Sotto considering VP run

May 31, 2021 | 7:42 pm

SENATE President Vicente C. Sotto III on Monday said he is considering running for vice president in the 2022 national elections.

“I am still thinking about it. Like for example, the Office of the Vice President is something else… I have to admit that I am thinking about it, unlike the other politicians who say they are not running but on the day of the registration nangunguna sa pag ano (they are first in line),” Mr. Sotto told ABS-CBN News Channel in an interview.

The Senate leader said he is looking at a higher position while weighing “the other inclination, which is to retire.”

In a separate statement, Mr. Sotto said several people and groups have asked him to consider running for higher office.

He said he will have a “better answer” by the third quarter of the year.

“Having said that, let me say that I am inclined to accept the challenge to serve the country for a different purpose other than law-making,” he said. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Claiming the proverbial seat at the table

May 31, 2021 | 6:56 pm

Businesswomen-looking-speaker-with-papers — PCH.VECTOR-FREEPIK

International Women’s Day is celebrated every March, and this is the second that we are again spending at home. Ironically, one of the (many) events where I had the privilege to speak gave me the opportunity to “come back home.” As a proud SGV alumni partner, I spoke at SGV Consulting’s She Inspires Series entitled, “Claiming Our Seat at the Table.”

I often say this: “I don’t have a sad story to tell.” I’d like to believe that a big part of this was my “great luck” with SGV. Perhaps it was also because SGV had been quite ahead of its time by being merit-based and progressive even back in the 1980s and the ‘90s.

But in the spirit of wanting to extend women’s month to every month of the year, allow me to write about some nuggets of wisdom I shared with the women — and men — of SGV in the said event.

MAKE A LIST AND CHECK IT TWICE
We in business have a knack for making lists, setting metrices and expectations. I made a list of expectations and debunked each one, because not everything can always go as planned whether in business or in our career.

Nonetheless, I offered my own regimen, my own concoction to not just claiming that seat — but to earn it the right and meaningful way and make the most out of it.

Step 1: Self Check. It is important to believe that everyone has a stake and that everyone has a right to that seat at the table — and this includes you. But one must also be cognizant of reality. Check if you have what it takes — both capability and knowledge. Having this conviction is important. The next part of this “self-examination” is being aware of your own shortcomings and determining what you lack and what you need to learn or develop to be able to assert yourself.

Step 2: Self Improvement. This is the part where you get your hands dirty and work to receive appropriate training to build technical and soft skills. It is important to expand your knowledge base beyond your scope of work. It pays to know about economic issues, culture and arts, and others interests outside of work.

Step 3: Seek Mentorship/Sponsorship. Find a mentor who can counsel and give you advice. Remember, this is not an easy feat as your mentor will be the one to help you reach your full potential. When considering your mentor, you have to think of the following: What is the role of the mentor and what are their ideal qualities? In the context of SGV and perhaps in other companies as well, find a sponsor, someone in the organization who will help “shepherd” your career. They should be in a senior position and will drive the protégé’s career vision, will provide you with strategic network connections, and will always advocate for you as they are personally vested in your career prospects and growth.

Step 4: It Takes a Village. In a previous column contribution to MAP, I shared, “Your Network is your Net worth.” I cannot emphasize this more: it is very important to learn the value of investing in and nurturing professional as well as personal relationships as these are good sources of opportunities. Your social capital and your ability to build your network is important. Seek people out and work in collaboration with others who share your interests and values.

Step 5: Use Your Power. You have both the responsibility and opportunity to challenge outdated unconscious biases, traditions, and stereotypes. Getting a seat at the table or the opportunity to be heard should be used for progress. In this case, be bold, but not offensive. Be confident in putting your views forward, but make sure that you have a strong foundation to pursue your point.

Step 6: Go the Extra Mile. Think and step out of the box and perhaps volunteer to work for initiatives which will highlight your strengths. This is the time to also build your personal portfolio and to be visible and to stay relevant.

Step 7: Choose Your Role Model. There is a saying that goes, “Seeing is believing.” This is why it is important to have role models — in both your career and life. You will find that there will never be a shortage of people to look up to and draw inspiration from.

