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Power demand contraction and natural gas cronyism

Based on average power demand in the Luzon-Visayas grids for January and February, the Philippines’ first quarter 2021 GDP seems to point to a -5% contraction with a -6.7% power demand contraction in January and a -4.8% contraction in February.

Data from the Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines (IEMOP) further shows that electricity prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, the customer effective spot settlement price (ESSP) and load-weighted average price (LWAP) remain low in January and February, reflecting low demand relative to supply (see Table 1).

The indefinite lockdown policy of the government, turning exactly one year this coming March 15, remains the single biggest source of business uncertainties and economic contraction.

Last week, a Congress bill was discussed and reported in BusinessWorld, “House committee approves downstream natural gas bill” (March 3). It says that “the committee approved the draft substitute bill replacing House Bill No. 3031 or the proposed Downstream Natural Gas Industry Development Act.”

I checked the substitute bill and these three sections are highly suspicious:

“Sec. 38. Natural gas Share in the Philippine Energy Plan… required share of natural gas, in the form of a fuel mix, portfolio standard, and/or some other policy… be fully implemented.”

“Sec. 39. Off-take Support and Security… required to underpin investments in PDNGI shall be adopted.”

“Sec. 40. Capacity and Reserve Markets…. leverage reserve capacities of natural gas-fueled power generating plants… shall be established.”

Sec. 38 is about mandatory minimum share of natgas, Sec. 39 is about mandatory take or pay of natgas, and Sec. 40 is about mandatory reserve capacities of natgas. These are favoritism and cronyism for gas companies — horrible.

Three and a half years ago, this column (“Cronyism in Renewable energy, gas sectors?,” Sept. 7, 2017, https://www.bworldonline.com/cronyism-renewable-energy-gas-sectors/) wrote about the lecture in UPSE of FirstGen President and COO Giles Puno, where he lobbied for LNG — “1.) Holistic and defined energy mix, 2.) fiscal and non-fiscal policies, 3.) Secure LNG Off-take, similar to how Malampaya was underpinned.”

These three points are about the same as Sections 38, 39, and 40 of the Substitute bill — wow.

In a Viber interview with Lawrence Fernandez, Meralco Vice-President and Head of Utility Economics, he made an interesting observation that “Electricity consumers have been saddled for years by various subsidies and mandates to support (a.) renewable energy (RE) via Feed-in Tariff Allowance (FIT-All) and Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS), b.) remote area electrification via Universal Charge Missionary Electrification (UCME), c.) off-grid RE development via RE Cash Incentive, and, d.) Malampaya gas via take-or-pay provision.”

These endless attacks to ease out or kill coal power in the Philippines and replace it with more intermittent RE and natgas which is also fossil fuel, are inconsistent with global energy realities.

Many countries are able to sustain their development needs and fast growth by relying on cheap, stable coal energy. Examples are China, India, South Africa, South Korea, Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Turkey, Taiwan, Vietnam, Poland, and the Philippines. The rich countries that developed fast many decades ago did so by relying on cheap, stable coal energy. Examples of these as of 1985 are the US, Germany, the UK and Spain (see Table 2).

China, India and Indonesia, which constitute 48% or nearly half of the total world population, were 63%-73% coal-dependent in 2019. Among rich countries in 2019, Taiwan, South Korea and Australia were 41%-56% coal dependent. And the much richer US, Japan, and Germany were 24%-32% coal dependent.

If gas power is given priority or mandatory dispatch to the grid, there is little or zero incentive for the gas companies to bring down their prices and thus, ignore two important rules: the “least cost” mandate of distribution utilities (DUs) provision of the EPIRA law of 2001 (RA 9136), and Competitive Selection Process (CSP). The end result is more expensive electricity for consumers.

The Department of Energy, Energy Regulatory Commission, Philippine Competition Commission, and business organizations should warn Congress of the dangers to energy consumers and businesses when natgas cronyism becomes a law.

