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Adamson, Ateneo face off vs local bets in Cebu leg of SSL

ADAMSON VS ATENEO during the UAAP Season 87 women’s volleyball tournament — UAAP

Games today
(Mandaue Sports Complex)
5 p.m. – USPF vs Ateneo
7 p.m. – USC vs Adamson

THE SHAKEY’S Super League (SSL) makes a stop in Cebu to pit UAAP bets against Visayan standouts starting today at the Mandaue Sports Complex after a successful opening leg of the National Invitationals in Davao.

Adamson takes on CESAFI champion University of San Carlos (USC) in the main game at 7 p.m. after the curtain-raiser between Ateneo and University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) at 5 p.m.

Led by UAAP Rookie of the Year, former UAAP juniors MVP and now Alas Pilipinas stalwart Shaina Nitura, the Lady Falcons loom as the heavy favorite to the win the tournament, which is a single-round robin format with the top team being crowned champion.

But coach JP Yude warns his charges against complacency especially with the capability of bets from Cebu, a hotbed for homegrown players, and the vastly-improved Ateneo squad.

“Lagi kong sinasabi sa team na huwag magpakampante. Alam naman natin na lahat kami rito gustong talunin ang mga makakalaban. Siyempre home town din nila. We expect na magkakaroon kami ng magandang laban,” Mr. Yude said.

USC went winless while USPF reached the quarterfinals in their last SSL stints, making it a perfect opportunity to perform better in front of their home crowd.

Ateneo, for its part, shored up its roster with the addition of high school sensations Ana Francesca Hermosura and Dona Mae De Leon from the 2025 Shakey’s Girls Volleyball Invitational League and Palarong Pambansa runner-up Bacolod Tay Tung.

“This tournament celebrates not just talent but unity, sportsmanship and the passion of our youth. Mandaue City is honored to be your stage. Together, let’s make this a tournament to remember,” Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Jovito Ouano said.

“Cebu has been the center of volleyball in the Visayas for the longest time. Every year, we invite the best teams from the provincial championship, which is CESAFI but this time it’s different. We’re giving them the home court advantage. We want them to experience the excitement of their home crowd,” added league organizer Athletic Events and Sports Management, Inc. (ACES) President Dr. Ian Laurel.

Reigning UAAP champion National U swept the Mindanao leg of the SSL National Invitationals against University of the Philippines, Notre Dame of Dadiangas University and the Davao Selection featuring players from Ateneo de Davao University, Holy Cross of Davao College, and the University of Mindanao.

Incoming rookie and former UAAP juniors MVP Sam Cantada was named the Best Player of the Davao leg.

The next leg of the renewed SSL National Invitationals under a regional format will be in Batangas City next month. — John Bryan Ulanday

Kuzma wraps up second Manila visit

KYLE KUZMA — MPIO/SEF ROBRIGADO

MILWAUKEE Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma became the latest NBA standout to visit the Philippines this offseason following this “KuzManila II” Asian Tour.

The 30-year-old Kuzma on Thursday wrapped up his three-day tour by attending the unveiling of his mural at the Barangay 901 basketball court, North Compound Tenement in Sta. Ana, Manila.

Manila Mayor Isko Moreno welcomed the former NBA champion, who also held basketball clinics and scrimmages with Manila kids and aspiring ballers.

Mr. Kuzma made other stops in Singapore and China ahead of his first full season with the Bucks.

Mr. Kuzma, an NBA champ with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, was traded midseason to the Bucks from by Washington Wizards for Khris Middleton.

He played 33 games with averages of 14.5 points on 33% shooting from downtown, 5.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists, but Milwaukee bowed to eventual NBA finalist Indiana Pacers in the first round.

It’s the second Manila visit for Mr. Kuzma after his KuzManila Asian Tour last year.

Earlier this month, Memphis Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant also visited Manila for the first time as part of his Asia tour, which included Japan and China. — John Bryan Ulanday

Specialists beat singles stars in US Open mixed doubles final

NEW YORK — Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori retained their mixed doubles title at the US Open on Wednesday, overcoming Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud 6-3, 5-7, 10-6, in the competition’s reimagined format that drew some of the top singles players.

The defending champions, who needed a wild card entry into the competition that prioritized singles rankings, relied on their veteran experience to outfox the Polish-Norwegian duo.