Step 8: Muster Enough Courage. We previously talked about learning more about yourself and recognizing your capabilities and limitations. Even with these in mind, do not be discouraged by failures and challenges. They serve as learning experiences. I often observe that when people (it happens to women most of the time) get asked to take on bigger roles or responsibilities, the knee jerk reaction is, “Why me?” Change this mindset. Instead of asking “why me?,” get ahead of the challenges and say, “Why not me?”

Truth be told, opportunities will not always be “readily available.” More often than not, it helps to assert yourself. In this case, if you’ve tried “every trick in the book,” and this “seat” is still elusive, perhaps it is time to bring your own “folding chair.” But if all goes well and you are given a seat at the table: I urge you to use it, maximize it and do not take it for granted.

This article reflects the personal opinion of the author and does not reflect the official stand of the Management Association of the Philippines or MAP.

Ma. Aurora “Boots” D. Geotina-Garcia is member of the MAP Corporate Governance Committee and the MAP Arts & Culture Committee. She is President of MAGEO Consulting, Inc., a company providing corporate finance advisory and consulting services.

map@map.org.ph

magg@mageo.net

map.org.ph

How motivated are you to survive this pandemic?

May 31, 2021 | 6:56 pm

vaccine — PHILIPPINE STAR/ MICHAEL VARCAS

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all been instructed to follow quarantine protocols to prevent the spread of the virus. The Philippine Department of Health has listed the many ways we can help defeat this invisible enemy, including washing hands frequently with soap and water, maintaining a safe distance from anyone who is coughing or sneezing, not touching the eyes, nose, or mouth, covering the nose and mouth with a bent elbow or tissue when coughing or sneezing, staying at home in general but especially if unwell, and seeking medical attention for fever, cough, and difficulty breathing.

Moreover, during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), we were instructed to wear face masks and later, face shields. However, economic pressure led to the many iterations of community quarantine, which had varying degrees of quarantine protocols. The confused public would ask: What is still prohibited and what is now allowed?

In a developing country like the Philippines, where healthcare facilities are inadequate and medical practitioners are exhausted by COVID-19 cases that have breached the one million mark, it becomes important to ask: What drives people to adhere to quarantine protocols?

Since the COVID-19 pandemic started only last year, few studies have been done about the factors that affect people’s adherence to quarantine protocols. Suplico-Jeong et al. surveyed 334 residents of the province of Iloilo, whose local government has been praised for its effective response to COVID-19.

The results showed that attitude significantly affects adherence to quarantine protocols. Attitude, as defined by Azjen, is an individual’s positive or negative beliefs about performing a specific behavior. The residents of Iloilo hold positive beliefs about adhering to quarantine protocols.

According to Suplico-Jeong et al., the relationship between positive beliefs and the intention to adhere to quarantine protocols is explained by the respondents’ intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is considered the most self-determined form of motivation, which, according to Deci and Ryan, occurs when intrinsic reasons, such as fun, or personally valued goals, such as good health, motivate a person to perform a behavior. People’s positive beliefs about quarantine protocol adherence can be explained by an intrinsic motivator such as good health. This intrinsic motivation, in turn, enables people to better manage their anxiety or fear caused by the uncertainty of this pandemic. A perceived threat to good health, such as exposure to COVID-19, is intrinsically personal. People follow quarantine protocols because of their intrinsic motivation to stay alive.

Seeing how attitude significantly predicts quarantine protocol adherence and how the motivation to stay alive explains this relationship, public health campaigns should feature accurate and updated information on the risks of COVID-19 to increase the positive beliefs people hold about quarantine protocol adherence. Moreover, these public health campaigns should stress personal health as one’s wealth. Going out for a quick grocery run or for work-related activities, especially for those who have been cooped up at home since March 2020, would no longer feel as worrisome or anxiety-inducing if health campaigns can convince them that adherence to quarantine protocols would protect one’s health and therefore, one’s wealth. After all, getting sick in this pandemic is very costly.

However, the motivation to stay alive and to survive this pandemic by following quarantine protocols is now the bare minimum. The conversation on COVID-19 has shifted from merely adhering to quarantine protocols to achieving herd immunity to benefit the entire society. Public health campaigns can continue communicating that adherence to quarantine protocol is a socially desirable behavior that transcends mere self-protection and extends to protection of the family, friends, and the community. However, the message on getting vaccinated should be more pronounced especially in provinces whose populations have the highest risk of infection.