 

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

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

The one vaccine efficacy number that truly matters

SOMETHING SOUNDS FISHY when public health experts advise us to take whatever vaccine is available even though some vaccines show much more promising efficacy numbers than others. And it’s understandable that people would want to shop for the best vaccine. Americans are accustomed to the idea of consumer choice in pharmaceuticals — why else would we have so much direct-to-consumer drug advertising? But cut through the noise and there’s only one thing that really matters: all three FDA-authorized vaccines seem to work equally well — close to 100% — at preventing hospitalization and death.

That message has gotten diluted in the reporting around the efficacy numbers for different vaccines. The efficacy numbers associated with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines came in at around 95%, while the newly approved Johnson & Johnson vaccine has shown a less impressive 72% in the US, and even lower in other countries. As risk communication expert Peter Sandman says, people remember from school that 95% usually earns an A, and 72% a C at best.

The problem is that numbers most touted to measure “efficacy” measure various degrees of symptoms plus a positive test — criteria that vary some from trial to trial. They don’t measure what’s most important: protection against hospitalization and death.

And on that score, all three vaccines are outstanding. So public health experts are justified in suggesting people take the first vaccine available.

People aren’t only worried about dying from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); they’re also worried about getting so-called long COVID and transmitting the disease to others even after they’re vaccinated. There’s no data one way or the other one whether vaccination cuts the risk of long COVID for those who get sick, but all the vaccines appear to reduce the number of people who get mild illness or asymptomatic cases, and thereby probably reduce transmission.

While the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines work the same way, Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine works through a different mechanism. The first two use messenger RNA, and the latter uses DNA, which is ferried to the nucleus of cells with a different kind of virus, called an adenovirus, modified so it can’t replicate itself and cause disease. All three vaccines have good safety data, and all of them prompt the body to produce T-cells, which retain a sort of memory of the protein and attack it.

One reason for the seemingly stark difference in efficacy numbers is that the clinical trials were held in very different groups of people. The Johnson & Johnson trial enrolled more people with hypertension, diabetes, and HIV, as well as more people over 60, says University of California Infectious Disease Dr. Monica Gandhi. Johnson & Johnson’s results also came from testing people in South Africa and Latin America at a time when new variants of the virus were already rampant. The important thing to note, says Gandhi, is that nobody who got the vaccine in the clinical trials — for any of the shots — was hospitalized for COVID-19. None of them died. None even got a severe enough case to require medical intervention at all.

The absence of hospitalizations and deaths in the Johnson & Johnson trial looks even more impressive given that the volunteers included people who were more vulnerable to dying from the virus. Gandhi says she’d advise her own 80-something parents to get that shot if it was the first one available.

Earlier this year, Yale University epidemiologist Robert Hecht had told me in an interview that he thought more lives could be saved by vaccinating people in so-called hot spots where there was an unusually high burden of disease. I called him back and asked whether the single-shot advantage of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine might make it a good choice for those places. He agreed it would, but worried about the perception that it’s an inferior vaccine, which could incite outrage about racial or socioeconomic injustice.

Other experts are also wrestling with this question, since the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is cheaper than the other approved shots, delivered in a single dose, and requires only ordinary refrigeration rather than ultra-cold storage. That would make it a practical choice for vaccinating homeless people, and those in hard-to-reach rural areas, but again, experts are wrestling with the perception of inequality.

That concern isn’t justified, given a proper interpretation of the data. Even the perception of unfairness, though, could be harmful. Giving people the ability to vaccine-shop might help more hesitant people feel more in control and less coerced — but also inadvertently prolong the pandemic.

Getting the one-shot vaccine out as fast as possible and focusing on virus hotspots would save lives and hasten a return to some level of normal life. It’s now up to the public health community to send out a clearer message and get the public on board.

The most important numbers here aren’t 95% or 72%, but 0%: the number of vaccinated people who’ve died from the virus. When that’s the emphasis, the message to get the first available vaccine makes a lot more sense.”

BLOOMBERG OPINION

South Korea finds no link between deaths and coronavirus vaccines

SEOUL — South Korea said on Monday it had found no link between the coronavirus vaccine and several recent deaths, as it ordered nearly 100,000 foreign workers to be tested after clusters emerged in dormitories.

