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Hastily-formed Gilas braces for well-motivated S. Korean squad

COACH CHOT REYES — SBP.PH

A HASTILY-FORMED Gilas Pilipinas braces for an all-out war against a well-motivated South Korean squad that’s out for Filipino blood in the coming International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers in Quezon City.

“Not only are they (Koreans) coming for revenge, they’re also coming for qualification and survival to get to the World Cup,” Gilas coach Chot Reyes said during Tuesday’s online PSA Forum.

The Philippines and South Korea mix it up in the Group A opening night on Feb. 24 and in the culminating match on Feb. 28 as highlights of the first window to be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. They are also slated to face New Zealand and India in between.

The Pinoy and Korean dribblers renew their rivalry eight months after a youth-laden Gilas crew under Tab Baldwin swept their two games in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers in Clark.

“It is time for revenge,” Korea’s Kim Sun-Hyung said on the FIBA website. “I’m ready and confident about beating them in the two games.”

“I think we’re going to see a very different Korean team, we’ll see a lot of veterans in this team, ” noted Mr. Reyes.

It will be a different Gilas squad, too, as Mr. Reyes is working with about half of that winning crew in Clark in combination with some of his TnT Tropang Giga stalwarts.

“For now, our focus is on our team. The time will come when our focus is going to shift fully to Korea. And figure out what kind of team can match up well not only against South Korea but also New Zealand and India,” said Mr. Reyes.

The returning Gilas mentor said he will likely borrow a page from the playbook his predecessor Mr. Baldwin used with success last June 2021 against Korea.

“We’re going to take a lot from the game plan of coach Tab…” said Mr. Reyes. “But as I said, there’s a lot of different players sa team so we just have to be prepared.”

Mr. Reyes himself knew what it takes to beat Korea. He previously steered Gilas to a famous 86-79 triumph before a roaring home crowd in the semifinals of the 2013 FIBA Asia Cup at the MOA Arena that led to a stint in the 2014 WC.

“Our mantra’s always to be the hardest-working, best-conditioned team,” said the veteran mentor, who popularized the Gilas battlecry “Laban Pilipinas, Puso.” — Olmin Leyba

COVID disrupts health services in over 90% of countries — WHO

REUTERS

GENEVA — Disruptions in basic health services such as vaccination programs and treatment of diseases like AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) were reported in 92% of 129 countries, a World Health Organization (WHO) survey on the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic showed on Monday.  

The survey, conducted in November–December 2021, showed services were “severely impacted” with “little or no improvement” from the previous survey in early 2021, the WHO said in a statement sent to journalists.  

“The results of this survey highlight the importance of urgent action to address major health system challenges, recover services and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the WHO said.  

Emergency care, which includes ambulance and ER services, actually worsened with 36% of countries reporting disruptions versus 29% in early 2021 and 21% in the first survey in 2020.  

Elective operations such as hip and knee replacements were disrupted in 59% of the countries and gaps to rehabilitative and palliative care were reported in about half of them.  

The survey’s timing coincided with surging COVID-19 cases in many countries in late 2021 due to the highly transmissible Omicron variant, piling additional strain on hospitals.  

The WHO statement attributed the scale of disruptions to “pre-existing health systems issues” as well as decreased demand for care, without elaborating. — Reuters 

Museums reopen until Feb. 15

© THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE PHILIPPINES (2017)

SOME museums are opening their doors to the public once again with the lowering of the level of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) restrictions in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The Ateneo Art Gallery, the National Museum of the Philippines, and the Ayala Museum and Filipinas Heritage Library have all announced that they are now accepting visitors until Feb. 15 (as the NCR is under Alert Level 2 until that day), albeit with a number of restrictions.

ATENEO ART GALLEY
The Ateneo Art Gallery is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Feb. 15. Admission is free.

The current exhibitions on view are “INK Story: 30 Years of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan”; “Islands for Sale: Pete Jimenez”; and “Muntadas: Exercises on Past and Present Memories.”

Visitors have to book an appointment online (www.bit.ly/VisitAAG) two to three days in advance. There are three time slots available each day, each of which is limited to a maximum of 15 visitors. The time slots are: 9-11 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., and 2-4 p.m. The booking cut-off is at 3 p.m. Guests (aged 12 to 65) must be fully vaccinated and must bring a vaccination card and the valid ID used in the booking form on the day of their visit.

Visitors must wear a face mask at all times while inside the gallery. The use of face shields is optional. Visitors are enjoined to observe physical distancing if not belonging to the same household.

THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE PHILIPPINES
The National Museum Complex in Manila — composed of the National Museum of Fine Arts, National Museum of Anthropology, and the National Museum of Natural History — is now allowing fully vaccinated adults and minors to visit. Unvaccinated minors are welcome but they must be accompanied by a fully vaccinated adult.