The packed house at Arthur Ashe Stadium cheered wildly when Vavassori clinched it with a lethal forehand and hoisted Errani into the air in celebration, as the pair walked away with a $1-million prize.

“We are doing something amazing in these two years,” said Vavassori, who also won the French Open title with Errani earlier this year. “We showed today that doubles is a great product.”

Swiatek and Ruud had never played together before this year and at first appeared completely outmatched as the Italians went up 3-0 in the first set.

Six-times Grand Slam singles champion Swiatek broke back with a superbly placed volley in the seventh game but that momentum evaporated as her double fault helped the defending champions to another break in the eighth.

Vavassori then closed the first set with an unreturnable serve.

The Italians went up a break in the second set in the seventh game but Ruud and Swiatek broke back in the 10th and leveled the match when the Pole struck a backhand winner in the 12th.

Errani and Vavassori went up 4-0 in the tiebreak and were helped to the finish line after a double fault from Swiatek.

“We pushed to the end, we tried to make it competitive,” said Swiatek, standing on the same court where she won the US Open singles title three years ago.

Organizers were testing a novel format for the competition this year, hosting it during the week before the main singles draw with eight entries based on combined singles rankings of players and eight wild cards.

It was an undeniable marketing success with a star-studded lineup that included Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, but the format rankled some who felt it unfairly excluded veteran doubles players.

Hundreds of fans had lined up in the rain outside Arthur Ashe Stadium 90 minutes before the first of two semifinal matches on Wednesday, hardly the crowd one might have expected for the penultimate stage of the mixed doubles in past years.

“Playing with all these people is something incredible for us,” said Errani. “This one is for all the doubles players who couldn’t play this tournament.” — Reuters

Ohtani roughed up as Rockies top Dodgers

HUNTER GOODMAN had three hits and three RBIs, Jordan Beck also had three hits, and the Colorado Rockies got six solid innings from Tanner Gordon to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-3 in Denver on Wednesday night.

Tyler Freeman, Brenton Doyle and Mickey Moniak had two hits each for Colorado, which took advantage of a shaky night by Dodgers starter Shohei Ohtani to win for the fifth time in six games.

Teoscar Hernandez homered and Miguel Rojas had two hits and two RBIs for Los Angeles, which is 14-16 since the All-Star break.

The Dodgers got a scare when a comebacker by Orlando Arcia hit Ohtani in the right thigh during Colorado’s three-run fourth inning. Ohtani fielded the ball but was in visible pain, and the trainer and manager Dave Roberts came to the mound.

Ohtani stayed in the game after throwing one warm-up pitch but left for a pinch hitter in the eighth.

The Rockies jumped on Ohtani in the second inning. Beck led off with a single, and after Warming Bernabel hit into a fielder’s choice, Moniak singled, Doyle had an RBI double and Arcia hit a sacrifice fly to give Colorado a 2-0 lead.

Beck led off the fourth inning with a single and Bernabel followed with a double. Beck scored on a throwing error by left fielder Michael Conforto but Bernabel was tagged out trying to advance to third.

Moniak and Doyle singled before Moniak scored on Arcia’s liner off of Ohtani’s leg, Doyle was thrown out trying to score on a grounder and Arcia scored on Freeman’s single.

Ohtani (0-1) allowed five runs on nine hits, both season highs, and struck out three over four innings.

Gordon (4-5) fanned just three and scattered four hits. His only mistake was a one-out home run by Hernandez, his 21st, in the sixth inning.

Goodman’s RBI single in the bottom of the sixth restored Colorado’s five-run lead, and Goodman added a two-run double in the eighth.

Rojas drove in a pair with a two-out double in the ninth. — Reuters

Tiger takes PGA job with orders to reimagine competition format

ATLANTA — Brian Rolapp has a new job — and now so does Tiger Woods.

Rolapp, the Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour’s new chief executive officer (CEO) 18 days into his tenure, announced the formation of the Future Competition Committee on Wednesday in advance of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.

Woods agreed to serve as chairman for the nine-person committee. The aim of the newly formed group, which has yet to meet, is to define a competitive model for PGA Tour events.