Health officials had been investigating the deaths of eight people with underlying conditions who had adverse reactions after receiving AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, but said they found no evidence that the shots played a role.

“We’ve tentatively concluded that it was difficult to establish any link between their adverse reaction after being vaccinated, and their deaths,” Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Director Jeong Eun-kyeong told a briefing.

South Korea began vaccinating residents and workers at nursing homes and other at-risk individuals at the end of February, with 316,865 people having received their first shots as of Sunday.

Several outbreaks in manufacturing and other industrial workplaces prompted authorities to begin inspecting 12,000 work sites with international workers, while multiple local governments ordered foreign workers to be tested in coming days.

“Their work environment and communal housing raise the danger of infection but it is difficult to find patients early because of their limited access to medical resources and testing, and the issue of illegal stay,” Ms. Jeong said.

Gyeonggi Province ordered about 85,000 foreign workers to get tested in the next two weeks, Vice Governor for Administrative Affairs Lee Yong-chul told a briefing.

At least 151 foreign residents in the Gyeonggi city of Dongducheon have recently tested positive, though what caused the outbreak is still unclear.

In Namyangju, another city in Gyeonggi, at least 124 foreigners had tested positive after an outbreak at a plastic manufacturing plant.

In another central province, the industrial cities of Eumseong and Jincheon also ordered about 4,500 and 5,000 foreign residents respectively to be tested after group infections emerged from a glass factory and a food processing company.

Working conditions for migrant workers in South Korea received new scrutiny after a woman from Cambodia was found dead living in a greenhouse in freezing winter temperatures late last year.

The deaths of hundreds of mainly undocumented Thai migrant workers in South Korea prompted the United Nations last year to call for an inquiry into the fate of migrants.

The number of Thai worker deaths hit a record annual high in 2020 — 122 as of mid-December — according to a report by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. — Reuters

Venezuela rations diesel supply to truckers as shortages worsen

VALENCIA, Venezuela/MARACAY, Venezuela — Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) has begun rationing diesel to truckers, four transport sector sources told Reuters, as low domestic refining output and scarce imports amid US sanctions squeeze fuel supplies.

Frustrated truckers blocked a highway in the central state of Maracay in protest over the shortages on Friday, social media images showed. Industry groups said the unprecedented rationing would create delays delivering goods to markets in the OPEC nation, reeling from a prolonged economic crisis.

The diesel squeeze came after the country suffered widespread gasoline shortages throughout 2020, prompting President Nicolas Maduro to cut longstanding heavy subsidies and import gasoline from Iran. Diesel is still distributed to truckers free of charge.

Before the recent crisis, cheap and abundant fuel had long been taken for granted in Venezuela, home to the world’s largest crude reserves.

“We are talking about an unparalleled difficulty in recent times,” said Jesus Rodriguez, president of the chamber of commerce for the central city of Puerto Cabello, home to Venezuela’s largest container port.

The diesel shortages and transit snags come after Venezuela’s economy contracted more than 63% between 2013 and 2019, according to the International Monetary Fund, as a collapse in oil prices following years of expropriations by successive socialist governments spurred hyperinflation.

That collapse has led to a humanitarian crisis marked by shortages of food and medicine, prompting 5.4 million Venezuelans to emigrate, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Jonathan Durvelle, president of the Regional Freight Chamber representing truck drivers, said service stations were limiting diesel supplies to between 100-200 liters per truck, and that many drivers have to wait in line for three days to receive fuel. Most tanks can hold at least 1,200 liters, he said.

“If we cannot move our vehicles, we cannot move products,” Mr. Durvelle said.

Neither PDVSA nor Venezuela’s oil or information ministries immediately responded to requests for comment on the rationing.

The shortages come after the United States last year barred oil companies from supplying PDVSA with diesel in exchange for crude, part of the Trump administration’s escalating sanctions on the company in its unsuccessful bid to oust Mr. Maduro, who Washington says rigged his 2018 re-election.

