Time to plant our feet on the ground

May 20, 2021 | 7:26 pm

columns-coins-grass — MASTER1305-FREEPIK

Last Wednesday, nearly all the broadsheets reported that the Government’s Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) finally slashed the Philippines’ growth target for 2021 from 6.5-7.5% to 6-7%. We can only surmise that the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) release of the first quarter real GDP growth of minus 4.2% must have forced the hands of the authorities.

In a joint statement, our economic managers declared that “the emerging GDP growth projection is slightly adjusted… in view of the emergence of new COVID-19 variants and the reimposition of enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in the National Capital Region (NCR) Plus area during the second quarter of the year.”

In the calculus of the authorities, the downgrade can only be explained by the new variants and the ECQ, pulling down only 50 basis points from the original economic growth target.

The DBCC assessed that the effects of the pandemic could remain in the short haul, but we should be cautious with their excessive optimism that the economy will return to its upward growth trajectory this year. Much of this aspiration is anchored on, one, accelerated implementation of the recovery package, and, two, the rollout of the national vaccination deployment to cover a broad spectrum of recipients. These two anchors might be weaker than we expect because of our past experience.

For one thing, we remain skeptical about the downgraded growth target. With a 4.2% economic decline in the first quarter, it would require us to produce an average of at least 9.4% for the last three quarters of 2021 to achieve a whole-year real GDP of 6%, the lower end. This is a tall order, no matter how one looks at it.

Yes, the DBCC is very bullish about the faster rebound in the global economy which is expected to help promote the country’s external trade and services. This remains iffy because global herd immunity should be achieved for a sustained global recovery to hold.

Optimism also derives from the Government’s recent lifting of most of the mobility restrictions in the bubble area due to the decline in the daily caseload and deaths. Needless to say, this positive outcome is complicated by the new variant that is extremely contagious and the new finding that not all vaccines are equal. It is the vaccines based on mRNA methodology that appear to be effective not only in warding off infection but also in preventing onward transmission.

As expected, fiscal support will come in a big way given the increase in the budget deficit cap from 8.9% to 9.4% of GDP. Total public spending is targeted to reach P4.74 trillion, an increase from P4.233 trillion to cover both the fiscal stimulus package and the cost of the vaccines. The deficit to GDP ratio was also lifted for next year.

The challenge to the Duterte Administration with practically one year to complete its helmsmanship comes from two sides.

One, the demand for limited public resources has increased with the increase in the military and uniformed personnel salaries and pension, and the Supreme Court ruling on the Mandanas-Garcia case which expands the revenue base of local government units’ (LGUs) share of internal revenue allotment. And, two, revenues during weak economic performance can only be weak such that the Government will be forced to increase its gross borrowings and sell government assets to fund the higher deficit for this year and the next.

It is most reassuring that the Department of Finance would like the next stimulus program to be truly deficit neutral. But this requires faith because budget realignment, in providing a deficit-neutral solution, is a zero-sum game that is determined by political pull rather than economic reason. Remittances from state firms and corporations are also practically linked with how the economy would fare this year and the next.

Without doubt, the Filipino people would like to see a resilient recovery through strong growth and lower inequality. In turn, economic scarring will require us to immediately restore confidence, undertake an appropriate fiscal-monetary policy mix, mitigate increasing debt levels, and minimize the negative impact on jobs and income.

Beyond mostly fiscal issues, this pandemic has also led central banks around the world to reduce interest rates to unprecedented low levels and make what the IMF’s Tobias Adrian (“‘Low for Long’ and Risk Taking”) of its Monetary and Capital Markets Department last year called “unconventional monetary policies — including ‘low for long’ interest rates and asset purchases — increasingly common.”

Our own Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) was correct in its early easing of monetary policy and pumping more liquidity into the system. The first has kept interest rates low and conducive to economic recovery and growth. The second has maintained ample money supply to keep the credit markets moving. Various regulatory reliefs have also been extended to banks and other financial institutions temporarily distressed by the health crisis.

Based on Adrian’s argument, the monetary measures “implemented are efficient because they encourage increased risk-taking, and they may have, if unintentionally, increased medium- and long-term macrofinancial vulnerabilities.”

Unfortunately, the BSP’s policy intention did not yield the desired growth and recovery because the banks chose to be pro-cyclical. Instead of encouraging their clients to borrow and sustain business activities, many of them tightened their credit standards resulting in anemic credit activities and to some extent, soured loans. In previous columns, we described this result by borrowing and using the literature’s expression that monetary policy pushed on a string.

The pandemic has also caused so much death, restricted mobility and normal business activities that economic scarring has transformed into real obstacles to long-term growth. Monetary accommodation is the water in the dessert nobody drinks because of fear and nervousness.

As domestic inflation begins to gather momentum and worry the capital markets, it would then be a formidable call to the whole of Government and the BSP to navigate through this pandemic to promote inclusive and sustainable growth path.

The low-for-longer-period policy rate of the BSP may have to give way to an ultimate adjustment considering that its policy interest rate is negative in real terms — 2% against actual four-month 4.5% average inflation. The negative impact on capital flows and in the near future, the peso and inflation, cannot be overemphasized.

