Entertainment News (03/25/22)

March 25, 2022 | 12:01 am

A715C016_210714_R21J.00902542 — Stranger Things season 4

Stranger Things season 4 kicks off May 27

SEASON 4 of the Netflix series Stranger Things kicks off six months after the Battle of Starcourt, which brought terror and destruction to Hawkins. Struggling with the aftermath, the group of friends are separated for the first time — and navigating the complexities of high school hasn’t made things any easier. In this most vulnerable time, a new and horrifying supernatural threat surfaces, presenting a gruesome mystery that, if solved, might finally put an end to the horrors of the Upside Down. The series is directed by The Duffer Brothers, Shawn Levy, and Nimród Antal. It stars Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Noah Schnapp, Sadie Sink, Nata-lia Dyer, Charlie Heaton, Joe Keery, and Winona Ryder. Stranger Things season 4 premieres on Netflix on May 27 (Volume I) and July 1 (Volume II).

The NCAA Season 97 Opening Ceremonies shines brighter with performances from Julie Anne San Jose, Nef Medina, Jeremiah Tiangco, Anthony Rosaldo, and Vilmark Viray

NCAA Season 97 opening ceremonies on GMA

SEASON 97 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) kicks off with grand opening ceremonies on Saturday, March 26, simulcast on GMA and GTV, and the live airing of games on GTV. The Stronger Together. Buo ang Puso: NCAA Season 97 Opening Ceremonies, which airs on GMA after Eat Bulaga, is hosted by Ms. Universe Philippines 2020 Rabiya Mateo, Manolo Pedrosa, and NCAA hosts Martin Javier and Sophia Senoron. Joining them are NCAA anchorman Anton Roxas and Season 97 courtside reporters Ann Gabriel, Avia Zunic, Chantal Laude, Aya De Quiroz, Chloe Carillo, Chase Orozco, Christiana Dimaunahan, Eden Hernandez, Lance Santiago, Michelle Naldo, Sofia Rodelas, Christian Sebastian, and Baileys Acot. The opening ceremonies will feature performances by Julie Anne San Jose, Garrett Bolden, Thea Astley, Jessica Villarubin, Mariane Osabel, Jeremiah Tiangco, Nef Medina, Vilmark Vi-ray, and Anthony Rosaldo, and El Gamma Penumbra. Hosted by the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, this season marks the return of the Men’s Basketball and Women’s Volleyball tournaments, as well as the online chess and taekwondo matches.

Moonshot lifts off on March 31

THE MAX Original film Moonshot, a romantic comedy with a sci-fi twist, premieres on March 31 exclusively on HBO GO. Set in a future where Mars has been terraformed and colonized by the best that humanity has to offer, Moonshot follows two college students — Walt and Sophie, who team up to sneak onboard a space shuttle to the red planet to reunite with their significant others. As Walt and Sophie set off to Mars in seek of love, their lively journey winds up taking them both wildly and unexpectedly off course. Moonshot stars Cole Sprouse, Lana Condor, Mason Gooding, Emily Rudd, and Zach Braff.

Bisaya Vlog Squad is now on Viber

THE BISAYA Vlog Squad — Medyo Maldito, Snake Princess, Jasper Amorin, and Glester Capuno — now have a Viber channel. To mark the occasion, Viber is launching a special sticker pack with the chibi version of the squad and some commonly used Cebuano expressions that Viber users can use in their own one-on-one or group chats. “The Bisaya Vlog Squad Channel will showcase a fresh aspect of Filipino humor and creativity. We hope this will also help other Bisdak content creators to be recognized,” the group said in a statement. Each of the members has a strong social media following. In April, fans get a chance to win Viber merchandise plus cash prizes in exclusive Bisaya Vlog Squad promos. Viber Channel is a new feature for brands, organizations, or artists to share information with a wider audience.