While admission is free, visits must be booked ahead of time as walk-in visits are not allowed.

The museum complex is open Tuesday to Saturday. Guests must reserve a timeslot at least a day before their intended visit. There are two timeslots open each day: 9-11 a.m. and 1-4 p.m., with the cutoff for entry at 3 p.m. A maximum of 200 guests per timeslot are allowed in the museum complex. To book a timeslot, visit the website www.nationalmuseum.gov.ph and click “Book a tour.” For more information, visit www.facebook.com/nationalmuseumofthephilippines.

AYALA MUSEUM AND FILIPINAS HERITAGE LIBRARY
The Ayala Museum and Filipinas Heritage Library is now open to visitors from Wednesday to Friday (11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), and Saturday to Sunday (11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.).

All visits to the museum and library have to be pre-booked. There are timed slots available, with the museum allowing a maximum of 30 people per timeslot, and the library allowing a maximum of eight people in its premises per timeslot.

Only fully vaccinated individuals will be admitted. Proof of vaccination and identification are required upon entry. RT-PCR tests and medical exemption certificates will not be accepted.

Go to www.ayalamuseum.org/visit to book a visit and learn about the safety protocols at the museum and library. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/ayalamuseum.

NGO launches recovery program for Odette victims

International Care Ministries (ICM), a Philippine-based non-government organization (NGO), launched a recovery program that will support vulnerable communities in Visayas and Mindanao affected by Typhoon Odette. 

“We will bring our six-week recover program to over 22,500 families in the next six months to build resilience and help them heal so they can restart their businesses and savings,” said David Sutherland, ICM chief executive officer, at the Feb. 8 project launch. 

Because ICM has over 33 operational branch offices across the country, it has been able to strengthen connections with local pastors, community healthcare champions, and savings group leaders to deliver meals and reconstruct churches, he added. 

Since the typhoon hit in December 2021, ICM’s relief efforts have reached over 63,000 families and counting. These can be viewed via a monitoring dashboard which is updated in real time.  

Relief responses from the United Nations and the United States Agency for International Development have also ramped up due to mounting damages. This includes infrastructure damage of P17.7 billion and agricultural damage of P13.4 billion as of mid-January, according to various government agencies. 

While ICM is still continuing its relief efforts, the newly launched recovery program will mark a transition towards support in rebuilding lives and livelihoods.  

“We will implement projects in communities spanning seven provinces (Palawan, Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Bohol, Cebu, Leyte, and Surigao),” said Mr. Sutherland, adding that they plan to expand the program in the future. 

“From February to May 2022, we aim to reach and serve over 20,000 families from 750 communities,” he added. 

Aside from goods and services, there will also be a technical aspect to the program, with small grants for communities including business box kits for restarting livelihoods and guided assistance from community leaders and partners. — B. H. Lacsamana

Primex Corp.’s P5-B tower set for turnover in Q3

PRIMEX Corp. said the office and commercial floors of its P5-billion Primex Tower in Greenhills will be ready for turnover by the third quarter this year as the building nears completion.

“The topping-off ceremony brings the Primex Tower a step closer to full completion. Soon, locators will be able to enjoy not only its accessible location but also its panoramic 360-degree view of the whole Metropolis,” Primex Executive Vice-President Karlvin Ernest L. Ang said in a statement.

The company broke ground for its flagship glass skyscraper in 2018. It has since received a Grade A LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification.

“This new mixed-use tower represents the model for our future developments,” Mr. Ang said.

Primex Tower is 50 floors high with 29 levels allocated for lease for office and commercial use. It also has a 10-floor parking area.

The building will also house a five-star hotel Pullman Manila on the top 11 floors. Pullman Manila will have 194 guest rooms, an executive lounge, meeting rooms, function rooms, an all-day dining restaurant at its sky lobby, a fitness center, and a rooftop restaurant and bar.

Primex said the office and commercial floors will be ready for turnover by the third quarter this year, while Pullman Manila will be open to the public by the end of 2023.

The tower was built on a 1,944 square-meter (sq.m.) lot at EDSA corner Connecticut and Florida streets. Primex wholly owned unit Prime Realty Corp. is in charge of its development.

“The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic during the past two years proved to be a challenging adversary for the whole nation, but we at Primex took it head-on and with the dedication and hard work of all the people involved, from the tower’s design to the development and construction process, this iconic building has come to life,” Mr. Ang said.

During the topping-off ceremony, Primex Chairman and President Ernesto O. Ang also said the company has more upcoming projects. Primex will be developing its properties in Tagaytay, Gilmore Ortigas Ave, and Annapolis Greenhills.