Diesel suppliers including India’s Reliance Industries Ltd. and advocacy groups concerned about the humanitarian impact of shortages have urged new US President Joseph R. Biden to lift the ban on so-called diesel swaps. Venezuela has not received a cargo of imported diesel since Reliance’s final shipment arrived in November, Refinitiv Eikon data show.

A White House official told Reuters last week the administration was in “no rush” to ease sanctions in the absence of concessions by Mr. Maduro, who says the 2018 vote was free and fair and blames US sanctions for the once-prosperous nation’s woes.

Private estimates place Venezuelan diesel consumption at between 35,000 and 49,000 barrels per day (bpd). Diesel is also widely used in agriculture, electricity generation and public transit. Farmers have warned for months that shortages were jeopardizing the planting and harvesting of crops.

The 400 km (250 mile) round trip between Puerto Cabello and the capital Caracas requires at least 400 liters of diesel, according to Jose Petit, president of the Asotracontainer industry group representing Puerto Cabello truckers.

PDVSA’s 1.3 million bpd refining network — operating at a fraction of its capacity after years of underinvestment and lack of maintenance — produced around 37,000 bpd of diesel in February, according to Antero Alvarado, Venezuela managing partner for consultancy Gas Energy Latin America.

PDVSA also had around 4 million barrels of diesel inventories in February, Mr. Alvarado said.

A worker at PDVSA’s Paraguana refining complex, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the company was prioritizing gasoline output over diesel production. — Reuters

Pregnancy can get women fired in 38 nations — WB

THERE are still almost 40 countries where women can be fired from their jobs simply for getting pregnant, World Bank Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart said in a discussion on how the pandemic is making it even harder for women to escape poverty.

Speaking on Bloomberg Television in a conversation with Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, director of strategy and policy at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Reinhart said the economic fallout from Covid-19 had been “very regressive,” hitting the most vulnerable hardest, included women and girls.

“We are seeing big setbacks on schooling, girls are taken out that will not return,” said Ms. Reinhart, speaking on International Women’s Day. She cited a report late last year that found extreme poverty was expected to rise for the first time in more than two decades with a disproportionately high share of women among the world’s new poor.

The pandemic has contributed to an increase in violence against women and is reinforcing gender inequality in many countries, with women on average having roughly three-quarters of the legal rights of men, according to the World Bank.

While laws have improved in some countries, women in many nations still face legal limits on economic opportunities, including restrictions on travel without a male guardian, the lender said.

Ms. Pazarbasioglu of the IMF said it’s very important to have “a women’s lens in policies.”

“That’s what we are pushing in our surveillance, in our lending, in our analytical work and in our capacity development,” she said.

“Making sure that in our budgets, that it’s gender friendly, that the informal sector which is housing many of the women employees, the policies are targeted at these important activities that women carry the largest burden in,” Ms. Pazarbasioglu said.

Ms. Pazarbasioglu and Ms. Reinhart wrote an opinion piece published by Bloomberg on Monday arguing for greater transparency in finance to help address growing inequality within countries and across borders. — Bloomberg

Malaysia to buy more Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines

KUALA LUMPUR -— Malaysia will buy additional doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine, bringing the total secured to 32 million, enough to cover half of its population, the country’s science minister said on Monday.

The Southeast Asian country last month embarked on a nationwide vaccination programme, targeting to inoculate 80% of its 32 million people by Feb. 2022.

“All of the Pfizer vaccines secured so far are expected to be delivered by this year,” science minister Khairy Jamaluddin said at a virtual news conference.

Malaysia is also considering dropping negotiations to procure a single-dose vaccine from US pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson, in favour of a deal with Chinese company CanSino Biologics, which also requires only one dose, Mr. Khairy said.

“This is a better option for us compared to Johnson & Johnson, where supplies are expected to arrive only in the fourth quarter of the year,” he said.

The government said last month it had secured 66.7 million vaccine doses, more than enough to cover its population.

In addition to the deal with Pfizer-BioNTech, Malaysia has also reached supply agreement with Britain’s AstraZeneca AZN.L, Russia’s Gamaleya Research Institute, and China’s Sinovac Biotech and CanSino. — Reuters

Loman, Lausa should do well in new ‘homes,’ says analyst

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

FILIPINO fighters Stephen Loman and Jenel Lausa are now with new mixed martial arts (MMA) companies and should do well in them, said a local combat sports analyst.

