Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube
Home Blog Page 5678

Philippine chess teams all-out to better their Olympiad finish

GM Banjo Barcenilla — PHILIPPINE STAR FILE PHOTO

AGAINST all odds, the Philippine team sets out to challenge the best and the brightest the world could offer headed by a powerhouse, Wesley So-led United States team that is the heavy favorite to win it all in the 44th World Chess Olympiad unfolding on Friday in Chennai, India.

United States-based Grandmaster (GM) Banjo Barcenilla, accompanied by wife and Olympiad veteran Lilibeth, was the first to arrive in Chennai on Wednesday morning after a long, tiring 28-hour flight from Phoenix, Arizona to Dallas to Heathrow, London and, finally, India’s mecca of chess.

GM Mark Paragua will be coming from New York and was expected to arrive last night.

The rest of the 12-strong national team that also consists of GMs Darwin Laylo and John Paul Gomez and International Master (IM) Paulo Bersamina, WGM Janelle Mae Fryana, WIMs Jan Jodilyn Fronda, Marie Antoinette San Diego and Kylen Joy Mordido and Woman FIDE Master Shania Mae Mendoza flew at 3 p.m. on Wednesday via a Malaysian Airlines flight.

GMs Eugene Torre and Jayson Gonzales are also with the team serving as coaches and non-playing team captains.

The Filipinos will be gunning to improve on a 37th-place finish in the men’s division and 67th in the women’s section in the last face-to-face edition of the biennial event in Batumi, Georgia four years ago.

A total of 188 teams from 186 countries are seeing action in the men’s while 162 from 160 nations are playing in the women’s section in this 11-round, 12-day tournament.

And they will be facing their friend and Cavite-born Mr. So, whose American side is being tipped as the country to beat as it boasts of four players currently ranked in the world’s top 10 in No. 7 Mr. So, No. 5 Fabiano Caruana, No. 6 Levon Aronian, and No. 7 Hikaru Nakamura.

The tournament will be minus powerhouse Russia and China due to various reasons. — Joey Villar

Obiena would get reward for setting new Philippine, Asian record

REUTERS

WORLD No. 6 Ernest John “EJ” Obiena would earn at least P250,000 as incentives from government and possibly more for setting a new national and Asian record during his recent bronze-medal performance in the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) executive director and officer-in-charge Atty. Guillermo Iroy, Jr. on Wednesday told The STAR Mr. Obiena would get a reward for setting a new national and Asian record of 5.94 meters in the Eugene meet.

Mr. Iroy did not mention the exact amount, but the agency had rewarded Mr. Obiena P250,000 several times last year for breaking the national and Asian marks including the previous record of 5.93m the latter set in the Golden Roof Challenge in Innsbruck, Austria.

“We’re still waiting for the official report from PATAFA,” said Mr. Iroy referring to the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) headed by Terry Capistrano. “For us, once the board convenes, we will recommend incentive for the record broken.”

Mr. Iroy, however, said it could not give incentives to the bronze since the Worlds gave out prize money to the first up to eighth placers in individual events with a gold worth $70,000, a silver $35,000 and a bronze $22,000 based on documents coming from the PSC.

Based on RA 10699 or the expanded National Athletes and Coaches Incentives Act, “competitions granting prize money shall not be included.”

“For the regular incentives, considering it is a competition with cash prizes and we will follow the law,” said Mr. Iroy.

A bronze in a world-level event done every two years would have meant extra P100,000 for the Southeast Asian Games gold medalist. — Joey Villar

Cool Smashers and Power Hitters eye semis berths against separate opponents

CREAMLINE Cool Smashers — PREMIER VOLLEYBALL LEAGUE

PLDT and Creamline gun for semifinal berths as they tackle Choco Mucho and Chery Tiggo, respectively, on Thursday in the Premier Volleyball League Invitational at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

Tied at second with 3-1 records, the Power Hitters clash with the Flying Titans at 2:30 p.m. while the Cool Smashers face off with the already-ran Crossovers at 5:30 p.m.

A win would propel PLDT and Creamline straight to the semis alongside Cignal (4-1), and foreign teams Kobe Shinwa of Japan and King Whales of Taipei.

Choco Mucho is expected to give PLDT a tough challenge as the former would need to sweep its last two games, including one against eliminated Petro Gazz (1-4) on Saturday, to have a chance at snatching the last spot to the semis.

And there is hope Kat Tolentino, Des Cheng, Chery Nunag and Thang Ponce could return after sitting out several games due to health reasons.

The four were actually given the green light to play last game, but Choco Mucho coach Oliver Almadro decided to sit them out due to conditioning.