These insights can be used by local government units, the media, and other stakeholders to encourage people to adhere to quarantine protocols and to get vaccinated.

Noel Sajid Murad, MMC is a Research Associate of the Philippine Academy of Management and part-time faculty member at De La Salle University and De La Salle College of Saint Benilde. He is taking up PhD in Communication at the University of the Philippines.

noel.murad@dlsu.edu.ph

Net zero carbon emission and net zero growth

May 31, 2021 | 6:54 pm

Wavy_Eco-06_Single-10 — VECTORJUICE-FREEPIK

On May 18, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released its very controversial and sensational report, “Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector” (224 pages). It is sensational because it proposes the following impractical policies, summarized in a chart in page 20:

By 2021, no new coal plants, no new oil and gas fields for development.

By 2025, no new sales of fossil fuel boilers (for power plants).

By 2030, phase-out of all coal power plants in advanced economies.

By 2035, net zero emissions electricity in advanced economies.

By 2040, phase-out of all coal and oil plants globally, net zero emissions electricity globally.

By 2050, solar and wind must constitute almost 70% of electricity generation globally.

These are very impractical policies that are highly detached from the current energy and economic realities of many countries.

Again, I briefly survey some countries and, in the table below, I divided them into three groups: Group A, Europe with double-digits share of solar and wind to total power generation in 2019; Group B, North America plus Australia); and Group C, Asia.

May I also correct some mistakes in GDP figures of some Asian countries in Table 2 of this column’s paper on May 17, https://www.bworldonline.com/gdp-contraction-government-overspending-and-non-green-recovery/. The correct numbers are here in Table 1.

The numbers show these three important trends:

Group A countries have low average GDP growth of only 0.3% to 1.9% as they have double digits share of solar and wind, and have none or small coal share to total power generation.

Group B countries have modest growth of 2.2% to 2.7% as they have single digit share of solar and wind except Australia.

Group C countries have fast growth except Japan, they have low share of solar and wind, have high share of coal to total electricity production.

These do not prove outright causation as there are many factors for a country’s economic performance. Nonetheless it shows a trend and the IEA, the UN, the many climate activist NGOs and business interests are wrong to impose the phase-out of coal for many developing countries and coerce them to embrace unstable and intermittent solar and wind.

Last week the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) held its second quarterly Market Participants Update (MPU) and media briefing afterwards. Among the prominent developments was the significant price spike at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) for May because of higher power demand and low supply, low margins due to many old power plants on scheduled and unscheduled or prolonged maintenance shutdowns.

The load-weighted average price (LWAP) in May (up to May 25) is double the April level and triple the May 2020 level. In the generation mix, coal produced 54% of total while solar, wind, and biomass combined produced only about 4.7% of the total. Oil-based plants contributed about 1% of total (not shown in Table 2).

Intervals with secondary price cap — none in March and April this year but in May there were 57 intervals. This is a prelude to blackouts actually. When prices spike too often, that means supply is not sufficient to meet demand and the government solution is price control at a low rate of P6+ per kwh, with proposals to further bring it down to only P4+ per kwh.

Price control is wrong. Investors who can remedy the seasonal and yearly supply gap during hot months of April to June will not put up the necessary peaking plants. Instead of rewarding them for providing additional supply during those hot months and days, they will be penalized via price control.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) should either abolish the secondary price cap or price control at low rates, or raise it to twice or thrice its current level. Cheap but non-available power (blackouts) is worse than occasional expensive but available power (no blackouts).

International pressures to coerce the Philippines and many countries to phase out coal and other fossil fuels, embrace unreliable, intermittent, weather-dependent, expensive battery-needing solar and wind power is wrong and anti-poor. It is a formula for low or zero growth as shown in Table 1 above. Blackouts or relying on candles and gensets running on diesel is perfect formula to discourage investments and more job creation.