Metro Channel’s health and wellness show Born For This

Metro Channel launches new lifestyle show

AN “inspirational health and wellness journey where soul and science meet” is how Metro Channel’s new lifestyle show, Born For This, is described in a statement. The show premieres on April 2 on Metro Channel. Hosted by tri-athlete Elle Adda, Born For This “aims to empower Filipinos by breaking the stigmas of mental health, spreading educational awareness and guidance on holistic practices, and building community connection and support.” With the help of non-profit organization, Fuel To Flourish, which is chaired by Adda and is comprised of a diverse group of health experts and practitioners, the new program also aims to “help 1 million Filipinos overcome stress and anxiety as well as flourish with complete well-being of the mind, body, and spirit” by 2025. Born For This will air Saturdays on Metro Channel beginning April 2 at 6:30 p.m. Metro Channel is available on SKYcable channel 52 (SD) and chan-nel 174 (HD), Cignal channel 69, and GSAT channel 70.

Liter of Light docu to have world premiere

LITER of Light, a Filipino-based global grassroots solar lighting movement, will have a world premiere for its environmental documentary, Theory of Light, on March 27 at the Opportunity Forum at the EXPO2020 in Dubai. Part his-torical chronicle, part environmental lesson, Theory of Light shows how Liter of Light is inspiring new generations of innovators from the Global South to come up with ideas that will change the world. “Most media coverage to date focuses on the receiving effects of the climate crisis; as victims and stops there,” says Illac Diaz, Founder and Executive Director of Liter of Light. “Filipinos are admired for our resilience, but rarely do stories focus on the rising up, building back and innovative solutions that communities themselves have developed to take dramatic action. In fact, only 1% of all global expenses for filmmaking are spent on the environment and the growing climate crisis. With this documentary, we want to flip the script, and share stories of common humanity and hope that inspires others to make urgent and right decisions for the people and planet.” The film is directed by J.P. Gopez (Habambuhay: Remembering 100 Years of Philippine Cinema) and produced and distributed by TBA Studios. The development of the film was supported by a grant from SM Prime Holdings, Inc. The project is an official partnership with the office of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Manila Observatory.

Marketing technology is coming of age

March 25, 2022 | 12:01 am

Ecommerce has tremendously grown in the last two years, driven by lockdowns, social distancing, and remote work. A couple of years ago, only 17.8% of global sales were made from online purchases. That number is expected to reach 21% in 2022, a 17.9% increase over two years and hit 24.5% by 2025, according to e-commerce platform Shopify.

In the Philippines, consumer behavior likewise dramatically shifted to online. Fifty two percent of Filipinos shopped online through apps and websites for the first time during the pandemic and 43% of them made their first online purchase using social media channels, according to Visa’s latest Consumer Payment Attitudes study.

In addition, online shopping activity has also increased during the pandemic based on the study. About 9 in 10 Filipinos have increased their online shopping activities on websites or apps, while 7 in 10 are shopping more on social media channels. More than half of the consumers are also more inclined to shop from large online marketplaces (53%) and home-based businesses (61%).

With these developments, Philippines’ e-commerce revenue is projected to reach $20.182 million in 2022 and post an annual growth rate of 17.45% until 2025, according to Statista.

While consumers are now consumers digitally engaging with brands across multiple channels to get information and shop i.e., website, social media, marketplaces, the challenge for marketers is knowing the precise moment and messaging that will convert a target audience into a customer. Not only that — in today’s hyper-social, digital world, pinpointing this vital information can seem hopeless. As a customer traverses the online and offline world, he expects a seamless interaction with the brand; but with multiple channels and data silos, there is always a marketing vacuum that makes it impossible to get a unified picture.

This is where marketing technology (also known as martech) is seeing a coming-of-age as consumers and customers migrate online. Gartner define martech as a set of software solutions used by marketing leaders to support mission-critical business objectives and drive innovation within their organizations.