The Flying Titans knew the stakes are high as one defeat means they’re out of it all.

For Creamline, the reigning Open Conference titlist, it is hoping to beat a Chery Tiggo squad that is already out of the running with a 1-4 mark.

Expect the power-hitting troika of MVP leader Tots Carlos, Jema Galanza and skipper Alyssa Valdez to lead the way along with setter Jia Morado and middle-blockers Jeanette Panaga, Ced Domingo and Risa Sato.

A win for the Cool Smashers would also catapult them in a tie for first with the HD Spikers, who absorbed their first defeat at the hands of the Angels in a 19-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-14, triumph on Tuesday. — Joey Villar

Escueta named San Beda coach

SAN Beda new coach Yuri Escueta (second from left) — PBA MEDIA

SAN Beda has tapped new blood after it appointed Yuri Escueta as its men’s basketball team coach come the 98th NCAA season slated to unfold on Sept. 10 this year.

“It’s now official, Yuri Escueta is the new head coach of the San Beda Lions,” said Lions team manager Jude Roque.

Mr. Escueta will be joined by former San Beda standouts Jenkins Mesina, Alex Angeles and Francis Cruz in the coaching staff, along with ex-Ateneo player Andre Santos in the coaching staff with former head coach Boyet Fernandez returning as a consultant.

Mr. Escueta played for the Red Cubs under the late great coach Ato Badolato before moving to Ateneo to play college ball.

This will be Mr. Escueta’s first head-coaching job after serving as assistants for Ateneo and Gilas Pilipinas for a time before ending up at TnT in the PBA where he is currently a deputy to Chot Reyes.

He will take over the team currently seeing action in an ongoing pre-season collegiate tournament.

The Lions made a coaching change after finishing just third place in Season 97 that ended 14 straight finals appearance that translated to 11 championships during that impressive span. — Joey Villar

EcoOil-La Salle clinches playoff slot; Builders win big

KEVIN QUIAMBAO — PBA MEDIA

BUILDERS Warehouse-Santo Tomas notched its first win in historic fashion, scoring a 71-point rout of hapless AMA Online in a 150-79 win in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) D League Aspirants Cup on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Sherwin Concepcion led the way with a triple-double of 14 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists as the Growling Tigers scored the all-time second-highest winning margin in the PBA D-League behind Tanduay after its 76-point win against Zark’s Burgers in 2017, 141-65.

Nic Cabanero backstopped him with 19 markers and five assists as eight more players barged into double digits for Santo Tomas that kept its playoff bid alive at 1-4.

In the second game, EcoOil-La Salle clinched a playoff berth after a close 72-69 win over Adalem Construction-St. Clare.

Gilas Pilipinas stalwart Kevin Quiambao starred for the Green Archers, finishing with 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists including the go-ahead bucket in the last 9.3 seconds.

The Green Archers followed up their big win against NCAA champion Letran to improve to 4-2.

“We’re tired, but this game is very important for both teams. At least nakaangat kami sa quarters,” added mentor Derick Pumaren.

Winless AMA Online has been eliminated at 0-6 while also playoff-bound St. Clare slid to 3-3. — John Bryan Ulanday

The Scores:

First Game

Builders Warehouse-UST 150 — Cabanero 19, Wilson 18, Crisostomo 15, Concepcion 14, Manaytay 13, Baclaan 11, Herrera 10, Mantua 10, Pangilinan 9, Gesalem 9, Santos 7, Escobido 6, Stevens 4, Manalang 3, Canoy 2.

AMA Online 79 — Pineda 13, Baclig 13, D. Cruz 11, Malones 7, Villamor 6, Kapunan 5, De Vera 5, Gile 5, Camay 3, Yambao 3, Palana 3, K. Cruz 2, Ceniza 2, R. Cruz 1, Fuentes 0.

Quarterscores: 36-20, 72-34, 117-60, 150-79.

Second Game

EcoOil-La Salle 72 — Quiambao 18, Manuel 11, Austria 10, Buensalida 9, Macalalag 6, Cortez 6, Estacio 5, Abadam 4, Nwankwo 3, Alao 0.

Adalem-St. Clare 69 — Fontanilla 14, Sablan 12, Manacho 10, Rojas 10, Estacio 6, Gamboa 6, Estrada 4, Sumagaysay 3, Ndong 2, Lopez 2, Tapenio 0.

Quarterscores: 16-13, 30-35, 51-52, 72-69.

Third Game

NU 78 — Clemente 13, Malonzo 12, Enriquez 11, Casinillo 10, Minerva 10, Mahinay 9, John 9, Manansala 4, Galinato 0, Padrones 0, Tibayan 0, Ramos 0, Libang 0, Gloria 0, Crisostomo 0.