The committee will consist of five other players — Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott, Camilo Villegas, Maverick McNealy and Keith Mitchell — and three business advisors with Joe Gorder, who serves on the Tour’s policy board, and John Henry and Theo Epstein, both of the Fenway Sports Group.

Rolapp comes to the PGA Tour as the CEO after a career with the NFL after commissioner Jay Monahan stepped aside.

“We’re going to focus on the evolution of our competitive model and the corresponding media products and sponsorship elements and model of the entire sport,” Rolapp said. “The goal is not incremental change. The goal is significant change.”

The governing principles of the player-led committee are:

Parity: to strengthen a commitment to a meritocratic structure.

Scarcity: to increase fan engagement by ensuring top players compete together more often.

Simplicity: to better connect the regular and postseason to magnify the season-ending Tour Championship.

“The strength of the PGA Tour is strong, but there’s much more we need to do, much more we need to change for the benefit of fans, players and our partners,” Rolapp said. “I said when I took the job that I would take it with a clean sheet of paper, and that is still true… I said, we’re going to honor tradition, but we will not be overly bound by it. Now we’re going to start turning that blank sheet of paper into action with an idea to aggressively build on the foundation that we have.”

PGA Tour player Harris English is one of about 20 players Rolapp has spoken with since joining the organization. English said the two spoke for about 45 minutes.

“I’ve been out here 14 years,” English said. “I’ve seen a lot of changes out here, and (I gave him) kind of my thoughts on what’s good, what’s bad, what needs to be changed.”

One of the key issues facing Rolapp will be the relationship between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf. The two entities continue on separate paths with no prospect of a resolution anytime soon.

Rolapp said he has not spoken with anyone from the Public Investment Fund, the Saudi-led group that finances LIV Golf. He was pressed about a possible resolution that would enable the world’s best players to compete against each other, or at be in the same tournament fields more often. — Reuters

Coco Gauff ditches her coach

The life of a tennis coach can, unfortunately, be measured in weeks. A brief run of victories can create the impression of permanence, yet a few missteps are enough to dispel the illusion. In a sport where every stroke is examined and every loss magnified, recency bias reigns. The past is never a shield.

Coco Gauff’s decision to dismiss Matt Daly days before the start of the US Open tells a tale as old as time. The latter, a specialist in grip and technique, had joined her camp after her split with Brad Gilbert. His stint produced immediate results: podium finishes at the China Open and the WTA Finals, not to mention a second major championship at Roland Garros. Then the serve he had labored to strengthen collapsed under pressure; a first-round loss at Wimbledon and a rash of double faults shifted the conversation from progress to crisis. And just like that, the pairing ended.

In Daly’s place comes Gavin MacMillan, a biomechanics expert who once rebuilt Aryna Sabalenka’s motion. The choice is telling. Modern players look to science when nerves crack under pressure. There is no small measure of irony in seeing precision coaching give way to a search for engineered stability. Still, the calendar waits for no one. A Grand Slam approaches, and its runup has no place for patience.

The carousel has claimed countless others. Emma Raducanu turned to mentor after mentor in search of the formula that once had her clutching the hardware at Flushing Meadows. Naomi Osaka moved on from Sascha Bajin soon after back-to-back majors. Novak Djokovic has dismissed and recalled Marian Vajda multiple times. Serena Williams tested a line of voices before settling with Patrick Mouratoglou. The sequence rarely changes: success, scrutiny, split.

Clearly, coaches occupy an uneasy space. Their influence is undeniable, yet inseparable from the player’s own form, health, and confidence. When a toss unravels or a forehand wavers, they become the most visible target. In a team sport, responsibility can be spread across a roster. In tennis, the spotlight isolates the partnership, and one party becomes a natural casualty when results of the other decline. Gauff’s split with Daly is another reminder that in tennis, permanence is an illusion. The watching and the watch never stop.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Circular Explorer and the business of sustainability in Philippine waters

The Circular Explorer is a solar-powered aluminum catamaran designed to help clean up Manila Bay. While the boat is capable of collecting plastic waste from the water, its primary mission is to serve as a platform for education, scientific research, and public engagement. The catamaran helps classify the types of plastic collected, contributing data to better understand marine pollution in the area, and helping shape environmental policies for the Philippines.