Martech solutions focus on content and customer experience, advertising, direct marketing, marketing management and marketing data and analytics. Marketers use martech to collect customer data, create customer personas, communicate with customers, distribute, and schedule content across multiple platforms, identify and nurture leads, monitor customer service and feedback, and track campaign success and predict key segments to focus on.

Forbes listed five criteria marketers should look for in a martech solution.

• First is the capability for integrations. A martech solution is “a series of integrated tools that work well together,” Look for solutions that have APIs that integrate with your core technology like your CRM, marketing automa-tion, website optimization and analytics platform.

• Second is the capability to provide the single source of truth for data. “To maintain data integrity and limit confusion, look for a single source of truth, or a centralized data collection stream that offers a complete customer view.”

• Third is the capability to provide real-time information. “One of the benefits of a martech is the ability to get real-time customer information and act on it. This kind of data-driven marketing gives brands a competitive edge as they work to meet the needs of customers faster and more efficiently than others.”

• Fourth is the capability for data to provide attribution. “To make sure you’re getting the best ROI, you need access to data that tells you where your money is best spent. In other words, you need data that attributes your suc-cess to a specific marketing initiative. Make sure your stack provides this kind of insight so you can spend your budget wisely.”

• Fifth is the ability to reach customers anytime, anywhere: Your martech solution “should include tools to help you engage customers across multiple channels.” You want to create a holistic, omnichannel experience for cus-tomers that provides the right information at the right time on the right platform.

One martech player that recently achieved unicorn status is Insider, a business-to-business software-as-a-service (SaaS) martech firm headquartered in Singapore. Following a $121-M Series D with $1.22-B valuation, Insider is enabling more than a thousand leading brands like Avon, PUMA, Lenovo, Etiqa, Philips, Toyota, Watsons, Burger King, IKEA with its personalized, cross-channel customer experience platform. Insider’s AI-powered platform brings together the most extensive set of personalization capabilities with emerging messaging channels like WhatsApp, Facebook, and SMS. It coordinates all offline and online data into a unified platform that allows enterprise market-ers to connect customer data across channels and systems to reveal interests and preferred touchpoints; predict future behavior with an AI-powered intent engine, such as which customer segments are likely to convert, buy, and churn; and orchestrate and deliver individualized, optimized experiences to customers.

“We’ve been blitzscaling remarkably in the past three years and achieved 3X growth. In the same period, our global team grew by 300%, and our customer base continues to increase,” said founder and CEO Hande Cilingir.

It’s an opportune time that we are holding a virtual “CX Forum with Southeast Asia’s Unicorns” on April 21, 2020, where speakers from Unicorn companies will their insights on humanizing customer experience with the power of personalization through martech.

Marketing and CX practitioners who are interested to join can send me an e-mail at rey.lugtu@hungryworkhorse.com.

REYNALDO C. LUGTU, JR. is CEO of Hungry Workhorse Consulting, a digital and culture transformation consulting firm. He is the chair of the ICT Committee of the Financial executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX). He is fellow at the US-based Institute for Digital Transformation. He teaches strategic management in the MBA Program of De La Salle University. The author may be e-mailed at rey.lugtu@hungryworkhorse.com

Air quality in the Philippines worsens in 2021

March 25, 2022 | 12:00 am

How PSEi member stocks performed — March 24, 2022

March 25, 2022 | 12:00 am

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Thursday, March 24, 2022.

Barangay Ginebra and Magnolia seek second strike in Game Two

March 24, 2022 | 10:20 pm

LEFT TO RIGHT) Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings, Magnolia Hotshots

GAMES TODAY (MOA Arena)

3 p.m. – Ginebra vs. NLEX (Semis, Game 2)
6 p.m. – Magnolia vs. Meralco (Semis, Game 2)

*Hotshots, Gin Kings lead best-of-five series, 1-0

FIRST blood drawn, defending champion Barangay Ginebra and top seed Magnolia quickly reload for a second strike that will push them into the doorstep of the 46th Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup title play.