Arellano 64 — Flores 14, Doromal 13, Mantua 8, Mallari 7, Menina 7, Valencia 4, Lustina 4, Oftana 3, Tolentino 2, Balo 2, Talampas 0, Mamaradio 0.

Quarterscores: 19-14, 34-36, 53-50, 78-64.

Clinical England thrashes Sweden 4-0 to reach Women’s Euro final

SHEFFIELD, England — Host England waltzed past Sweden into the Women’s Euro 2022 final with Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo and Fran Kirby all on target in a sensational 4-0 win in front of a frenzied sell-out crowd at Bramall Lane on Tuesday.

The Lionesses made a nervy start but once Mead produced a moment of brilliance to fire them ahead in the 34th minute, it was one-way traffic for Sarina Wiegman’s side who became the first England women’s team to reach a major final since 2009.

England has now won 11 consecutive matches and will face either Germany or France, who meet on Wednesday, in a Wembley showdown on Sunday as they bid to win their first major trophy.

Sweden, the second-ranked team in the world, had three big chances to take the lead early on and were denied by the woodwork and they paid a heavy price.

Mead produced a great turn on the edge of the area to power a shot beyond goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl to give England a half time lead that was barely deserved.

But they turned on the style in the second half to crank up a party atmosphere inside the stadium.

Bronze headed England’s second in the 48th minute from a corner and Lauren Hemp somehow failed to make it 3-0 when she fired against the crossbar from substitute Russo’s low cross.

Russo then produced an outstanding piece of improvisation to take the game away from Sweden, sending a cheeky back heel through the legs of goalkeeper Lindahl.

Kirby then put the icing on the cake with a flighted effort that Lindahl could only help into the back of the net.

After that, it was exhibition stuff for a rampant England side who will now take some stopping in Sunday’s final, especially with Mead in such scintillating form.

The Arsenal forward is the leading scorer at the tournament with six goals and two assists in five games so far.

“I think at the full time whistle, we didn’t really know what to do,” Mead said as the adopted British sporting anthem “Sweet Caroline” echoed around the Yorkshire arena.

“It was an unbelievable atmosphere and we are excited to be in the final. The goal came at a good time because there was pressure on us and they had a few chances.”

It was a chastening evening for Sweden who had looked the more likely side early on.

There was less than a minute on the clock when Sofia Jakobsson got in behind England’s defense and forced a fine save from Mary Earps who denied Jakobsson again soon after.

Stina Blackstenius also headed against the bar but Sweden’s night was soon to disintegrate as England rode the wave of euphoria that has built throughout the tournament. — Reuters

Regaining the ONE Heavyweight World Title is a top priority for Brandon Vera

Brandon Vera

FOR more than five years, Brandon Vera had a stranglehold on ONE Championship’s heavyweight division and he wants nothing more than to get back to the pedestal he once owned.

The Filipino-American was a wrecking ball of power during his reign as the ONE Heavyweight World Champion, knocking people out even before the match started to heat up.

Paul Cheng, Hideki Sekine, and Mauro Cerilli all fell to Mr. Vera’s thunderous striking. Yet, all good things had to come to an end and so did Mr. Vera’s reign atop the heavyweight division.

Mr. Mr. Vera ultimately relinquished the world title to India’s Arjan Bhullar at “ONE: Dangal” in May of 2021. More than a year since he lost the gold, Mr. Vera said that his top priority is to bring the ONE Heavyweight World Title back to the Philippines.

“I miss you all very very much. I miss the entire world. I miss performing for you guys. I cannot wait to get back and show you how we’ve been training and what we’ve been doing,” said Mr. Vera.

“Our goal, our dream is to bring our championship belt back home to the Philippines. That’s my number one goal now.”

More than regaining his World Title, though, Mr. Vera wants to become a better ambassador for the sport and inspire more children to take up mixed martial arts.

The hulking heavyweight added that he never thought about his legacy in the sport, but the one thing he’s always focused on is how he can be a role model to the new generation of fighters who watched him fight.

“I never thought about that. I’ve never ever thought about that before. I figure I just let people think of me however they think of me… the only thing that’s ever made me really happy about my reach and how far our reach is in the Philippines is when all the kids in the province know who I am,” he said.

“For me, that’s a big deal. Like, they’ll tell me ‘I want to be a fighter like you. I want to fight in the ring,’ that’s the biggest deal to me. So other than that, I never thought past that.”