“Data alone is not enough for policymakers,” said Daniel Scheler, president of One Earth – One Ocean Manila. “What they need is a story created from that data.”

In 2023, the German environmental organization brought the Circular Explorer to the CCP Complex, located along the shores of Manila Bay, in partnership with Holcim Philippines, Inc.

“We are not only focusing on the consumers,” said Nathalie C. Inductivo, sustainability, OIC – sustainability manager of Holcim Philippines, Inc. “We need to also shift our outlook to the producers themselves.”

Interview by Patricia Mirasol
Video editing by Jayson Mariñas

#MarineConservation
#CircularEconomy
#ESGInAction
#CorporateSustainability
#BusinessWorldPH

Taiwan’s 2026 defense spending to exceed 3% of GDP, Central News Agency says

XANDREASWORK-UNSPLASH

TAIPEI – Taiwan’s cabinet plans defense spending next year of T$949.5 billion ($31.27 billion), amounting to 3.32% of gross domestic product, the official Central News Agency said on Thursday, set to cross a threshold of 3% for the first time since 2009.

The move comes as China, which views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years to assert those claims, which Taipei strongly rejects.

But Taiwan also faces calls from Washington to spend more on its own defence, mirroring pressure from the United States on Europe. This month, President Lai Ching-te said he wanted to boost defence spending to more than 3% of GDP next year.

The budget includes funding for the coast guard, veterans and special projects, the agency added. It did not say what the meant in terms of a percentage increase over this year’s defence spending.

Taiwan was including spending for the coast guard in its total defence budget for the first time, two senior officials briefed on the matter told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“They are standing on the frontline,” said one, referring to the coast guard, which figures in regular stand-offs with China’s coast guard and would, in time of war, be pressed into the navy’s effort to defend Taiwan.

The cabinet will hold a press conference later on Thursday to announce budget details.

Taiwan’s government has made military modernisation a key policy platform and has repeatedly pledged to spend more on its defences given the rising threat from China, including developing made-in-Taiwan submarines.

China’s air force flies almost daily missions into the skies near Taiwan, and holds periodic war games, the last in April.

China is also rapidly modernising its armed forces, with new aircraft carriers, stealth fighter jets and missiles.

In March China unveiled a rise of 7.2% in this year’s defence spending, to 1.78 trillion yuan ($248.17 billion), outpacing its 2025 economic growth target of about 5%. – Reuters

New Zealand faces most challenging security environment in recent time, report shows

STOCK PHOTO | Image by Kerin Gedge from Unsplash

WELLINGTON – New Zealand is facing the toughest national security challenges of recent times with increasing threats of foreign interference and espionage, particularly from China, according to an intelligence report released on Thursday.

The New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (SIS) report said there was almost certainly undetected espionage activity harming the country’s interests and that foreign states continue to target critical organisations, infrastructure and technology to steal sensitive information.

“Some states, including China, Russia and Iran, are willing to engage in covert or deceptive activity in order to influence discussions and decisions, or gain access to technology and information that can help them meet these goals … New Zealand has been targeted by some of these activities,” the report said.

China was a particularly “assertive and powerful” actor in the region and had demonstrated both a willingness and capability to undertake intelligence activity that targets New Zealand’s national interests, it added.

The Chinese Embassy in New Zealand did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The report titled New Zealand’s Security Threat Environment is released annually as part of a government shift to better inform New Zealanders about risks the country is facing.

The country, part of the Five Eyes intelligence and security alliance, has increasingly amped up its rhetoric over the growing influence of China in the region and a rise in geopolitical tensions, committing earlier this year to spend more on defence.

Director-General of Security Andrew Hampton said the threats need to be taken much more seriously than they are currently.

“Our threat environment is deteriorating and that has a direct impact on our safety and security,” he said in a statement released alongside the report.

The report also pointed to the growing threat of violent extremism and said the most plausible attack scenario remains a lone actor who has been radicalised online.

“Grievances and polarising issues in the online information space are almost certainly driving support for a range of violent extremist ideologies within New Zealand,” the report noted. – Reuters

China serves plan for competitive tennis ecosystem

SAM HOJATI-UNSPLASH

HONG KONG – China has unveiled a detailed plan to build and implement a tennis ecosystem, from boosting the number of top professional players and creating Chinese tournament brands to expanding the availability of courts and infrastructure across the country.