Mr. Loman (14-2) recently signed with ONE Championship after four years with Bahrain-based Brave Combat Federation (CF) where he was an undefeated bantamweight champion. Mr. Lausa (7-5), meanwhile, is now with Brave after parlaying his wares in the Ultimate Fighting Championship for two years until 2018 and previous to that in Pacific X-treme Combat (PXC).

Both men cited taking on new challenges and a chance to further their MMA game as reasons for their decision to partner with their new “homes.”

For combat sports analyst Nissi Icasiano, given the reasons they have and the places they landed at, Messrs. Loman and Lausa did well in their decisions.

“Most see it (decision) as a ‘win some, lose some’ scenario. But it’s more of making the most out of the opportunity. The landscape of MMA today has become an even playing field. You got the UFC in the West, along with PFL (Professional Fighters League) and Bellator. In the East, you got ONE Championship. In the Middle, Brave CF is carrying the load to bring the sport of MMA to greater heights in their territory. So it’s actually a win-win situation, especially for Philippine MMA,” said Mr. Icasiano in an interview with BusinessWorld.

“I don’t have doubts that these two will perform to the best of their abilities in their respective promotions. Both men are former champions and have achieved the pinnacle of success. Loman was a top guy of Brave CF for a long time. Jenel was a flyweight champion in PXC and made it to the UFC. If they do flourish in their new homes, it just goes to show the quality of competition that they went through in order to be at the top of their game,” he added.

“The Sniper” Loman, fighting out of Baguio’s Team Lakay, is set to make his ONE Championship debut next month against top-ranked bantamweight fighter and former UFC campaigner John “Hands of Stone” Lineker.

It is a very challenging debut fight, said Mr. Icasiano, but can pay huge dividends for Mr. Loman if he emerges on top.

“It’s definitely a high-risk, high-reward kind of fight for Loman. He is facing one of the hardest hitters in the sport and one of the best bantamweights today. If he wins, I truly believe a contract for a title shot will be waiting in his dressing room,” said Mr. Icasiano.

The Loman-Lineker fight is part of “ONE on TNT IV” on April 28 which will air on prime-time television in the United States.

“The Demolition Man” Lausa, for his part, is to make his Brave debut this week at “Brave CF 47: Asian Domination” on March 11 in Bahrain where he will face Afghan Rahmatullah Yousufzai.

Apart from his first fight in Brave, the contest also marks the return to MMA of Mr. Lausa after three years away from action.

“Jenel is best suited for mixed martial arts, and I truly believe that he made the right decision to return to the sport after nearly three years of exclusively competing in boxing. He is pitted against a hungry upstart from Afghanistan. It’s an ideal matchup for Jenel in order to gauge where he is at right now in his MMA game,” Mr. Icasiano said.

Antetokounmpo fuels Team LeBron in All-Star romp

GIANNIS Antetokounmpo made all 16 of his shots in a historic 35-point performance on Sunday night that propelled Team LeBron to a 170-150 victory over Team Durant in the NBA All-Star Game in Atlanta.

After earlier capturing the NBA 3-Point Contest, Stephen Curry bombed in six 3-pointers in the first half and eight in all, totaling 28 points for Team LeBron, which won each of the first three quarters en route to a 146-125 lead that it massaged into the winning margin.

Each team lost a player when it was announced earlier in the day that Philadelphia 76ers stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons would not be allowed to play due to COVID tracing. Each had gotten a haircut on Saturday from a barber who subsequently tested positive.

20-year-old Zion Williamson replaced Embiid in the Team Durant starting lineup, becoming the fourth-youngest starter in NBA history.

The win was the fourth in a row for the team selected by LeBron James under a revised roster dispersal that started in 2018. James played just 13 minutes in the first half before sitting out the entire second half with the game relatively in hand.

Down 146-125 after three periods, the closest Team Durant got in the fourth quarter was 15.