Bienvenido S. Oplas, Jr. is the president of Minimal Government Thinkers

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

HK eases quarantine for vaccinated execs

May 31, 2021 | 6:33 pm

A Star Ferry boat crosses Victoria Harbour in front of a skyline of buildings during sunset. Hong Kong, China June 29, 2020. — REUTERS/TYRONE SIU

HONG KONG (HK) is allowing vaccinated directors and senior executives of major listed companies to travel globally more easily, in a significant relaxation of its onerous border curbs that’s drawing backlash from the wider population for being elitist.

Vaccinated senior executives from about 500 companies included in indexes like the Hang Seng and Hang Seng China Enterprises can seek permission to travel in and out of the city without needing to follow the current quarantine requirement, Hong Kong’s Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said in an e-mailed statement Monday.

The current norm is that everyone arriving in Hong Kong must isolate in a hotel for up to 21 days.

This exemption is available to other firms from financial industries like banking, mobile payments, insurance, securities and futures intermediaries. Companies are allowed a limited quota of exemptions and the government will review applications based on criteria like where the executive is traveling from, said the statement.

The executives must undergo testing and are required to stick to pre-approved itineraries on their business trips and not move freely around the city. An earlier version of the quarantine exemption policy has existed since last year for executives coming from mainland China.

“It is necessary to assist these institutions to maintain effective operations during the epidemic to ensure Hong Kong’s financial stability and maintain Hong Kong’s status as an international financial center,” the bureau’s spokesperson said in the email.

The clarification of a wider policy of exemption for vaccinated executives comes in the wake of a Friday announcement that some vaccinated senior bankers can skip quarantine, and is likely to deepen public ire over the special treatment. Hong Kong’s traveler quarantine requirements are some of the strictest in the world and require people to pay for hotel room stays, the supply of which is rapidly drying up during the summer months, leaving some with no option to return.

Despite being one of a few places in the world to make vaccines available to all adults, Hong Kong has struggled to get people to come forward for inoculation amid widespread distrust of the Beijing-backed government. Just 13.4% of Hong Kong’s population of 7.5 million has been fully inoculated, according to Bloomberg’s COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker — far behind other finance centers like London and Singapore.

Experts say relaxing quarantine for all vaccinated people would act as an incentive to raise uptake, but the Hong Kong government has so far rejected doing so, instead leaning on businesses and institutions to encourage injections.

Banks in the former British colony welcomed the plan, but frustration erupted across social media platforms, especially among citizens trying to find a way home.

“We welcome the new measure providing more convenience to vaccinated senior executives when traveling to Hong Kong. This helps encourage resumption of necessary business travel and brings business activities gradually back to normal, which is particularly important to Hong Kong as an international financial center,” said a Standard Chartered Plc spokeswoman in an e-mailed statement.

The bank will look at how the policy would facilitate senior executives based elsewhere to meet clients and colleagues locally, she said, adding that Hong Kong is the bank’s largest market.

Ally, a Hong Kong citizen who currently lives in Canada, said she’s extremely upset that “as long as you are rich and powerful” you can skip the requirements that most people must observe. Ms. Ally, who asked that only her English name be used, said she has been unable to return to Hong Kong after her father died last year.

A single mother, she can’t afford the cost of a 21-day quarantine, which would require her to be away from work without pay.

“You can imagine how infuriating it is that someone else is exempt because of money and I have lost my only remaining parent,” she said.

The issue isn’t just the time and cost of quarantine.

As the length of hotel isolation for those traveling from some countries, including the US, has dropped to two weeks for vaccinated people, demand for rooms has skyrocketed. Numerous accommodations, especially those at lower price points, are fully booked through the end of the current quarantine period, which runs until June 19.

The Food and Health Bureau said Monday in an e-mailed statement that the supply of rooms would be increased from the current 8,300 to 10,000 due to more demand. Some hotels will open up more rooms for booking, it said. — Bloomberg

Mass vaccination creates oasis in Brazilian city

May 31, 2021 | 6:33 pm

SAO PAULO — Serrana, a city in southeastern Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, has seen a 95% drop in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) deaths after it concluded vaccination of almost all adults, TV Globo reported on Sunday.