So far, low-for-longer-period monetary policy has only produced a smaller decline in economic activities, rather than positive growth, and lower short-term risk with more vaccines rollout and gradual lifting of restrictions.

We expect steady monetary policy to continue providing some kind of forward guidance that the monetary authorities are on guard, ready to reduce any vulnerability of the Philippine macroeconomy without unnecessarily drawing down its stockpile of ammunition.

Based on recent developments, it would build more market confidence if we start hearing that, one, monetary policy setting remains appropriate in the meantime to encourage growth and safeguard price stability; two, protecting growth would also require more prudent monetary policy given the continuing uncertainty and actual risks; and, three, volatilities around our growth momentum could be trimmed by a more prudent stance of monetary policy.

When the tide finally recedes, it would be most interesting to find out whether the deepest recession we sustained last year, or perhaps this year, was really due to the unseen virus and its ever-mutating variants, and not due to anything else.

And if things don’t pan out as expected, by all means, we may have to review our growth targets again. Endowment bias tells us we should not cling to things, even economic targets. There is also such a thing as winner’s curse. It’s not good to regret later that our appreciation of dynamics and risks had given way to passion to prove the rest of us wrong.

We are all in this together.

Diwa C. Guinigundo is the former Deputy Governor for the Monetary and Economics Sector, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). He served the BSP for 41 years. In 2001-2003, he was Alternate Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. He is the senior pastor of the Fullness of Christ International Ministries in Mandaluyong.

Policing the police

May 20, 2021 | 7:26 pm

police-personel — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

Newly designated Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Guillermo Eleazar has promised to “cleanse” the PNP and to abolish the “palakasan” (patronage) system in its recruitment process. He also ordered his men to stop profiling and red-tagging anyone and to treat violators of health protocols humanely and not detain them.

Both confirm the widespread belief among the population that something is terribly wrong with the police, who are perceived to be corrupt, are objects of fear and even hatred, and regarded as anti-poor and the powerful’s instruments of oppression.

Public perception of the police has not always been as low. Many Filipinos of a certain age have fond childhood memories of policemen. Clad in plain khaki uniforms, in the 1950s, they resembled the postmen who delivered the mail, and were regular neighborhood figures who, in many cases, watched over the same places where their own families lived.

Because everyone knew them and they in turn knew everyone, police brutality and maltreatment, whether of ordinary folk or crime suspects, were rare. Police presence assured those in the areas they patrolled on foot that help was available should they need it, and that criminal activity would be at a minimum.

As the representatives of whatever administration was in power in the country’s municipalities citizens were most familiar with, they encouraged trust and confidence in both the local as well as National Government.

Things began to change in the 1960s when the police beat system (which assigned policemen to patrol specific areas of the community) was abolished and replaced by policemen in patrol cars. Responding policemen could be from anywhere, depending on where they were at the moment they received a call for help. Rather than neighbors, they were strangers to the people they were supposed to serve. The practice of beating confessions out of crime suspects, in which the then Philippine Constabulary was already expert, became more widespread.

Police departments were civilian organizations under the control of city governments, but the declaration of martial law in 1972 changed all that. In 1975 Ferdinand Marcos transformed the police from a civilian into a military organization by merging all police forces across the country with the dreaded Philippine Constabulary. The Philippine Constabulary-Integrated National Police (PC-INP) became the fourth, enlarged, branch of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The police thus became part of the Marcos regime’s military apparatus in keeping itself in power. Among the most notorious instruments of regime repression during martial rule was the PC-INP, which detained, tortured, and even summarily executed and forcibly “disappeared” dissenters, alleged “subversives” and rebels, and other Marcos and government critics.

Although re-invented as a civilian organization when the Marcos dictatorship fell in 1986 and the PC was abolished and its personnel absorbed by the renamed Philippine National Police, the police have since been headed mostly by graduates of the Philippine Military Academy, and almost from Day One have amassed a lengthening list of human rights violations.

The police were responsible for the January 1987 Mendiola Massacre in which they fired at farmers demanding agrarian reform, and killed 13 of them. No one has been punished for that crime which has become just another incident in the culture of impunity that protects erring State agents from accountability. The police were also suspected of assassinating labor and student leaders who had survived martial rule only to be killed in its aftermath.

Since 1986, a number of police officers under the pay and direction of local government officials have been implicated in the killing of journalists, either as accomplices or as the murderers themselves. Although public officials, some are part of the private armies of local warlords. An active-duty policeman killed Pagadian City broadcaster Edgar Damalerio in 2002. More than 70 police and military personnel were among those responsible for the Nov. 23, 2009 Ampatuan Massacre in which 58 men and women, including 32 journalists, were killed.

Things have since become even worse with the election to the country’s highest post of Rodrigo Duterte in 2016. Assured of impunity by the President of the Philippines who promised to protect them from prosecution, the police went on a killing spree against thousands of suspected drug pushers and addicts, and later, against political activists, human rights defenders, and dissenters.