The Gin Kings, who outdueled NLEX in the opener of the best-of-five semifinal series last Wednesday, 95-86, seek a repeat in Game 2 at 3 p.m. while the Hotshots, 94-80 winner over Meralco, eye a commanding 2-0 lead at 6 p.m.

The semis pacesetters can expect a hard fightback from their respective opponents, who are plotting to get on even terms or else fall into a deep hole in the short race-to-three dispute.

“It’s important we put up a better fight,” said NLEX skipper Kevin Alas after the Road Warriors squandered a 16-point lead and faded in the stretch of Game 1.

Ginebra took care of business in Game 1 despite ace slotman Japeth Aguilar going down with a calf injury.

Coach Tim Cone said Mr. Aguilar’s injury dampened the victory and may have jeopardized his availability for the second match. But with or without Mr. Aguilar, the crowd darlings are pumped to continue their reten-tion bid.

“The thing with injuries, from a coaching standpoint and even from a team standpoint, you can only feel bad about it for 10 minutes and you move on because it’s a team sport. There are other guys who can step up and fill the role. You just gotta put these guys in a position to play their best basketball,” he said.

For Magnolia, one major focus, aside from executing their stifling defensive schemes to precision, is to get a strong start against Meralco. In the series kickoff, the Hotshots needed to overhaul an early 17-point deficit before taking the W, a situation that mirrored their 88-85 comeback win back in the eliminations.

“We need to address this problem,” said Hotshots mentor Chito Victolero.

Main target of Magnolia’s defense is still Meralco import Tony Bishop, who, for sure, is intent on making up for his meager 10-point outing the other day.

At the same time, Mr. Victolero’s guards should be at their sharpest, too, against Meralco’s local gunners like Chris Newsome, Allein Maliksi and Chris Banchero, who combined for 31 last time.

Farr, Prado lead Philippine cycling team in SEAG

March 24, 2022 | 10:18 pm

SOUTHEAST Asian Games (SEAG) gold medalists John Derick Farr and Jermyn Prado will spearhead the 21-strong Philippine cycling team seeing action in the Hanoi Southeast Asian Games slated for May 12 to 23.

Mr. Farr, who struck gold in the last edition of the biennial meet in Tagaytay City three years ago, will compete again in the men’s downhill of mountain bike while Ms. Prado plunges into action in three women’s road race events including the individual time trial where she nailed a mint in 2019 SEA Games in Tagaytay.

Mr. Farr will be racing alongside 2019 SEA Games silver medalist Eleazar Barba, Jr. while Ms. Prado’s other events are criterium and massed start alongside Marella Salamat, Avegail Rombaon, Maura Christine delos Reyes, Maritoni Krog and Kate Yasmin Velasco.

PhilCycling chief Abraham Tolentino did not make a medal forecast but vowed the team will compete hard to surpass, if not duplicate, its three-gold, four-silver and four-bronze medal haul last time.

“We will compete hard, that’s for sure,” said the congressman from Tagaytay and Philippine Olympic Committee president.

Also in the team is newly crowned 11th LBC Ronda Pilipinas champion Ronald Lomotos, who will see action in the massed start together with Navy Standard Insurance teammates John Mark Camingao, George Oconer and Ronald Oranza and Go for Gold standout Daniel Ven Cariño.

“I will do my best to help the team,” said the 27-year-old Mr. Lomotos.

Also earning slots to the national squad were Dominic Perez, Jan Paul Morales and Aidan James Mendoza (criterium), John Mark Lexer Galedo and Marc Ryan Lago (ITT), Niño Surban, Edmhel John Flores and Jericho Rivera (mountain bike cross country Olympics and relay). — Joey Villar

Brengle routs Eala, 6-2, 6-1, in first round of Miami Open

March 24, 2022 | 10:16 pm

ALEX M. Eala’s return to the prestigious Miami Open became a quick one after bowing to seasoned home bet Madison Brengle, 6-2, 6-1, in the first round at the Hard Rock Stadium late on Wednesday night.