In a document released on Wednesday night, China’s official sporting body said it would encourage cities, businesses, schools and villages to “vigorously develop tennis” and build a new training system to develop top talent.

The document said China would strive to “cultivate more than 10 high-level professional players (ranked in the top 100 in the world) and more than 100 professional players and coaches active in international competitions”.

China has seen growing enthusiasm for tennis since Zheng Qinwen, 22, became the first Chinese player to win an Olympic tennis singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics last year.

Chinese tennis players have also become more visible at Grand Slam tournaments and on the ATP tour, including Zhang Shuai, Zhang Zhizhen and Wu Yibing.

Chine aims to establish 10 “strong tennis provinces” and “100 strong tennis cities” with youth training centres and tens of thousands of youth tennis clubs, the document said.

China will strengthen the “tennis tournament economy” to expand the flow of tennis tournaments and drive the growth of tennis consumption, as well as promoting tennis leisure and tourism routes.

It called for “deepening the integration of tennis tournaments and urban development to drive local economic development”, the sale of tennis themed cultural and creative products. – Reuters

Elon Musk must face lawsuit claiming he ran illegal $1 million election lottery

Elon Musk — EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Elon Musk was ordered on Wednesday by a federal judge to face a lawsuit by voters accusing the world’s richest person of defrauding them into signing a petition to support the U.S. Constitution for a chance to win his $1 million-a-day giveaway.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in Austin, Texas said Jacqueline McAferty plausibly alleged in her proposed class action that Mr. Musk and his political action committee America PAC wrongly induced her to provide personal identifying information as part of the giveaway, late in the 2024 election campaign.

Lawyers for Mr. Musk and America PAC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Musk founded America PAC to support Republican Donald Trump’s successful 2024 presidential run.

Ms. McAferty, an Arizona resident, said Mr. Musk and America PAC induced voters in seven battleground states to sign his petition by promising that $1 million recipients would be chosen randomly, as in a lottery, though the voters had no real chance to collect.

She said voters who signed were also required to provide names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers.

In seeking a dismissal, Mr. Musk listed several “red flags” as proof he had not run an illegal lottery.

He said these included statements that the $1 million recipients were “selected to earn” the money and expected to become America PAC spokespeople, defeating the idea that the payment was a “prize.”

But the judge cited other statements suggesting the defendants were “awarding” the $1 million, and the money could be “won.”

“It is plausible that plaintiff justifiably relied on those statements to believe that defendants were objectively offering her the chance to enter a random lottery–even if that is not what they subjectively intended to do,” Mr. Pitman wrote.

The judge was appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama in 2014.

Mr. Musk had also rejected the suggestion that petition signers suffered harm by providing contact information. Mr. Pitman said an expert in political data brokerage could testify what that information was worth for voters in battleground states.

The lawsuit was filed on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024.

A day earlier, a Philadelphia judge refused to end Mr. Musk’s giveaway, saying that city’s top prosecutor failed to show it was an illegal lottery.

Mr. Musk is a Texas resident, and his electric car company Tesla is based in Austin.

The case is McAferty v Musk et al, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, No. 24-01346. – Reuters

Australian banking regulator warns geopolitical tensions could lead to more cyber attacks

TOWFIQU BARBHUIYA-UNSPLASH

SYDNEY – Australia’s prudential regulator has cautioned that the country’s banking system is facing increasing risk of cyberattacks as a result of escalating geopolitical tensions.

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) chair John Lonsdale said the regulator would increase its work with the country’s banks in the year ahead to combat the potential for more cyberattacks.

APRA, in an annual report, did not identify countries it believed could be behind the cyberattacks.

“Operational systems in financial institutions are increasingly vulnerable to technology outages and malicious cyber-attacks,” Mr. Lonsdale said in the report.

“The risk environment for cyberattacks could worsen further in the context of escalating geopolitical tensions.”

APRA said the growing use of artificial intelligence was also an emerging risk the banking sector faced.

A report released by National Australia Bank last year found more than two-thirds of Australians had been affected by a cyberattack or data breach.

APRA established its first geopolitical risk team in 2024 to identify potential threats to the country’s banking system. – Reuters

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