They have planted evidence, illegally arrested perceived critics of the Duterte regime, and in one instance killed nine people while supposedly serving arrest warrants. They have also been involved in the harassment of journalists and the red-tagging of regime critics.

Lately, however, the police have also profiled, surveilled, and terrorized with their intimidating presence organizers of community pantries and similar citizen self-help initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic. They have also arrested, detained, and tortured violators of health protocols while their own top leaders were ignoring those same rules by holding parties and other gatherings.

PNP Chief Eleazar could curb the practice of these anomalies — if he can implement the rules without the interference of President Duterte, and if they are institutionalized as part of a code of behavior and professional standards rather than dependent on the whims of whoever heads the PNP.

Mr. Duterte’s order to arrest anyone not wearing face masks in public, for example, contradicted Eleazar’s order not to arrest them and to instead just warn and even provide them masks. Thankfully, he managed to seem to do both by creatively defining the “arrest” of face mask violators as bringing them to holding facilities rather than imprisoning them. But this was only one instance, and one can expect many others in which Eleazar may not have the opportunity to be as creative, given Mr. Duterte’s regard for the police as the unquestioning enforcers of his will.

Institutionalizing his reforms will be even more problematic, and not only because Eleazar retires in November, a bare six months after his appointment as PNP Chief this May.

Those reforms can take root only if the training the police receive inculcates in them the understanding that rather than being the tools of politicians, they should be instruments of justice in the service of the citizenry whose taxes pay their salaries. They must be constantly reminded that their guns do not make them judges and executioners. But those core principles must also be given life by their peers and superiors as they interact with the public and deal with criminality. Part of the reforms needed is also that of putting a halt to hazing while recruits are undergoing training in the police academy, which is a practice that succeeds only in policemen’s replicating on the weak and powerless the violence they experienced.

Even more crucial in feudal Philippines is the President’s word — his declaring that the fundamental police function is to assure the safety and security of the populace while at the same respecting and observing the laws that they’re mandated to enforce.

The country needs a President who will be true to his oath to defend the Constitution and the laws of the land, and who will make it clear in words and deeds that like everyone else, erring policemen will suffer the consequences appropriate to their offense.

That is, of course, easier said than done. Hopefully, however, 2022 will usher in the administration of such a President, committed to reforming the police and the rest of the country’s security forces towards transforming them into true servants and protectors of the people rather than their tormentors and oppressors.

Luis V. Teodoro is on Facebook and Twitter (@luisteodoro).

www.luisteodoro.com

A look at investments in the digital future following a strong momentum for Southeast Asia’s internet economy in 2020

May 20, 2021 | 7:25 pm

THE YEAR OF COVID was also the year that technology proved itself to be indispensable in people’s daily lives in Southeast Asia. It kept locked-down consumers connected and entertained. It helped sustain businesses. It kept people supplied with deliveries of food and other essential goods. It maintained their health with online doctor appointments, and kept them educated with online classes. On average, Southeast Asians spent an hour more a day on the internet during pandemic-imposed lockdowns. Forty million new internet users were added in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam last year, giving the region 400 million users, with 70% of Southeast Asia online, according to research conducted by Bain & Company, Google and Temasek.

Now, as we start to glimpse a world beyond COVID-19, what will the lessons of 2020 mean for investments in the digital future?

The outlook for the internet economy has never been more robust. Our research found that 90% of new users of digital services plan to continue using them. So even when people put away their masks and life returns to something resembling normal, consumption of digital services is expected to continue to rise.

In addition to strong demand and a vibrant digital ecosystem to support it, there is an abundance of capital for investment, with private equity investors sitting on record levels of dry powder. Sequoia Capital and Wavemaker Partners both announced the close of their Southeast Asia funds in July 2020, while others like Openspace Ventures had completed their first close. In January, 2021 Tower Capital Asia reached the first close of its Southeast Asian private equity (PE) fund, Tower Capital PE Fund I, at $250 million, and in March, Asia Partners Fund Management had the final close for its $384 million debut fund, the largest first-time tech fund focused on the region.

The number of tech investments by private equity and venture capital (including early stage) has risen in recent years, and largely maintained its momentum during 2020. The total value of investments in non-unicorn companies (those valued at less than $1 billion) exhibited strong growth. Early-stage funding (Seed, Series A, Series B) makes up more than 95% of yearly deal transactions and the average deal size for early-stage funding continues to swell. Between 2016 and 2020, Series B doubled while Seed and Series A nearly tripled. At the same time, however, mid-stage funding plateaued. There were 17 Series C and D deals in the first half of 2020, down slightly from 19 in the same period the year before, with the total amount raised increasing by 9% to $700 million.

While non-unicorn investing rose steadily, big-ticket unicorn investments declined since 2018. Southeast Asia is home to 12 unicorns in the consumer internet space. Among those, Transport & Food unicorns received the lion’s share of all funds from both private equity and venture capital that were raised between 2016 and 2019 — $15 billion out of $40 billion. E-Commerce unicorns came in second, with $7 billion. These two sectors are now mature and heavily consolidated around a handful of late-stage champions. It is unlikely that they will continue to see record rounds of fundraising.