Fifteen years younger than her American opponent, the 16-year-old Ms. Eala succumbed to an early 0-5 first-set deficit and never recovered from there en route to a swift defeat in a little over an hour.

Ms. Eala, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) No. 565, managed to snatch only three games from WTA No. 59 Ms. Brengle, who was the Filipina ace’s highest-ranked opponent in her budding career.

Ms. Brengle will collide with Russian Luidmila Samsonova in the Round of 64.

For Ms. Eala, this was her second straight early exit in elite WTA 1000, 128-player event featuring the top women’s netters after an elimination in the qualifiers last year.

She earned a wild card berth straight into the main draw this year that paved the way for a tough collision with the 31-year-old Ms. Brengle.

Ms. Eala, also the ITF juniors No. 10, had played in six events this year with a pair of Round-of-16 finishes in France as her best performance so far. — John Bryan Ulanda

Show goes on at Miami Open without new retiree Barty

March 24, 2022 | 10:15 pm

WITH all the attention still firmly on world number one Ash Barty’s abrupt retirement, the show carried on at the Miami Open, as Naomi Osaka recorded a 6-3, 6-4 first-round win over Australia’s Astra Sharma on Wednesday.

Barty, a three-time Grand Slam winner and twice champion in Miami, announced she was retiring from tennis at age 25, just two months after she picked up her third major title at home in Australia, stunning competitors at the Masters 1000 tournament.

“I feel really happy for her. I know last year was quite tough,” Osaka told reporters after her victory at what she calls her “home tournament,” where her thundering serve helped her make light work of Sharma.

The Japanese power-hitter next faces three-times major winner Angelique Kerber of Germany, who had a first-round bye.

Elsewhere in the day’s action, Shelby Rogers outlasted fellow American Amanda Anisimova (3-6, 6-0, 6-3) to set up a clash with Latvian Jelena Ostapenko, while Czech Karolina Muchova beat compatriot Tereza Martincova (7-6(3), 7-6(3)) despite producing a half-dozen double faults.

She will face 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez in the second round, after the 2021 US Open finalist advanced on a bye.

On the men’s side, 20-year-old wild card Jack Draper set up an all-British second-round affair with world number 12 Cameron Norrie after fending off France’s Gilles Simon (7-5, 6-1).

“I’ve played a lot with Cam in the UK. He’s one of the guys who has been great with me as a young Brit. I think he’s always supporting, always sending me messages,” said Draper. “Hopefully, I can give him a run for his money.”

Belgian David Goffin breezed by Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena (6-2, 6-3) to meet Pablo Carreno Busta next. — Reuters

PE teachers and coaches in PSC’s Rise Up!

March 24, 2022 | 10:14 pm

THE Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) values the contribution of the academe in the promotion and development of women in sports with a special webisode of Rise Up! Shape Up! featuring physical education (PE) teachers and coaches on Saturday, March 26.

The episode entitled “Women Wielding Influence and Motivation in PE Classes and School Playing Fields” is proud to guest Dr. Lumna Trinidad of Tarlac State University, and teacher-coaches Marissa Austria, Stephanie Pagarigan, and Anne Daphien Baisa at 7 p.m.

Dr. Trinidad will share her personal experiences engaging in sports at an early age and how she was able to use her sports skill outside the playing field.

Ms. Austria, a Master Teacher II and MAPEH coordinator in Las Piñas East National High School is a former archer of the Philippine Normal University (PNU) and represented the country in several international com-petitions from 1996 to 1998. Currently, she is a continental judge in the World Archery Asia and was part of the officiating during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. Ms. Austria will share her thoughts and insights on influencing and motivating children to be champions in sports and life.

On the other hand, coach Ms. Pagarigan and coach Ms. Baisa will speak on the Art of Planning and Establishing Influence among Players and will share the importance of sports in developing life skills.