While he’s still waiting to get back inside the Circle, Mr. Vera is tuned to what will happen at the landmark ONE on Prime Video 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II on August 27, Singapore time, at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Mets’ fast start ends up being enough to edge Yankees

EDUARDO Escobar’s two-run homer capped a four-run first inning and starter Taijuan Walker recovered from a rough start to toss six innings for the host New York Mets, who beat the New York Yankees 6-3 on Tuesday night.

The National League East-leading Mets have won two straight following a three-game losing streak. The Yankees, who entered on Tuesday with the best record in baseball, have lost four of six since the All-Star Break and are 10-11 this month.

The Yankees raced out to a 2-0 lead against Walker when Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo homered on consecutive one-out pitches in the first.

But Starling Marte homered off Jordan Montgomery (3-3) with one out in the bottom half of the inning to begin a five-batter flurry by the Mets that included back-to-back doubles by Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso in addition to Escobar’s two-run shot.

The Mets extended their lead in unusual fashion in the third. Marte led off with a double and raced home when third baseman Josh Donaldson’s throw to first on Lindor’s grounder hit Lindor in the back and bounced into right field.

The Yankees got at least two runners on against Walker in the second, third and fourth, but only scored in the fourth when Aaron Hicks raced home on DJ LeMahieu’s groundout to third.

Walker then walked Judge on four pitches and fell behind Rizzo 3-0 before Rizzo flew out to center field to end the threat.

Walker (8-2) retired the final seven batters he faced to last six innings for the ninth straight start. He allowed the three runs on seven hits and one walk while striking out three.

Adam Ottavino got five outs before Edwin Diaz struck out pinch hitter Joey Gallo to end the eighth. Diaz then closed out his 22nd save by striking out the side while working around a single and his own fielding error in the ninth.

Jeff McNeil added an insurance RBI single in the eighth. Alonso was 3-for-3 and is 8-for-10 in his last three games.

Judge, Rizzo, Hicks and Isiah Kiner-Falefa had two hits apiece.

Montgomery allowed five runs (four earned) on five hits and one walk while striking out three over 2 1/3 innings. — Reuters

France eyes joint sea patrols with Philippines 

By Alyssa Nicole O. Tan, Reporter 

FRANCE wants to conduct joint sea patrols with the Philippines and will back efforts to modernize the Southeast Asian nation’s military, according to its ambassador. 

The two nations can hold the patrols within exclusive economic zones, French Ambassador to the Philippines Michèle Boccoz said told a news briefing on Tuesday evening, adding that the two are already holding joint military exercises.  

France can also help the Philippines develop its nuclear and renewable energy, the envoy said. This could take time since developments are in the early stages, she added. 

“If you want to develop your own nuclear energy, you will have to put a framework into place,” Ms. Boccoz said, citing the regulatory environment, expertise and training needed for a nuclear program. “Developing this project is not going to happen this year or next year.” 

“We have experience and expertise in the different sectors of renewable energy, including the nuclear sector,” she added. 

France’s energy mix is 70% nuclear, 27% hydroelectric energy and 3% gas, Ms. Boccoz said. “The innovative competence with our energy is part of the discussions we’re getting into to help the new administration not only on nuclear but also hydrogen and other renewable energy sources.” 

France has a very low-carbon electricity mix given its large nuclear fleet, the second-largest after the United States, according to the International Energy Agency. 

As an early leader in setting out an ambitious energy transition, France legislated a net zero emission target for 2050 in its 2019 Energy and Climate Act. A national low-carbon strategy with five-year carbon budgets and a multiannual plan for energy investments complement the long-term target, it added. 

French companies are waiting for signs of government stabilization before investing, French Economic Counsellor Olivier Ginepro told BusinessWorld after the briefing. 

Not all companies can afford to wait for months, and the embassy seeks to persuade smaller French companies to continue their ventures despite risks, he said. Mr. Ginepro said there is interest in expanding trade with the Philippines in the agri-food business. 

PHL gov’t, Meta to adopt more stringent measures to combat online child abuse and exploitation  

SENATOR RISA HONTIVEROS FACEBOOK PAGE

PHILIPPINE authorities and Meta Platforms, Inc., formerly known as Facebook, will adopt more stringent measures to mitigate the proliferation of online abuse and exploitation of children in the country, a senator said on Wednesday.   

The new procedures include an immediate takedown of any exploitative content, the preservation of evidence on the side of Meta, and the transmittal of these evidence to law enforcement, according to Senator Ana Theresia “Risa” N. Hontiveros-Baraquel. 

Ms. Hontiveros met on Wednesday with representatives from Meta, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to discuss what she described as an alarming spread of child sexual abuse and exploitation materials online.  