Online Travel is largely consolidated around a few global and regional players, with a level of investment that historically has been lower than Transport & Food and e-Commerce. Although this sector was buffeted by structural challenges during the pandemic, it remains fundamentally attractive. Investors injected fresh rounds of capital into Traveloka in July 2020, for example.

There is a fundamental issue at hand for unicorns: because investors have become more cautious about heavy cash-consuming businesses, these late-stage companies need to focus more on their path to profitability.

Indeed, investors are concerned about the high multiples of internet and tech companies. They will be more selective and prefer companies that, even if not yet profitable, can show a trajectory to positive unit economics and a high ratio between customer acquisition cost and customer lifetime value. Investors also are more focused on companies with technology that drives improvements in efficiency and service (e.g., logistics, access to healthcare).

Unicorns have gotten the message and are publicly addressing the issue. For example, Indonesia’s e-commerce company Bukalapak announced its focus on increasing gross profits rather than focusing on transaction growth or GMV. Similarly, Grab streamlined its core businesses to emphasize Digital Financial Services, Transportation and Delivery, a move that is aimed at helping the super app move toward profitability.

While e-Commerce, Transport & Food, Travel and Media are largely consolidated and have seen multiple rounds of late-stage funding over the past three years, much of the deal activity has shifted to the nascent sectors of FinTech, HealthTech, and EdTech. For example, FinTech continued to ride its momentum with a wave of prolific investments despite the pandemic. In 2020, Indonesia’s Moka was acquired by Gojek, Myanmar’s Wave Money secured an injection from Ant Financial, and Grab raised fresh capital from MUFG. More investments and consolidations are expected in the coming years as financial and strategic investors capitalize on the fast-growing digital financial services sector.

Even with record amounts of available capital, investors in the region spent the first half of 2020 concentrating on steering their portfolio companies through the COVID-19 storm. Deal activity resumed in the second half of 2020 and has continued into 2021. Yet as investors show a growing appetite for the internet and tech sector, they also are being more selective, cautiously separating the wheat from the chaff before signing the term sheet.

Alessandro Cannarsi is a Bain & Company, Inc. partner based in Singapore, Bennett Aquino is an associate partner based in Singapore.

Zonta’s Golden Launch

May 20, 2021 | 7:25 pm

The launch of Zonta Club of Makati and Environs’ Golden celebration was a well-planned Zoom program of speeches, and videos with music and dance.

Hosts Maritoni Rufino Tordesillas and Joanne Zapanta Andrada took the Zontians on a nostalgic trip to the beginning.

The initial supplementary feeding program for a barrio grew into a program for malnourished children — the nationwide HNH or Health, Nutrition, and Hygiene.

The first project was a drug rehabilitation center that evolved into the Zonta Makati Community Center with programs — medical, dental, livelihood, skills training, and a preschool.

The path to advance the status of women became a road to activism and an answer to the global call to end violence against women.

ZONTA’S MISSION AND VISION
A part of the global organization Zonta International, “The club seeks to uplift the lives of women by promoting and working for the advancement of their legal, political, economic, health and professional status through service and advocacy.”

“ZCME (Zonta Club of Makati and Environs) envisions a world where women’s rights can flourish, where resources and power are shared in ways that will enable present and future generations to thrive and realize their full potential with dignity. We aim for a global society where women are represented in decision-making positions on an equal basis with men. ZCME envisions a world where no woman and child lives in fear of violence.”

Vivian Uy, president of the ZCME Foundation, Inc. remarked, “When I was elected in early 2020, I had many plans for my term. Strengthening and motivating the members. Recruiting new members. Continue sustainable projects. Start new projects aligning with International and District advocacies.

“Last June we had lockdown/quarantine and all sorts of restrictions due to COVID. We learned to meet and work through Zoom. We managed to have regular monthly board meetings and the general membership meeting (GMM).

“The pandemic made it easier to be in contact with the members.

“Our Zontians — energetic goal-oriented women — had time to devote to our sustainable projects and were even able to start new COVID-related projects.”

THE MESSAGES
Olivia A. Ferry, the 48^th Zonta International President, the first and only Asian to serve that position, said, “Fifty years is a milestone. An occasion that gives us the opportunity to look back at our achievements and the attainment of goals. The Zonta Club of Makati and Environs worked closely on the ground with our communities and collaborated with like-minded individuals and organizations… We brought the issue of gender equality on tables of governments and intergovernmental agencies, guided by our fundamental aspiration of women empowerment and the elimination of all forms of violence against women.

“We have redoubled our efforts, renewed and rejuvenated ourselves to bring enormous transformations to communities of women throughout our 50 years of existence. A clear signal that the next 50 years will be as dynamic as the last 50, if not more.”

Olga Severino Martel, an original Zonta charter member and a former president, said, “We, the empowered women, are the real strength behind the struggle for change. We are fortunate that the world is different now. Women have the freedom and competence to bring deeper meaning into their lives. We have the power to translate dreams into reality.

“Indeed, women hold the key for change in their hands as it is said, ‘Women hold up Half the Sky.’”