Primex shares at the stock exchange closed unchanged at P2.25 apiece on Tuesday. — Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte

Skier Asa Miller’s other love is baseball

FIL-AM ALPINE SKIER ASA MILLER — PHILIPPINE SKI AND SNOWBOARD FEDERATION

FIL-AM Winter Olympian Asa Miller would have been a baseball catcher if he hadn’t found alpine skiing.

The 21-year-old Mr. Miller, who will make his second Winter Games appearance in the giant slalom event at the National Alpine Skiing Center on Xiaohaituo Mountain on Monday, admitted he had spent some time behind the plate for Lincoln High School in Portland, Oregon.

But as fate would have it, Mr. Miller discovered skiing through his father, Kelly Miller, who was doing community work as a member of the Ski Patroller in Mount Hood for almost three decades.

“I focused entirely on skiing as it became more serious, it’s what I love and my passion,” said Mr. Asa.

The lure of the snow on the hills of Portland were enticing that at 18 months young, Mr. Kelly said his son would frolic outside of their home in the cold of winter.

Thanks to his love and determination, Mr. Asa grew and became competitive and eventually entered races.

He was on the Mount Meadows race team and before he knew it, he had the Philippine flag on his chest as a 16-year-old at the 2017 World Junior Alpine Skiing Championships in Are, Sweden.

He finished 39th in slalom and that opened the world of competitive skiing.

And as they say, the rest is history. — Joey Villar

SLMC offers maternal package

PIXABAY

ST. LUKE’S Medical Center (SLMC) offers free accommodations for mothers who give birth at either of its Quezon City or Taguig City branches from Feb. 7 to March 7. The offer is for regular private, deluxe private, and executive private rooms only. Patients with normal spontaneous deliveries are entitled to two nights of free accommodation; those undergoing C-section are entitled to four nights. Its maternal care package also includes a free COVID-19 RT-PCR (reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) swab test, three-course dinner, and lactating counseling sessions. In line with SLMC’s breastfeeding advocacy, the counseling sessions aim to walk through maternity patients on the basics of breastfeeding and how to provide the best nutrition to their babies. For more information, call 0919-0577744, text 0919-1607744, or e-mail productinfo@stlukes.com.ph.

Diana musical ‘honored’ with nine Razzie nominations

Jeanna de Waal in Diana (2021) — IMDB.COM

DIANA, the film version of a musical about the late Princess of Wales, received a field-leading nine Razzie Award nominations on Monday, including worst picture and worst actress, while Bruce Willis was skewered with his own category of acting ineptness.

The Razzies, now in their 42nd year, lampoon the movies that critics love to hate, testing the thickness of Hollywood’s skin by reveling in the industry’s worst boondoggles.

This year’s Razzies took a ball-stealing swipe at basketball star LeBron James for a lame remake of Michael Jordan’s Space Jam, granting it four nominations, including worst actor for Mr. James, who can at least fall back on his $39 million-a-year day job with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Razzies found Mr. Willis deserving of his own special category, nominating him eight times for “Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie,” listing all eight of his forgettable films from the year.

Karen, which the Razzies described as hopeless melodrama, and The Woman in the Window, deemed lifeless and pointless, earned five nominations each. Meanwhile, the so-called time-travel turkey Infinite and heist filler The Misfits came down with three each.

But the musical Diana was deemed a special level of bad, nominated for worst director, worst screenplay, and a nearly all the major acting categories, including a worst actress nod for Jeanna de Waal in the title role.

Those insults were heaped on top of injury: The Broadway show on which it was based closed in December after just 33 regular performances.

Diana got panned while two other dramatizations of Princess Diana won critical praise from the mainstream industry: the theatrical release Spencer, starring Kristen Stewart, and the Netflix series The Crown, with Emma Corrin in the role.

As usual, the Razzies ridiculed former Oscar winners, nominating helpless ham Jared Leto for House of Gucci, Ben Affleck for The Last Duel, and Mel Gibson for Dangerous in the worst supporting actor category.

The self-described “ugly cousin to the Oscars” started in 1980 as the Golden Raspberry Awards, created by UCLA film school graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy.

More than 1,100 Razzie members from across the United States and about two dozen other countries vote on the awards, according to the Razzie website. — Reuters

PLDT, Microsoft team up to combat cybercrime

PLDT, Inc. and technology company Microsoft announced on Tuesday a partnership aimed at strengthening the country’s security infrastructure against cyber threats.

“Security is at an inflection point as cyberattacks become more sophisticated and digital attack surfaces exponentially increase. We believe that anything less than comprehensive security is no security at all,” Microsoft Philippines Country General Manager Andres Ortola said in an e-mailed statement.

Under the partnership, the two companies will work together through Microsoft’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Program (CTIP), which was created in 2013. CTIP collects and distributes actionable cyber intelligence.

“CTIP data are also engineered into specific Microsoft products and services to help customers identify threats in their computing environments,” the technology company said.