Durant did not play in the game because of a hamstring injury.

Team LeBron took command of the game with a 27-8 flurry over the final 3:54 of the second quarter.

Damian Lillard contributed 11 points, Curry seven, Antetokounmpo five and Chris Paul four to go with five assists as they did all the scoring in a burst that turned a one-point lead into a 100-80 half time advantage.

Antetokounmpo’s 16-for-16 game doubled the previous All-Star record of the Philadelphia 76ers’ Hal Greer, who made all eight of his shots in the 1968 in-season classic.

For his effort, Antetokounmpo, who was 3-for-3 on 3-pointers, was selected as the game’s Most Valuable Player.

Lillard finished with 32 points, Jaylen Brown 22, and Paul George 17 for Team LeBron. Paul added team-highs in assists with 16 and rebounds with eight. — Reuters

Golfer Yuka Saso among to be feted at the PSA virtual awards

GOLFER YUKA SASO is the PSA Athlete of the Year for 2020.

ONE of the bright lights for Philippine sports during these trying times, Filipino golfer Yuka Saso will be one of personalities to be honored by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) in its annual awards ceremonies later this month.

Ms. Saso, 19, performed well in her professional debut year in 2020 just as the sporting world was trying to grapple with the effects brought about by the pandemic.

And for that she is the PSA’s Athlete of the Year.

The Asian Games double gold medalist won two straight titles in the rich Japan LPGA in 2020 and had a strong 13th place finish in the US Open in her first crack at a major LPGA championship later in the year.

It will be Ms. Saso’s second PSA Athlete of the Year award in the last three years, but first time as an individual awardee as she previously shared the accolade with fellow golfers Bianca Pagdanganan and Lois Kaye Go, along with weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, during the 2018 edition of the annual event following their gold medal romp in the Jakarta Asiad.

Entering 2021, the Filipina golfer with a Japanese descent ranked 45th in the world and had a total of P50 million in earnings during her rookie season.

Aside from the Athlete of the Year, the PSA will likewise hand out its regular awards such as the Executive of the Year, President’s Award, National Sports Association (NSA) of the Year, and the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Major honorees in various sports as well as citations and recognitions are likewise included in the honor roll list.

With the coronavirus still a going concern, this year’s PSA Awards Night on March 27 will be done virtually from the TV5 Media Center. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Tim Cone leads PBA Press Corps award winners

BARANGAY GINEBRA COACH TIM CONE was the recipient of the Outstanding Coach of the Bubble award in the virtual special awards night of the PBA Press Corps on Sunday. — PBA IMAGES

THE virtual special awards night of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Press Corps was successfully held on Sunday with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings coach Tim Cone leading the awardees.

Given by the media covering the local professional basketball league, the awards serve to recognize outstanding performers in various categories for each PBA season.

This year’s proceedings were a double celebration as recognized as well were awardees for 2019 who did not get their own awarding ceremony last year because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr. Cone steered the Kings to a historic Philippine Cup championship held under a first-ever “bubble” setup in Clark, Pampanga, and was the recipient of the Outstanding Coach of the Bubble award.

Through his stewardship, the Kings outlasted the competition in the three-month tournament, the lone staged by the league because of limitations presented by the pandemic.

It was the 13th title of the Kings in franchise history while it was the 23rd for Mr. Cone, and his fifth championship with Barangay Ginebra.

While he felt honored to be given the award, Mr. Cone also took time to praise fellow coach Topex Robinson of Phoenix Super LPG who the former felt did a good job as well during the bubble.

“Topex did a tremendous job in the bubble coaching. I just want to acknowledge him and share this award with him,” said Mr. Cone in his acceptance speech.

Mr. Robinson and the Fuel Masters had a great run in the bubble, coming within a win away of barging into their first-ever finals appearance.

Also feted was PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial.

He was given the Mr. Executive Award in recognition of his leadership in steering the league in uncharted waters amid the pandemic en route to the successful staging of the bubble.

The Bubble President’s Award, meanwhile, was given to all the 12 PBA teams for their sacrifices and cooperation in ensuring the Philippine Cup bubble succeeded.