Former ZCME president Maritess M. Pineda, said, “ZCME is close to my heart since the beneficiaries are women like us. I like the community pantry. We have responded to the different needs of different communities to alleviate their hunger. Due to poverty and hunger, children have become victims of violence and trafficking. We collaborate with other organizations that can help the minors who cannot protect themselves.

“We have programs that will heal them, with psychologists, activities like physical exercise, art classes and counseling. We prepare them to be self-sufficient.”

Charter member and former president Erlinda Panlilio, whose family owned the popular Sulo restaurant, which was the meeting place of Zonta in the 1970s, wrote a 15-stanza poem. Here’s a quote “…Proudly we hail our club that’s sure to last, Because its beacon and guide is its outstanding past!”

Armita B. Rufino, past Area 5 Director, won the prestigious Outstanding Diamond Award. A two-term president and the current chair of the Nominating committee, she shared her thoughts on the Club.

“We empower marginalized women by giving them livelihood training to augment their family income to avoid being dependent on their husbands.

“For the District, I initiated the passage of two bills — ‘Anti-trafficking of Women and Girls’ and ‘Violence against Women and Girls.’

“Zonta gave me this opportunity to be able to engage in helping women through advocacy and service. And promoting women’s right is human rights.”

ZCME MAJOR PROGRAMS
1) The Psychological Center for sexually abused children (launched in 1997). This center has provided emotional and mental intervention to more than 10,000 survivors of rape, girls who are sexually abused and trafficked.

2) For Education, ZCME has the Empowering Women Scholarship Program (EWSP). Since 2009, 186 qualified girls from marginalized families have received scholarships for college and have been able to seek gainful employment.

3) For Nutrition and Community building, ZCME has the Food Share project (2020), which handles food insecurity with the distribution of food and care packages to targeted families. It funds the Urban Gardening program that teaches mothers of indigent families to grow their own vegetables.

4) The BRAVO empowered Women Awards (2015), done in partnership with Security Bank, is a bi-annual award that celebrates Filipino women who have excelled in their professional lives, and as leaders and role models in their own communities. It is distinct because it recognizes women who have not yet been awarded nationally or internationally. The Bravo award focuses on the important role of women in promoting diversity, rendering service, and demonstrating leadership for nation building.

5) For Livelihood, there is the ZCME’s Kababaihan project (2003), a holistic program that aims to improve the economic status of the marginalized by providing them with business skills and education. There are 60 Kababaihans.

This golden year (April 2021-22) will be full of meaningful activities. Best wishes to the dynamic Zonta Club of Makati and Environs!

Maria Victoria Rufino is an artist, writer and businesswoman. She is president and executive producer of Maverick Productions.

mavrufino@gmail.com

Alex Eala advances to next round of Spain tourney after gutsy win

May 20, 2021 | 6:55 pm

FILIPINO tennis ace Alex Eala advanced to the next round of the ongoing International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tour W25 Platja D’Aro in Spain.

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

FILIPINO tennis ace Alex Eala advanced to the next round of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tour W25 Platja D’Aro in Spain after hacking out a gutsy (6-3, 5-7, 7-5) opening-phase victory over hometown bet Alba Carrillo Marin early on Thursday (Manila time).

Fifteen-year-old Eala held her own against Ms. Marin, who is 10 years her senior, in a back-and-forth match that lasted for three hours to stay alive in the competition.

Ms. Marin raced to an early 2-0 lead in the opening set before Ms. Eala found her footing and won five of the next six games to take a commanding 5-3 advantage. She then moved to close out the set and go up, 1-0.

The second set saw the Spanish player going on another strong start, building a 3-1 cushion. But unlike in the opener, Ms. Marin was able to withstand the spirited charge back by Ms. Eala to force the contest to a deciding third set.

In the decider, the two engaged in a nip-and-tuck affair, fighting to a 5-5 count. Ms. Eala though would catch a break after, breaking her opponent’s serve to move up, 6-5, and then icing the match, 7-5.

With the win, Ms. Eala, a Rafa Nadal Academy scholar and long-time Globe ambassador, earned a date in the second round against Spaniard Irene Burillo Escorihuela, who is the no. 265-ranked player in the Women’s Tennis Association singles rankings.

Ms. Eala is also seeing action in the doubles event in the tournament with partner Oksana Selekhmeteva.

The duo was set to play against the Russian pair Sofya Lansere and Vlada Koval next.

Ms. Eala’s current showing is a continuation of her solid performance as a professional.

She won her first professional singles title at W15 Manacor in Mallorca, Spain, in January then recorded three consecutive quarterfinal appearances in her next three tournaments.

NBL, WNBL kick off innovative 1v1 tournament this weekend

May 20, 2021 | 6:54 pm

THE National Basketball League (NBL) and its women’s division Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) kick off their innovative one-on-one tournament this weekend in Pampanga.

Happening at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center on May 22, the 1v1 event will feature matches in both the men’s and women’s side where they get to showcase their individual skills.

But unlike the typical staging of one-on-one tournaments, the NBL’s 1v1 competition has the organizers classifying the players according to their weight.

Thus, participants will be competing as featherweights, lightweights, welterweights, light heavyweights and heavyweights, similar to that used in combat sports like boxing.