The company also said that CTIP is driven by its Digital Crimes Unit, an international team of technical, legal, and business experts created in 2008 to combat cybercrime on a global scale.

“Its expertise and unique view into online criminal networks uncover evidence used as criminal referrals to law enforcement agencies throughout the world.”

The partnership also means that PLDT will have access to Microsoft’s Digital Crime Unit’s cyber threat intelligence in real time.

“This intelligence will provide better insights into criminal cyber infrastructure located within their jurisdiction. PLDT, in turn, with its network domain knowledge, can help in two-way sharing of intelligence to identify compromised infrastructure and alert impacted entities in the country to potential cybercrime threats,” Microsoft said.

According to Mr. Ortola, Microsoft’s Digital Crime Unit has completed 24 malware disruption operations worldwide to date.

This resulted in “millions of devices kept safe from cybercriminals and preventing millions in financial losses,” he added.

For his part, Angel T. Redoble, first vice-president, chief information security officer, and head of PLDT and Smart Communication’s Cyber Security Operations Group, said: “Our mature and sophisticated threat intelligence operations is one of the keys and most robust pillars of the PLDT group’s cybersecurity structure.”

“We are glad to partner with Microsoft to help fortify our strong cyber threat intelligence operations, and to help us better protect our customers in particular, and the country’s cyber defenses in general,” he added.

Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., has a majority stake in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group, which it controls. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Hidilyn Diaz also has liquidation troubles with NSA

TOKYO OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST HIDILYN DIAZ

LIKE embattled Ernest John “EJ” Obiena, Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn F. Diaz ran into liquidation problems too in the past.

But she found ways to solve it.

“For me, there is a need to talk between NSA (national sports association) and EJ to resolve this,” said Ms. Diaz during Monday’s Senate hearing presided over by Committee on Sports chair Christopher “Bong” Go.

“This should not be a problem by an athlete like EJ. This has been a practice from the start. And thankfully, Sir (Samahang Weightlifting ng Pilipinas president) Monico (Puentevella) and I have patched things up and we chose to communicate with each other and for the better.

“And we all know it resulted to me winning gold in the Olympics. And it was because we united and Sir Monico listened to what were my needs as an athlete,” she added.

Meanwhile, Mr. Go urged the Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association (PATAFA) to prioritize athletes’ welfare.

“My priority is to avoid this controversy from happening again,” said Mr. Go.

Mr. Go was referring the spat of Mr. Obiena with the PATAFA, which accused the former of allegedly falsifying liquidations concerning Ukrainian coach Vitaly Petrov.

Mr. Obiena repeatedly denied it.

The lawmaker from Davao also called on the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) to mediate.

PSC chairman William Ramirez had actually initiated mediation twice but Mr. Obiena declined the same number of times.

“It’s high time for the PSC to get in the middle and mediate and not get Senate to be the referee here. We here can maybe draft and enact a law to strengthen the PSC because of this,” said Mr. Go.

“Let’s finish this and the PSC should mediate,” he added. — Joey Villar

CSMC expands mobile health program 

CARDINAL SANTOS Medical Center (CSMC) expands its mobile health program with Hospital on Wheels, a fully equipped 32-foot, ten-wheeler mobile clinic that offers services such as urinalysis, fecalysis, and complete blood count. It is also capable of specialized tests like electrocardiogram, ultrasound, and 2D-echo. Patients can also consult medical professionals. Hospital on Wheels is ideal for health exams in small to medium enterprises, private villages, and condominiums. For more information, call 0928-5543217, (+632) 87244115; or visit www.facebook.com/CardinalSantos.

Matrix co-producer Village Roadshow sues Warner Bros. over streaming release

Keanu Reeves, Jessica Henwick, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in The Matrix Resurrections (2021) — IMDB.COM

THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS co-producer Village Roadshow Entertainment Group has filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros., alleging the studio’s move to release the film simultaneously on HBO Max and in theaters was a breach of contract.

In a suit filed in the Los Angeles superior court on Monday, Village Roadshow also alleged that Warner Bros., owned by AT&T, Inc. unit WarnerMedia, had moved the release date of the film to 2021 from 2022 to help HBO Max attract more subscribers.

The lawsuit pointed to other box-office winners such as SpiderMan: No Way Home that were released in late 2021 without a simultaneous streaming release.

“We have no doubt that this case will be resolved in our favor,” a spokesperson for Warner Bros. said.

Warner Bros. had announced in late 2020 that its entire slate of movies for 2021 would be available in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day.

The news underlines growing tensions between entertainment players as media companies sharpen their focus on their streaming platforms at the cost of traditional distribution platforms.

Last year, actress Scarlett Johansson got into a legal dispute with Walt Disney Co. over the film Black Widow after the company offered the movie on its subscription streaming service Disney+ at the same time the film was playing in theaters. — Reuters

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