The senator said they also talked about the possible passage of the Anti-Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) bill, which was transmitted to the Office of the President on June 28.  

“Both Facebook and our law enforcement authorities have pledged to continue working with my office and the Senate Committee on Women and Children to implement the best interest of the child,” said Ms. Hontiveros, who chairs the committee.  

NBI-Cyber Crime Division Chief Christopher M. Paz confirmed that OSAEC cases rose amid the coronavirus pandemic, along with other online crimes.  

He said should the bill awaiting the President’s signature lapse into law on Thursday, suppression of these types of crimes will be intensified.  

Meta said they are ready to participate in the formulation of the Anti-OSAEC bill’s implementing rules and regulations once it becomes a law.   

On the side of prevention, PNP Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division, Women and Children Protection Center Chief Marygrace Madayag said they discussed the role of local governments and the community in reporting violations.   

“On the part of the PNP, we have women and children protection desk officers in all police stations that you can go to for help. We also have an anti-cybercrime group that you can go to and… women and children protection centers here at Camp Crame,” she said. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan 

DepEd bats for additional benefits for teachers instead of wage hike  

DEPED.GOV.PH

THE GOVERNMENT is eyeing to give teachers additional benefits instead of raising their salaries, the Department of Education (DepEd) said on Wednesday.   

The department wants to give public school teachers non-basic wage benefits such as allowances instead of further increasing their salaries to avoid an exodus of educators from private schools, DepEd spokesperson Michael T. Poa told a news conference.   

“We will be looking into non-basic wage benefits that we can give them so they can have more benefits to take-home pay,” he said.    

“If we increase the basic wage of the teachers, if we make it too high, it will really affect the private sector,” he added. “Teachers might transfer to the government or the private sector may not be able to give an equal pay and may lead to their closure.”  

The plan was already presented to President R. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., according to Mr. Poa.   

“He has instructed that to look into the non-basic wage benefits, we [should check] what can be added to increase the teachers’ take-home pay.” 

ACT Teachers Party-list and Kabataan Party-list last month filed a bill adjusting the minimum salary of entry-level public school teachers from Salary Grade (SG) 11 to SG 15.  

The proposal, which failed to get the nod of lawmakers at a committee level in the previous Congress, also adjusts the minimum salary of entry-level teachers in public universities and colleges from SG 12 to SG 16.  

Meanwhile, Mr. Poa said DepEd is also planning to remove non-teaching tasks and responsibilities from teachers so they could focus on their main duty of educating. 

DepEd will hire non-teaching personnel to do the administrative tasks currently handled by teachers, he said.    

“We noticed that aside from teaching, they also have admin tasks,” Mr. Poa said. “To complement, we will perhaps have to hire non-teaching staff to handle those things.” — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza 

JICA to assist Bangsamoro gov’t in Cotabato City urban development 

BW FILE PHOTO/ TSBASMAN

THE JAPAN International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is assisting the Bangsamoro government in its development plan for Cotabato City, the region’s political and economic center.  

In a statement on Wednesday, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) said the Japanese agency has completed its pre-feasibility study on an urban infrastructure development plan for the city, which will be incorporated in the ongoing drafting of the 2nd Bangsamoro Development Plan for 2023-2028.  

“The presentation gained an in-depth understanding of one of JICA’s initiatives to assist the BARMM, which envisaged to accelerate the quality socio-economic development of Greater Cotabato to position it as a growth center in the Bangsamoro region,” Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority Director-General Mohajirin T. Ali said.  

JICA presented its study to BARMM officials last week.  

Mr. Ali said the regional government’s “enhanced 12-point priority agenda” includes the development of a “reliable and resilient infrastructure for land, sea, and air transportation” and communications, among others.   

“This will also serve as a framework for the alignment and harmonization of all assistance from development partners supporting the Bangsamoro transition,” he said.   

JICA-Philippines Chief Representative of Sakamoto Takema said the purpose of the survey was to create a compass of urban infrastructure development for Cotabato City being the growth center in the region.  

“Advancing peace in BARMM, including Cotabato city, is the key to the success of the sustainable and inclusive growth of the entire Philippines [and] I would like to draw JICA’s function here in the Bangsamoro region, using this survey in this context,” Mr. Sakamoto said.  

The Japanese official also underscored JICA’s continued commitment to support the regional government, local government units, and the people in BARMM towards inclusive development. — MSJ 

1...5,6775,6785,679...13,815Page 5,678 of 13,815
© 2024 BusinessWorld Publishing.
All rights reserved.
Read our privacy guidelines
Facebook Instagram Linkedin Twitter Youtube