“It’s like having a boxing event but it’s basketball. It’s going to be entertaining,” said NBL-Pilipinas and WNBL Executive Vice-President Rhose Montreal in their session on Tuesday’s online Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

The league said the tournament has such a format so as to somehow level the playing field.

The NBL 1v1 will feature three rounds of five minutes per game with no time outs. In between rounds, there will be a two-minute interval in the race-to-30 contest.

The WNBL side, meanwhile, will have one time out per round, although the first four minutes will be a running time.

Championship belts will be given to all the winners per weight division.

Serving as commissioners for the competition are Philippine Basketball Association legend Jerry Codinera for the NBL, and former Philippine women’s team coach and current mentor of the University of Santo Tomas Lady Tigers Haydee Ong for the WNBL.

Slated to compete on the NBL side are former Barangay Ginebra player Teytey Teodoro against Arnaud Noah (heavyweight), Christopher Lagrama versus Mark Tamayo (featherweight), and Raymart Amil against Marvin Baracael (welterweight).

On the WNBL side are Allana Lim against Snow Peñaranda (light-heavyweight), Jhenn Chrystelle Angeles versus Angelica De Austria (lightweight), Sthefanie Ventura versus Nicole Cancio (welterweight), Jo Razalo opposite Girly Villaflores (heavyweight), and Jolina Go versus Nicole Delos Reyes (featherweight).

Ms. Montreal said the 1v1 tournament serves as an initial offering for the new season of the NBL and WNBL which they hope to kick up with the 5-on-5 tournament in the middle of the year.

It is also something they are looking to incorporate in the succeeding seasons. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Zamboanga ready to hurdle first test in ONE Grand Prix

May 20, 2021 | 6:54 pm

Denice-Zamboanga — FILIPINO mixed martial arts fighter Denice Zamboanga is one of the eight finalists in ONE Championship’s Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix kicking off in Singapore next week. — ONE CHAMPIONSHIP

FILIPINO mixed martial arts fighter Denice “Lycan Queen” Zamboanga is all set to go into battle and prove her worth in ONE Championship’s Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix which begins in Singapore next week.

One of eight finalists in the highly anticipated competition, Ms. Zamboanga’s bid begins against “Arale Chan” Seo Hee Ham of South Korea in the event dubbed ONE: Empower on May 28, the promotion’s first-ever all-women fight offering.

Ms. Zamboanga, 24, the number one-ranked contender in the atomweight division, has been training in Thailand with help from her older brother Drex Zamboanga and her team at Marrok Force as she looks to hurdle the first step in winning the tournament and earn a shot at the title currently held by “The Unstoppable” Angela Lee, who is on the family way.

“My brother, my coaches, and my training partners are all confident in me. They are confident in the hard work we’ve put into this camp, and we’re ready. We’re going in there with the winning mentality,” Ms. Zamboanga (6-0) said.

“It’s not going to be an easy fight for either side. But I’m determined to prove the doubters wrong and claim this victory. I trust in God, and in my hard work. I will win this fight for my friends, family, and fans back in the Philippines,” she added.

Looking to spoil Ms, Zamboanga’s push is ONE-debuting Seo (23-8), who many see as the “darkhorse” to win the tournament.

It is something not lost to Ms. Zamboanga, which is why when the brackets for the grand prix were announced she immediately went to work.

“I know she has so many weapons. She has a lot of experience. She’s a very dangerous striker and can attack in so many ways. But whatever she throws, I’ll be ready for it,” she said.

“Me and my team have gone through so many situations. We’ve envisioned every possible way this fight can go. Whatever she decides to do in the Circle, we’ll have something prepared for her.”

Prior to moving to ONE, Ms. Seo saw action in other top promotions like DEEP, Road FC, Rizin FF, and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Other first-round matches in the ONE Women’s Atomweight World Grand Prix are the battle between number two-ranked contender Meng Bo of China and Brazilian newcomer Julie “Juju” Mezabarba; a rematch between number four-ranked Stamp Fairtex of Thailand and number three-ranked Alyona Rassohyna of Ukraine; and Japanese Itsuki “Android 18” Hirata versus American Alyse “Lil’ Savage” Anderson.

ONE: Empower happening at the Singapore Indoor Stadium is headlined by the strawweight world championship clash between champion Xiong Jing Nan of China and challenger Michelle Nicolini of Brazil. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Gilas Pilipinas 3×3’s OQT preparation hits homestretch

May 20, 2021 | 6:53 pm

Gilas3x3 — THE GILAS Pilipinas 3x3 crew is currently at the INSPIRE Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna, polishing its collective game to put itself in better position to snatch one of three Olympic spots up for grabs in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. — RONNIE MAGSANOC/PHILIPPINE SPORTS COMMISSION

THE national men’s 3×3 team is now in the homestretch of its preparation for the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) happening in Austria next week.

The Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 crew is currently at the INSPIRE Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna, polishing its collective game to put itself in better position to snatch one of three Olympic spots up for grabs in the OQT.