The other bubble awardees were Phoenix’s Justin Chua (Top Bubble D-Fender). He was joined in the All-Bubble D-Fenders by former teammate Calvin Abueva (now of Magnolia), Chris Ross (San Miguel), Mark Barroca (Magnolia), and Christian Standhardinger (formerly of NorthPort now of Barangay Ginebra).

Phoenix’s RJ Jazul was Mr. Quality Minutes, scoring champ was CJ Perez (formerly of Terrafirma and now with San Miguel), the Barangay Ginebra-Meralco Game 5 semis was Game of the Bubble, and Aaron Black (Meralco), Arvin Tolentino (Barangay Ginebra), Roosevelt Adams (Terrafirma), Barkley Ebona (Alaska), and Renzo Subido (NorthPort) made up the All-Rookie Team.

Meanwhile, Leo Austria, coach of San Miguel, led the honor roll for 2019 awardees as coach of the year.

Joining him are PBA Chairman Ricky Vargas (Executive of the Year), Bulakan, Bulacan Mayor and former league MVP Vergel Meneses (President’s Award), Sean Anthony (Defensive Player of the Year), Terrence Romeo (Mr. Quality Minutes), June Mar Fajardo (Order of Merit), and Mr. Perez (Scoring Champion).

The rest of the 2019 honorees are NorthPort vs. NLEX (Game of the Season); Mr. Perez, Robert Bolick, Bobby Ray Parks, Jr., Javee Mocon, and Abu Tratter (All-Rookie Team); Kiefer Ravena, Mr. Standhardinger, Beau Belga, Vic Manuel, Arwind Santos, and coach Yeng Guiao (All-Interview Team); and PBA D-League Finals MVP Thirdy Ravena (Aspirants’ Cup) and Hesed Gabo (Foundation Cup). — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

PSC Summit 2021 talks sports science and success

SPORTS science as key to success in the field will be the center of discussion in the sixth session of the National Sports Summit 2021 on Thursday, March 11.

Dr. Jose Raul Canlas, sole Filipino member of the International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA) Medical Commission, leads the session which will tackle the fundamental role of sports science in harnessing elite talent and potential of the athletes.

The doctor is a decorated practitioner in the field of orthopedics and served for consecutive editions of the World Cup as part of its medical team. He also currently heads the United Philippine Surfing Association, the national sporting body for surfing.

“We are very honored to have a world-class Filipino doctor impart knowledge to our participating athletes, coaches, sports educators, and local government units, in this area (sports science) where we have a lot to develop as a sporting nation,” said PSC Chairman William Ramirez of Dr. Canlas gracing the virtual national summit.

The subject on sports science is the second of three topics to be touched on in the second phase of the conference.

Originally set to take place last year until the coronavirus pandemic forced it to be deferred and reconfigured, the summit has taken the form of a series of weekly conference-type online sessions hosted by the PSC via Zoom, running until May this year.

The summit is aimed at taking insights of different sports stakeholders and using those as foundations in crafting a sustainable and workable short to long-term plan for Philippine sports.

The PSC said all data gathered from the web series will be processed and studied to create a new set of resolutions to be presented to sports leaders for action. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Pistons star forward Blake Griffin agrees to deal with Brooklyn Nets

SIX-TIME All-Star forward Blake Griffin has agreed to a deal with the Brooklyn Nets for the remainder of this season, ESPN reported on Sunday night.

The agreement comes two days after Griffin agreed to a buyout with the Detroit Pistons. A former star with the Los Angeles Clippers who turns 32 on March 16, Griffin averaged 12.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 31.3 minutes in 20 starts with Detroit this season.

The Nets are expected to use Griffin off the bench — a role he has never had during his 11-year NBA career.

Brooklyn is hoping to make a run at the NBA title behind the star trio of Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Kyrie Irving. Griffin’s former Los Angeles teammate DeAndre Jordan also is on the Nets.

Griffin has career averages of 21.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 642 games. He spent his first 7 1/2 seasons with the Clippers and parts of the last four campaigns with Detroit. — Reuters

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