With 45,000 inhabitants Serrana is a healthy oasis in Brazil, which has the world’s second deadliest outbreak with more than 461,000 deaths so far and a very slow immunization pace due to the lack of vaccines. Serrana was the subject of a study by Instituto Butantan, which produces the Coronavac vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech in Brazil.

When vaccination was starting, the city had an increase in COVID cases, but the spread of the virus was contained once 75% of the population was immunized, scientists found.

Scientists divided the city in four areas to try to understand which was the threshold to contain the spread of the virus and found that it was controled after three areas received the second dose.

The number of symptomatic cases fell 80%, and hospitalizations 86%. COVID deaths fell 95%, according to data given by Butantan to TV Globo.

Serrana is surrounded by cities that are still dealing with a spike in COVID cases. Ribeirao Preto, 15 miles away from Serrana, is going through a lockdown to try to contain the spread of COVID-19.

A similar experiment is underway in another city in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s richest state. The city of Botucatu expects to immunize most of its 148,000 inhabitants with the Astra Zeneca vaccine. — Reuters

China reports surge in new COVID-19 cases in Guangzhou

May 31, 2021 | 6:33 pm

SHANGHAI — China on Monday reported a sudden surge in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections in the country’s south, with 18 new local cases on May 30 in the city of Guangzhou, causing a flurry of flight cancellation.

Of the 27 new coronavirus cases reported by the national health authority in its daily updates, only 7 infections were imported, with the remainder originating in Guangdong province.

Out of the 20 new locally confirmed patients on May 30, 18 were found in Guangzhou city and two in Foshan city, health authorities in Guangdong province said on Monday.

As of 11:40 am, a total of 519 flights at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport were canceled, accounting for 37% of total flights on Monday, according to aviation data provider Variflight.

Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, which carried 43.8 million passengers last year, was the world’s busiest airport in the midst of a global pandemic.

People leaving the city from airports, train stations and shuttle bus stations need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test within three Sundays. On Saturday, Guangzhou government ordered residents on five streets in the city’s Liwan district to remain at home and suspended non-essential activities, while entertainment venues and markets were closed.

Recent infections in the city were contracted with a fast-spreading virus strain detected in India according to genome sequencing results, Chen Bin, deputy director at the city’s municipal health commission, told a press conference on Sunday.

China also reported 19 new asymptomatic infections, which China does not classify as confirmed cases, on May 30, compared with 22 a day earlier.

As of May 30, China had a total of 91,099 confirmed COVID-19 cases, while its death toll remained unchanged at 4,636. — Reuters

Continued reinvention did it for Donaire in latest title win

May 31, 2021 | 6:28 pm

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

THIRTY-eight-year-old Nonito “The Filipino Flash” Donaire is a world champion once again after reclaiming the World Boxing Council (WBC) bantamweight title on Sunday, which a local fight analyst credits to the boxer’s ability to reinvent himself throughout the years.

Filipino-American Donaire, who was born in Bohol, ascended to the WBC bantamweight division top perch after defeating erstwhile champion Nordine Oubaali of France by way of a fourth-round knockout in their title clash in Carson, California, at the weekend.

Mr. Donaire dominated the fight once he found his groove.

He dropped Mr. Oubaali twice to the canvas late in the third round with his vaunted left punch before finishing it off with a left uppercut in the fourth round to earn back the title he last held in 2011.

For fight analyst Nissi Icasiano, what The Filipino Flash showed in the Oubaali encounter was a testament to what Mr. Donaire has been doing throughout his career, allowing him to have a long career in boxing.

“Like I said in the past, reinvention is one of the key elements in the longevity of Nonito Donaire. It was evident in this fight. He employed a much different approach, a more patient and calculated one that helped him counteract the possible advances of his French foe and exhibited his experience in the ring,” said Mr. Icasiano in an interview with BusinessWorld.

“I just loved how he took his time and did not recklessly fight fire with fire. The old and much younger Nonito Donaire would certainly engage in that kind of exchange. But he knew he had strengths that he could utilize without extorting that much effort to put in check every possible offense in Oubaali’s arsenal… He changed levels in his attacks, targeting the body that opened the Frenchman’s defenses which allowed him to throw left hooks in the process. It’s a methodical performance to behold.”

