Cagayan Gov. Manuel N. Mamba issued a reminder to local officials, particularly mayors, that their physical presence in their areas is necessary as disaster preparedness and response measures are rolled out.

“Our problems are localized, that is why mayors should be in their areas, these disaster months are threatening,” he said in mixed English and Filipino, referring to the last months of the year.

Emergency response teams were on full alert for more potential flooding as the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) announced it will release water from the dam in Magat River, a major tributary of the Cagayan River.

In an advisory on Wednesday morning, NIA said it will start releasing water by 4:30 p.m. at an initial “volume of 200 cubic meters per second that may be increased based on the volume of rainfall at the Magat Watershed” due to tropical depression Maymay.

A low pressure area that could intensify into a storm before the end of the week was trailing tropical depression Maymay, the 13th typhoon to enter the country this year, according to state weather bureau PAGASA.

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, PAGASA said Maymay had started moving westward, maintaining its maximum sustained winds of 45 kilometers per hour (km/h) with gusts of up to 55 km/h.

It was 180 km east of Casiguran, Aurora and expected “to deteriorate into a remnant low within the next 12 hours,” the weather agency said.

PAGASA warned of moderate to heavy with at times intense rains until Thursday morning in Cagayan, the northern portion of Isabela, Apayao, Kalinga, Mountain Province, and Ifugao.

Light to moderate with at times heavy rains were also expected over Ilocos Region, and the rest of Cagayan Valley and Cordillera Administrative Region.

Meanwhile, the incoming low pressure area was about 1,980 km east of northern Luzon as of Wednesday morning. — MSJ

Senator proposes full nursing scholarship to help address mass migration 

PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

A SENATOR has proposed the grant of full nursing scholarships to help address the mass migration of Filipino nurses.

Senator Raffy T. Tulfo suggested that the beneficiaries could be required to serve in government hospitals for about five years after graduation to ensure an adequate number of nurses in public health facilities.

The Health department earlier said the country has a shortage of about 106,000 nurses.

Mr. Tulfo cited that the ideal nurse-to-patient ratio is 1:4 while the current proportion in the country is about five times that level, which leaves nurses exhausted and compromises the level of service.

The senator said this problem is compounded by lower pay rates compared to other countries, among other issues such as the timely release of benefits.

Healthcare workers, including nurses, have repeatedly held protests demanding the immediate release of their delayed hazard pay and special risk allowance in 2021.

Mr. Tulfo said he will support a bill on this proposal. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

House targets to pass 3 priority bills on health by yearend 

CONGRESS.GOV.PH

THE HOUSE of Representatives will start deliberating on three of the President’s priority measures relating to health by Nov. 9, with a target to have it passed at the lower chamber before the end of the year, a congressman said on Wednesday.

These measures cover the establishment of a Virology Institute, Center for Disease Control, and Medical Reserve Corps.

“We will be having our first bill deliberation this November, particularly on November 9th,” Batanes Rep. Ciriaco B. Gato, Jr., chair of the Committee on Health, said via phone call.

He cited that the schedule will only be adjusted if there is a supervening event.

“We intend to, at least, (finish the bill deliberations) in the House of Representatives this year,” Mr. Gato said.

“The committee level will be by November, and hopefully by third reading in the House of Representatives by December.”

He noted that these bills were already approved in the House during the previous Congress, but the Senate counterpart measures only reached committee level.

“We are still in the midst of the pandemic, and there is still a need to create a Philippine Virology institute to capacitate our country against public health emergencies,” he said.

Recently, the Bases Conversion and Development Authority said that it has allocated five hectares at the New Clark City in Tarlac province for the Virology Science and Technology Institute of the Philippines.

House Bill 2 seeks to create a medical reserve corps, while HB 9 seeks to establish a Philippine Center for Disease Control, and HB 10 seeks to build a Virology Institute. — Kyanna Angela Bulan

SC acquits ex-Binmaley mayor, businessman of corruption 

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

THE SUPREME Court (SC) has acquitted a former mayor of Binmaley, Pangasinan and a businessman of graft charges over the approval of a P2-million contract for construction equipment without public bidding.

In a 20-page decision on Oct. 10 and made public on Oct. 11, the SC First Division said government prosecutors failed to prove former Binmaley mayor Lorenzo M. Cerezo and Edwin G. Castillo caused undue injury to the government.

“In the absence of any evidence that will tend to prove any malicious motive or fraudulent intent against Cerezo, it cannot be said he gave any unwarranted benefits, advantage and preference to Castillo,” Associate Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan said in the ruling.

Mr. Castillo was the owner and operator of MTAC’S Merchandising, a construction equipment supply firm.

The case stemmed from a leasing contract between the former mayor and Mr. Castillo that involved using dump trucks and other heavy equipment to haul debris in the aftermath of typhoons.

The tribunal noted the prosecution failed to prove a conspiracy between the two.

The Sandiganbayan previously found them guilty of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The anti-graft court ruled Mr. Cereza showed gross negligence when he gave unwarranted benefits to Mr. Castillo.

Upon reviewing the case, the High Court said the prosecutors failed to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the charges against the accused had merit.

“In every criminal prosecution, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt all the elements of the crime charges,” it said. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

AGRI Party-list rep files bill on national mariculture program 

PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

A SOLON on Wednesday filed a bill seeking to create a national mariculture program in the country as part of ensuring the country’s food security. 

House Bill 5531 or the proposed National Mariculture Program Act, filed by AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert T. Lee, aims to establish a sustainable mariculture industry that would provide a stable supply of aquatic commodities. 

“Our country is one of the world’s top producers of fish and aquatic plants,” Mr. Lee said in a press release. “Given our distinct advantage in natural resources, we must exert greater effort to (ensure) that we can use these amid the dangers of the climate crisis and increasing food insecurity.” 

“Bangus, siganid, seaweeds, oysters, mussels, red snappers, and groupers can be grown in this method,” he said, referring to the use of marine farming structures. 

He said mariculture could provide food supply as well as a steady source of livelihood for fishing communities. 

If the bill is enacted, the government would be mandated to improve mariculture viability through technical skill development among fisherfolk, from the production process to value chain transportation. 

The government will also provide equipment for post-harvest and ensure easy access to financing.

There is a need for the government to find ways to expand its food production capabilities as it can be vulnerable to climate change, Mr. Lee said.

“If we do not find solutions to improve our food production, hunger will strike in the country,” he added. “Mariculture is a good solution to this problem, if implemented accurately, all people will benefit.” — Kyanna Angela Bulan 

Singaporean investor eyeing 25-ha land in Davao City for durian export 

BW FILE PHOTO/

A SINGAPOREAN investor is looking for a 25-hectare land in Davao City for durian that will be exported to his country, a city official said on Tuesday.

April Marie C. Dayap, head of the Davao City Investment and Promotion Center, said they have proposed the upland area of Paquibato, a former stronghold of communist armed rebels that had been a focus of peace efforts through socio-economic programs.

“He expressed a positive response with regards to the said area… He has no problems with that and is happy in the area,” Ms. Dayap said in mixed English and Visayan over the city-run radio channel.

She said the potential investor aims to work with local farmers on the durian varieties that would be ideal for the Singapore market.

“He said Singaporeans love durian and they only get their durian from Malaysia and Thailand,” she said. “It’s a good start and it will also encourage more farmers to plant high-value crops to market internationally.”

Ms. Dayap said there are other investment prospects for Paquibato, including two companies that are interested in setting up a corn plantation and a processing plant. — Maya M. Padillo

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