“Through the influence of our teachers and coaches, we understand that sports are indeed a tool in developing athleticism, healthy competition, and sports mindedness that children can apply in improving the quality of their life,” shared PSC Women in Sports oversight commissioner Celia Kiram. The lady commissioner will also present the history of Physical Education in her regular segment “K-Isport.”

Former boxing official Roger Fortaleza dies at 62

March 24, 2022 | 10:12 pm

ROGER Fortaleza, former Southeast Asian Games silver medalist and secretary-general of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines or the precursor to the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP), passed away on Thursday due to lingering illness.

He was 62.

Until his death, Mr. Fortaleza was a three-star International Referee-Judge and snared a silver as a national boxer in the 1977 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia before serving as ABAP secretary-general under then president Manny Lopez more than decade ago.

“The entire boxing community mourns the death of a dedicated boxing man and a good friend,” said ABAP president Ed Picson.

Mr. Fortaleza is survived by wife Rosemarie and children Renzanne, Reygel and Edrian.

Britain-Ireland, Russia, Turkey interested in hosting Euro 2028 — UEFA

March 24, 2022 | 10:11 pm

THE Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has received declarations of interest from Britain and Ireland, Russia and Turkey to host the European Championship in 2028, the governing body said on Wednesday.

Russia and Turkey have declared their interest in hosting Euro 2032, UEFA added, and Italy has also announced its intention to bid for that tournament.

Governing bodies FIFA and UEFA have suspended Russian clubs and national teams from international competition — pending an appeal by the Russian Football Union (RFU) to the Court of Arbitration of Sport — following its invasion of Ukraine.

“The UEFA Executive Committee will remain on standby to convene further extraordinary meetings, on a regular ongoing basis where required — in addition to its already-scheduled meetings of 7 April and 10 May — to reassess the legal and factual situation as it evolves and adopt further decisions as necessary, including in light of the declaration of interest expressed by the Russian Football Union for hosting the UEFA EURO,” a UEFA spokesperson said. — Reuters

Denice Zamboanga on rematch with Ham Seo Hee: I have that hunger

March 24, 2022 | 10:09 pm

NUMBER two-ranked ONE women’s atomweight contender Denice “Lycan Queen” Zamboanga is confident that she’s going to win her rematch with Ham Seo Hee at ONE X tomorrow.

After all, the 25-year-old Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert didn’t take the split decision loss to Ms. Ham in their ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix quarter final encounter at “ONE: EMPOWER” lightly.

This time, she wants to dictate what will happen against her nemesis at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

“It was one of the darkest days for me as I’ve been saying ever since then that I won that fight,” the Marrok Force competitor revealed. “But it happened already, and it’s just a story now. What I can do for this upcoming re-match is to [rewrite] history.”

She now wants to use that result to push herself to a better performance when she steps inside the Circle with Ham at ONE’s tenth-anniversary event.

“If you come from a loss, you’ll have that hunger, that urge to train harder. You want to prove that loss cannot define you,” Ms. Zamboanga said.

That said, the ferocious fighter with an 8-1 career mixed martial arts record has kept herself busy since her last appearance in ONE Championship.

“I’ve been training hard since then. I missed the Circle, and I cannot wait to be back to show everyone how much I have improved,” she expressed.

While her routine mainly stayed the same, she did make changes to her regimen specifically for her upcoming showdown with the 23-8 Ms. Ham. But don’t expect her to give away any secrets.

“I cannot mention [the changes],” Ms. Zamboanga admitted. “But what I can say is that it’s been a hard and fun training camp. I’m ready.” “Lycan Queen” has all the right to want redemption after how her first encounter with Ham unfolded. However, the fighting pride of the Philippines remained professional with her message to the South Korean leading up to their second bout.

“You’re a great athlete, and it’s my pleasure to have a rematch with you,” she said. “Let’s give them a great fight. Let’s write history. I can’t wait to share the Circle with you again. See you soon.”