The analyst went on to say that the fight ending in a knockout was not at all surprising, never mind if Mr. Donaire had an 18-month layoff prior to his latest fight.

“I knew from the get-go that Nonito Donaire had Oubaali’s number. So it was just a matter of time before he could formally wrap it up. I thought it was over in the third round after the second knockdown with one second remaining,” he said.

Following his title conquest, Mr. Donaire (41-6, 27 KOs) said “he was very happy” to position himself once again to vie for top-level competition, including a possible unification title fight against World Boxing Association/International Boxing Federation bantamweight champion Naiya Inoue of Japan.

Mr. Donaire lost the WBA super bantamweight title to Mr. Inoue in his previous fight in 2019 by unanimous decision but not after making the Japanese work hard and exposing his weaknesses.

A unification fight with Mr. Inoue is an attractive next option for Mr. Donaire but other options abound for the Filipino champion following his impressive performance, said Mr. Icasiano.

“I won’t be surprised if he gets a unification bout next. A possible fight against the winner of the Inoue-[Michael] Dasmariñas bout is in the books. The winner of the [Johnriel] Casimero- [Guillermo] Rigondeaux fight is also an option. There is also the [Reymart] Gaballo- [Emmanuel] Rodriguez rematch, and that’s for the interim WBC bantamweight title. So the winner of that fight gets a date with Nonito. Evidently, there is no shortage of options for Nonito Donaire.”

Alex Eala seeded second in Roland Garros junior singles tournament

May 31, 2021 | 6:27 pm

alex_rafa — FILIPINO tennis ace Alex Eala is the second seed in the upcoming 2021 Roland Garros Junior Championships.

FILIPINO tennis ace Alex Eala begins her French Open junior tournament campaign this coming weekend as the second seed.

In the latest rankings released by the International Tennis Federation, 16-year-old Eala, the world’s number three junior player, will be playing as the second seed in the Roland Garros Junior Championships from June 6 to 12.

The Rafa Nadal Academy scholar and long-time Globe ambassador is seeking to extend what has been a solid year for her, including winning her first professional singles title at W15 Manacor in Mallorca, Spain, in January then recording three consecutive quarterfinal appearances in her next three tournaments.

She is also doing well in doubles competitions, recently reaching the finals of the W25 Platja D’Aro doubles event in Spain with her Russian partner Oksana Selekhmeteva.

Last year, Ms. Eala had a banner season as a junior player, winning the 2020 Australian Open girls’ doubles with Indonesian pal Priska Madelyn Nugroho and later barging into the semifinals of the French Open junior singles championship.

In the 2021 edition of the Roland Garros junior competition, Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva of Andorra is the top seed.

At third is Polina Kudermetova of Russia followed by compatriot Diana Shnaider.

Fifth seed is American Robin Montgomery. France’s Océane Babel is sixth, followed by Belarus’ Kristina Dmitruk (seventh), Russia’s Selekhmeteva (eighth), Hungary’s Natalia Szabanin (ninth), and Russia’s Maria Bondarenko (10^th).

The official draw of matches is still to be released. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Second round of vaccination for members of national pool up

May 31, 2021 | 6:27 pm

GOVERNMENT has approved the inoculation of anti-COVID-19 vaccines on all athletes other than those bound for the Hanoi 31^st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, according to Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham Tolentino.

“This is another great news for our national athletes and for all of Philippine sports,” Mr. Tolentino said on Monday, only three days after the successful inoculation of SEA Games-bound athletes last Friday at the Prince Hotel in Manila.

More than half of the 730 SEA Games-bound athletes who registered for the vaccination got their first dose of the Sinovac vaccine last Friday. Most of those who did not get their vaccines were either in the provinces or abroad.

“This next round of vaccinations will also include those athletes and coaches who missed last Friday’s vaccination,” Mr. Tolentino said.

Vince Dizon, deputy chief implementer of the National Task Force Against COVID-19, shared the news to the POC chief on Monday.

“We thank the government for putting priority on our athletes and coaches for the vaccine rollout,” Mr. Tolentino said.

There are close to 1,600 athletes and coaches in the national team and pool on the Philippine Sports Commission roster. The list includes the SEA Games-bound athletes and para athletes.