The team, which is composed of Philippine Basketball Association players CJ Perez, Mo Tautuaa, Joshua Munzon, Alvin Pasaol and Leonard Santillan and free-agent Karl Dehesa, resumed its “bubble” training this week after taking a temporary break to work on the papers needed to fly to Graz for the OQT slated for May 26 to 30.

“In terms of effort, I really could not ask for anything more from the players during our first week of training, and they also did their best to build on that with our online training sessions,” team coach Ronnie Magsanoc was quoted as saying by the official PBA website.

“Now, it’s about bringing everything together and forming a team that we can be proud of, a team that can compete against the best in the world.”

The team is also grateful for the support it has been getting from the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), allowing it to set up camp despite the challenges presented by the pandemic.

In the OQT, the nationals play in the tough Pool C, which also has Slovenia (Europe Cup 2016 winner), France (second at Europe Cup 2019), Qatar (2014 World Champ), and the Dominican Republic.

Tournament format calls for each team playing the other four in their respective pools. The top two teams from each pool qualify for the crossover quarterfinals and then play knockout games all the way to the semifinals.

The semifinals and the third-place games will be known in the FIBA 3×3 OQT as the Olympic Ticket games.

The Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 team is set to leave for the tournament on Sunday. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

NCFP nominates Frayna and Bersamina for FIDE World Chess Cup

May 20, 2021 | 6:53 pm

THE National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) has nominated Woman Grandmaster Janelle Mae Frayna and International Master Paulo Bersamina to represent the country in the men and women International Chess Federation (FIDE) World Chess Cup.

NCFP chief executive officer Grandmaster Jayson Gonzales said they have decided to nominate Ms. Frayna and Mr. Bersamina for the two slots allotted to the country because they have no more time to hold tryouts.

Ms. Frayna, who turned 24 on Wednesday, will be the country’s lone bet in the women’s World Cup slated July 10 to Aug. 6 in Sochi, Russia, while Mr. Bersamina will join IMs Daniel Quizon and Michael Concio, Jr. in the men’s edition of the same event from Aug. 1-28 in Minsk, Belarus. Quizon, 16, and Concio, 15, clinched their spots by topping the Asian Zonal 3.3 Championships two weeks ago.

Ms. Frayna was actually in the final month of her Army training, but had to cut it short after she was called upon for the World Cup and the Hanoi Southeast Asian Games in November.

Aside from being the country’s first and only WGM, Ms. Frayna will also make history as the first Filipina to see action in the World Cup.

Meanwhile, about 15 Filipinos headed by IM John Marvin Miciano are eyeing to clinch one of the 10 slots to Minsk in the Asian Continental Championship unfolding on Friday.

Sports bodies, AFP seal agreement on detailed service of soldier-athletes

May 20, 2021 | 6:53 pm

(Clockwise from top left) Philippine Olympic Committee President Abraham Tolentino, Philippine Paralympic Committee President Michael Barredo, Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Cirilito Sobejana during Thursday’s virtual signing ceremony of their organizations’ agreement on the detailed service of 117 solider-athletes. (PSC)

THE Philippine Sports Commission, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine Olympic Committee, and the Philippine Paralympic Committee on Thursday signed the Memorandum of Understanding officially placing on detailed service (DS) 117 military athletes and coaches of the national team.

Represented by PSC Chairman William Ramirez, AFP Chief of Staff General Cirilito Sobejana, POC President Abraham Tolentino and PPC President Michael Barredo, respectively, the four organizations signed the agreement in a virtual signing ceremony.

General Sobejana, in his speech, highlighted the importance of the MoU as it symbolizes the united commitment of all parties to pursue the common goal of bringing pride to the country.

The agreement, which is aimed to “develop potential gold medalists in international sports competitions,” has among its provisions the option to terminate the DS of certain athletes should there be a case of conflict in their national sports associations or on cases of misconduct or breach of discipline as provided for in AFP regulations.

The PSC chief who has had the chance to sign a number of previous agreements for detailed service recognized the unprecedented partnership in this new agreement. He said that the partnership has evolved into a very valuable venture benefitting Philippine sports. Mr. Ramirez also stressed that the PSC will have tighter monitoring of everyone on detailed service as the athletes should “act as befitting a soldier. They are soldiers first before they are athletes.”

Among those under the detailed service agreement are three-time weightlifting Olympian and Tokyo Olympics qualifier Hidilyn Diaz, Southeast Asian Games perennial champion boxer Josie Gabuco, 2019 SEA Games gold medalists Melcah Jen Caballero (rowing), and Jermyn Prado (cycling).

“Sports is a battle that brings glory to the country. We are grateful to the AFP for allowing them to be with us in our battle of friendship and diplomacy. They are our frontliners in sports,” Mr. Tolentino, for his part, said.

Mr. Barredo, meanwhile, expressed his gratitude, “We are thankful, honored, and privileged that we are part of this quadripartite agreement. Our soldiers with disabilities will continue to fight, represent and hopefully get the first gold medal (for the country) in the Paralympic games.”

The agreement will be in effect for three years or until 2024.

Fil-Am hoop stars Clarkson, Green to take part in Jr. NBA PH online clinics

May 20, 2021 | 6:52 pm

THE National Basketball Association announced that its Jr. NBA Philippines program will make its return this year via online clinics with Filipino-American basketball stars Jordan Clarkson and Jalen Green taking part in the proceedings.

Forced to take a backseat last year because of the pandemic, the Jr. NBA Philippines program has been recalibrated as a series of free virtual basketball clinics for now for 13 to 17-year-old boys and girls across the country so as to resume its mission of promoting healthy and active lifestyles among the youth.

Utah Jazz’s Clarkson and 2021 NBA Draft prospect Green will join Jr. NBA coaches in leading Filipino youth through basketball drills while also participating in a life session to discuss the importance of fundamental skills training in their professional careers during the online event slated for May 29.

WNBA Legend Ticha Penicheiro, meanwhile, will headline a Jr. NBA session designed for girls on June 12.

“We’re excited to bring together players from across the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League to inspire our young athletes participating in the first-ever Jr. NBA Philippines Clinics Online,” said Scott Levy, NBA Philippines managing director, in a statement. “Shifting the Jr. NBA program to a virtual event will allow us to safely engage young boys and girls through basketball while continuing to promote the importance of an active and healthy lifestyle.”

To be introduced this year is a social media contest to help identify 10 boys and 10 girls who will participate in the Jr. NBA Asia Pacific Camp Online, a one-day virtual basketball event that features advanced basketball instruction, skills challenges and interactive sessions with select NBA and WNBA players.

The camp will be conducted on July 31 via videoconferencing and will feature 120 participants from seven countries across the region including Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Contest mechanics will be announced at a later date.

Mr. Clarkson, who represented the Philippines in the 2018 Asian Games, has been having a stellar season for the Jazz, helping the team earn the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs and is a strong contender for the Sixth Man of the Year award with averages of 18 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

Mr. Green, meanwhile, made a great impression as a member of G League Ignite, a team dedicated to the development of elite youth prospects, in the 2021 G League season, averaging 17.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

The Jr. NBA Philippines program was launched in 2007 and has since reached more than two million youth, parents and coaches across the country, teaching the fundamental skills and core values of the game: sportsmanship, teamwork, a positive attitude, and respect (S.T.A.R.).

Participants can now register for the Jr. NBA Philippines Clinics Online at www.jrnbaasia.com, and follow Jr. NBA Philippines on Facebook and the NBA at www.nba.com and on Facebook and Twitter. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Lakers nip Warriors for West’s 7^th seed on LeBron James’ trey

May 20, 2021 | 6:51 pm

LEBRON James beat the shot clock with a 34-foot, tie-breaking 3-pointer with 58.2 seconds remaining Wednesday night, sending the Los Angeles Lakers to a 103-100 victory over the visiting Golden State Warriors in a Western Conference play-in game.

The victory gives the Lakers the seventh seed in the West playoffs main draw and a first-round matchup with the second-seeded Phoenix Suns in a series that begins Sunday.

The Warriors, who finished eighth in the regular season, will get a second shot at a playoff berth, but they now must beat No. 9 Memphis in San Francisco on Friday.

The Grizzlies earned the right to face the Warriors in the win-or-go-home game by beating the 10^th-seeded San Antonio Spurs 100-96 earlier Wednesday evening.

Down 55-42 at half time, the Lakers rallied within 79-77 by the third quarter’s end and then into a lead early in the fourth period.

However, the Warriors, who finished the regular season with six consecutive wins, forged one last tie at 100-all on two Stephen Curry free throws with 1:23 remaining.

That’s when James, standing well outside the 3-point arc, took a pass late in the shot clock and threw up a desperation attempt that went through the hoop and gave Los Angeles the lead for good.

The Warriors had two chances to tie, but Jordan Poole misfired on a 3-point attempt with 35.5 seconds remaining, and Golden State couldn’t get off a shot on a final possession that began when they inbounded the ball with 2.1 seconds to go.

Anthony Davis finished with a team-high 25 points and James had 22 for the Lakers, the defending NBA champions who had just the seventh-best record in the West in the regular season.

James completed a triple-double with 11 rebounds and a game-high 10 assists, while Davis grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.

Alex Caruso chipped in with 14 points off the bench, Dennis Schroder had 12 and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope 10 for the Lakers, who won despite being outshot 44.6 percent to 40.7 percent overall and were outscored 45-30 on 3-pointers.

Curry poured in a game-high 37 points for the Warriors, who beat Memphis at home on the final day of the regular season to earn the eighth seed in the play-in tournament.

Andrew Wiggins put up 21 points, while Poole and Kent Bazemore added 10 apiece for Golden State. Kevon Looney was the game’s leading rebounder with 13.

Having lost their last two regular-season meetings to the Lakers by a combined 57 points, the Warriors wasted no time asserting themselves on the biggest stage, bolting out to a 15-4 advantage en route to a 55-42 halftime lead.

Curry had 15 points in the half, outscoring James (six) and Davis (five) combined.

The Lakers shot just 32.6 percent in the half. James was 1-for-7, Davis 2-for-12. — Reuters

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