Alex Čejka makes history by winning Senior PGA Championship

May 31, 2021 | 6:27 pm

ALEX Čejka only got into his first major tournament earlier this month because Jay Haas withdrew.

Now the 50-year-old German has won two major titles in three weeks to join select company.

Čejka shot a 3-under 67 on Sunday and cruised to a four-shot victory over Tim Petrovic in the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Čejka, who finished at 8-under 272, became the first PGA Tour Champions player to win his first two majors since Arnold Palmer (1980-81). He also became the first rookie to win two majors since Jack Nicklaus in 1990.

“The majors are still difficult to win. Of course, two is great,” Čejka said after the victory. “I’ve never thought of it. I mean, of course it’s everybody’s dream when you see this trophy, how can you not try as hard as you can to win this? It wasn’t a fluke.

“Yes, there is maybe potential for more, but as I said, a lot of great players every week and a lot of the majors, you got to play really well. I wouldn’t be disappointed if I never ever win a major again. But right now, I have two.”

Čejka won the Regions Tradition three weeks ago when he beat Steve Stricker in a playoff.

Ironically, he trailed Stricker by one shot entering Sunday but a showdown didn’t occur. Stricker shot 7-over 77 to finish in a tie for 11^th at 1-over 281.

Meanwhile, Čejka carded six birdies against three bogeys in his final trip around Southern Hills Country Club. He shot 34 on the front nine and 33 on the back.

Despite there being no real threat to overcome him, Čejka didn’t feel secure about the win until his final putt on 18 landed in the cup.

“I really wanted to finish it,” Čejka said. “I didn’t want to celebrate too much. I know you have three, four shots cushion, (but) in golf everything is possible. I wanted to really be calm until the ball is in the hole, until I sign my scorecard, everything is right.

“I mean there’s been a lot of scenarios over all those years, so but I was happy. I’ll tell you, I was pretty nervous the last four, five holes.”

Petrovic also had six birdies and three bogeys but was unable to make a valid run with Čejka cruising along.

“Actuall,y they came back to us early on the front nine and we were right there,” Petrovic said. “But Alex put the gas on and probably hit some good iron shots. I wasn’t really looking.”

South Africa’s Retief Goosen (66 on Sunday) and South Korea’s K.J. Choi (68) tied for third at 3-under 277.

John Riegger (67), Bob Sowards (67) and Canadian Mike Weir (72) shared fifth at 1 under.

Stricker’s porous round included eight bogeys and one double-bogey. He also had three birdies. — Reuters

Blacklist International clinches MPL-PH Season 7 title

May 31, 2021 | 6:26 pm

BLACKLIST International willed its way to the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League-Philippines Season 7 title, coming from behind to win, 4-3, over Execration in their best-of-seven finals matchup on Sunday.

Down 1-3 after four matches in the finale, Blacklist dug deep to force the series to a deciding seventh game to complete the impressive charge back for the title.

In the deciding game, Blacklist built on the momentum it got in the previous two matches, coming out aggressive and looking to dominate at the onset.

Execration tried hard to fend off the charge of its opponent but Blacklist was not to be denied as it took the lead on kills, turrets destroyed, and gold by 2,000 at the 10^th minute.

Blacklist went on to wipe out the Execration squad in the 18^th minute to claim its first title.

The championship win was a culmination of the solid run of Blacklist — composed of Mark “ESON” Gerardo, Edward “EDWARD” Dapadap, Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna, Kiel Calvin “OHEB” Soriano and Danerie “Wise” Del Rosario — in MPL-PH Season 7 where it was consistently on top of the heap.

“This win is big for us. We went through a lot and we’d like to thank the management because they were totally supportive of us,” said Blacklist coach Bon Chan in Filipino in the post-finals press conference. “I’m proud of the players.”

For emerging as the winner of the tournament, presented in partnership with Smart Communications, Blacklist International won the grand prize of $25,000.

Execration, meanwhile, bagged $13,000 for finishing runner-up.

The teams also earned a spot in the 2021 MLBB Southeast Asia Cup (MSC) as the representatives for the Philippines. The MSC, which features 12 of the best teams in the region, will be held from June 7 to 13. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo