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NBI recommends prosecution of Zamboanga town mayors for corruption

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

THE NATIONAL Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Anti-Graft Division has recommended the prosecution of a former and the incumbent mayor of Siayan town in Zamboanga del Norte for graft and corruption over questionable contracts with businesses allegedly owned by the former.   

The complaint filed before the Deputy Ombudsman for Mindanao names former Siayan mayor Flora L. Villarosa, incumbent mayor Josecor S. Gepolongca, and two others.

In the 31-page recommendation sent to the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday, the NBI alleges that Ms. Villarosa “acquired numerous businesses, real estate properties, vehicles, and money which are manifestly disproportionate to her salary and other sources of lawful income.”

The information was reported by a woman who claims to be one of the people whom Ms. Villarosa had “dummy arrangements” with. Her name was allegedly used as “dummy owner” of Midway Gas Station and Midway Enterprises in Siayan, Zamboanga Del Norte.

Midway Gas Station and Midway Enterprises, allegedly owned by Ms. Villarosa, bagged contracts from the Siayan local government during her term as mayor from 2014 to 2019.

Information submitted by the Commission on Audit to the NBI showed that Midway Gas Station and Midway Enterprises had a total of 190 contracts and projects with the municipality amounting to P32.3 million during that period.

Mr. Gepolongca, who succeeded as mayor in 2019, has been included in the complaint due to “continuous and intentional non-compliance and non-submission of the public documents” requested by the NBI relating to their investigation of Ms. Villarosa.

Ms. Villarosa’s secretary and the “dummy owner” of the two companies are also implicated in the graft case. — Bianca Angelica D. Añago

Corporate Governance’s Principle of Transparency: Disclosure of compensation received by directors or trustees

RAWPIXELS.COM/FREEPIK

Recommendation 8.4 of the Corporate Governance (CG) Code for Publicly-Listed Companies (PLCs) is that proper disclosure should be made of the policies and procedures in setting Board remunerations, thus: “The company should provide a clear disclosure of its policies and procedure for setting Board and executive remuneration, as well as the level and mix of the same in the Annual CG Report. Also, companies should disclose the remuneration on an individual basis, including termination and retirement provisions.”

The Explanation to Recommendation 8.4 is to the effect that disclosure of remuneration policies and procedure enables investors to understand the link between the remuneration paid to directors and key management personnel and the company’s performance. It noted that while the 2014 Revised CG Code required only a disclosure of all fixed and variable compensation that may be paid, directly or indirectly, to its directors and top four management officers during the preceding fiscal year, it regarded as good practice mandated in many countries, to disclose board and executive remuneration on an individual basis, including termination and retirement provisions.

The Revised Corporation Code of the Philippines (RCCP) is actually fascinated with the principle of disclosing the compensation received by each director or trustee on an annual basis, and provides for such obligation in three distinct sections, thus:

(a) SECTION 29: Requires that corporations vested with public interests “shall submit to their shareholders and the [SEC] an annual report of the total compensation of each of their directors or trustees;”

(b) SECTION 49: Makes it a mandate for all corporations, not just those vested with public interests, to present to the shareholders or members at the annual meeting, a director or trustee compensation report; and

(c) SECTION 177: Reiterates the obligation of corporations vested with public interests to submit to the SEC a director or trustee compensation report, and adds in addition the submission of “A director or trustees appraisal or performance report and the standards or criteria used to assess each of director or trustee” an obligation to report to the SEC directors’ or trustees’ compensation.

In addition, Section 177 provides that the SEC may place the corporation under delinquent status in case of failure to submit the reportorial requirements three times, consecutively or intermittently, within a period of five years.

Finally, Section 161 imposes a criminal penalty of a fine for the “unjustified failure or refusal by the corporation, or by those responsible for keeping and maintaining corporate records, to comply with” Section 177 of the RCCP.

CG PRINCIPLES OF ‘ACCOUNTABILITY’ AND ‘RESPONSIBILITY’: ASSESSMENT OF THE PERFORMANCE OF DIRECTORS OR TRUSTEES
Principle 6 of the CG Code for PLCs expresses the CG principles of responsibility and accountability by providing that the best measure of the Board’s effectiveness is through an assessment process, thus: “The best measure of the Board’s effectiveness is through an assessment process. The Board should regularly carry out evaluations to appraise its performance as a body, and assess whether it possesses the right mix of backgrounds and competencies.”

Recommendation 6.1 of the CG Code for PLCs recommends that the Board should conduct every three years an annual self-assessment of its performance, including the performance of the Chairperson, individual members and committees, which assessment should be supported by an external facilitator.

Recommendation 6.2 provides that the Board should have in place a system that provides, at the minimum, criteria and processes to determine the performance of the Board, the individual directors, committees, and that such a system should allow for a feedback mechanism from the shareholders.

The RCCP now mandates a system of individual appraisal of directors or trustees in the following manners:

(a) SECTION 49: Provides that at the annual meeting of shareholders or members of all corporations, not just those vested with public interests, the Board of Directors shall endeavor to present to shareholders or members, among others, “(h) Appraisals and performance reports for the board and the criteria and procedure for assessment;” and,

(b) SECTION 177: Provides that corporations vested with public interests must also submit on an annual basis to the SEC, in addition to the GIS and the Audited Financial Statements, “(2) A director or trustee appraisal or performance report and the standards or criteria used to assess each director or trustee.”

In addition, Section 177 provides that the SEC may place the corporation under delinquent status in case of failure to submit the reportorial requirements three times, consecutively or intermittently, within a period of five years.

Finally, Section 161 of the RCCP imposes a criminal penalty of fine the “unjustified failure or refusal by the corporation, or by those responsible for keeping and maintaining corporate records, to comply with” Section 177.

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

 

Attorney Cesar L. Villanueva is Chair of the MAP Corporate Governance Committee, Trustee of Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD), was the first Chair of Governance Commission for GOCCs (August 2011 to June 2016), was Dean of the Ateneo Law School (2004 to 2011), is author of The Law and Practice in Philippine Corporate Governance and the National Book Board Award-winning Profession, and Founding Partner of Villanueva Gabionza & Dy Law Offices.

map@map.org.ph

cvillanueva@vgslaw.com

http://map.org.ph

Can digital cash make inflation worse?

FREEPIK

INFLATION is coming. Or wait, it’s already here. Bond investors are looking at the 4.2% annual rate that US consumer prices jumped to in April and wondering if it’s all because of depressed levels from last year. Could it be that the Federal Reserve is wrong about higher prices being transitory?

In that case, the Fed and other central banks may have to rethink, among other things, their space-race-type competition to offer digital cash.

It’s a project best undertaken after price pressures have eased, and the vast pools of excess liquidity to fill the gaping economic hole left by the pandemic have dried. A premature contest to introduce a digital yuan, digital euro, FedCoin, or BritCoin could see them emerge as widely accepted substitutes, not only for physical cash but for bank reserves. Tackling inflation could then get harder.

To see why, consider the typical response to unexpected inflation from a monetary authority that has done a lot of quantitative easing. It has to taper its bloated balance sheet by selling some government and corporate bonds to the banking sector, draining the excess reserves they’re keeping with the central bank. Less liquid lenders would, in turn, sell loan assets. Tighter monetary conditions would tame inflation.

Now, think of a twist in this standard playbook: You and I are free to convert the funds in our bank accounts into electronic cash issued directly by a monetary authority. Commercial institutions lose our deposits, but if they aren’t bothered about becoming a little less liquid, they won’t sell income-earning loan assets to compensate. Instead, they may shed another asset to balance their books: their idle cash with the central bank.

The monetary authority now owes a little less to commercial banks, and a little more to us. The size of its balance sheet hasn’t changed, and the tapering it wanted to achieve by selling bonds to the private sector hasn’t occurred. Digital cash “renders the current asset-purchase programs quasi-permanent, as reversing such programs becomes harder to implement,” says a recent study by researchers at the Swiss Finance Institute.

Central banks in China and Sweden have fairly advanced plans to introduce currencies in electronic form for retail use. Other major economics are toying with the idea or conducting experiments. None that I know of foresees digital cash to replace bank reserves.

The immediate goal of national authorities is to tamp down the cryptocurrency mania by giving citizens a safe, sovereign alternative to Bitcoin — something that Elon Musk can’t refuse to accept as payment for a Tesla. For China and the US, though, the motivation behind launching digital cash extends to challenging — and defending — the outsize role of the US dollar in the global economy.

Whatever their reasons to offer electronic currencies, the return of global inflation shows that caution is warranted. Record low yields on junk bonds is one indicator of the surplus cash floating around. Global liquidity has risen by $32 trillion over the past year, equivalent to more than a third of world output, according to London-based Crossborder Capital Ltd., which estimates that another $15 trillion is slated through the end of 2021. In its quest to maximize profit, a part of the commercial lending system could easily jettison the parachute of sticky retail deposits — allowing them to turn into digital cash — without selling risky assets. The pursuit of profit by sacrificing liquidity usually ends with socialization of losses: expensive, taxpayer-funded bank rescues.

The trajectory and persistence of inflation needs a close watch. Maybe the combination of aggressive fiscal stimulus and generous monetary easing has managed to release the price genie out of the bottle — something that quantitative easing alone couldn’t do after the 2008 financial crisis. If that is indeed what we’re witnessing, then monetary authorities should hope that public reception to digital cash remains like it is in China’s pilots right now: lukewarm. Anything hotter would be risky.

BLOOMBERG OPINION

GDP contraction, government overspending, and non-green recovery

In 2020, the Philippines was the worst performing economy in Asia with a 9.6% GDP contraction. Nine East Asian economies reported their First Quarter (Q1) 2021 GDP as of this writing, and the Philippines is again the worst performing: China’s Q1 2021 GDP is 18.3%, Taiwan’s is 8.2%, Hong Kong’s 7.8%, Vietnam’s 4.5%, South Korea’s 1.8%, Singapore’s 0.2%, Malaysia’s -0.5%, Indonesia’s -0.7%, and the Philippines’s -4.2%.

There are many proposals that are supposedly meant to help the Philippines recover faster. For this piece, I will deal with two of those proposals: 1.) government spending must expand, and, 2.) there should be “green path” to recovery.

Among the Opinion pieces here in BusinessWorld arguing for (1) is “Why we need extraordinary government spending” (by Men Sta. Ana, May 16) and arguing for (2) is “How to ensure a green recovery from the pandemic” (by Nazrin Camille D. Castro, April 27).

Both arguments are wrong and not based on hard facts.

For (1), it has been done — government spending grew double-digits in 2020 and Q1 2021 but this was not enough, or government may have worsened contraction in household spending and private investments because these two constitute the largest portions of GDP (see Table 1).

Spain and the UK also did (1), their budget balance as percentage of GDP expanded four to six times: for Spain, -2.9% in 2019 to -11.5% in 2020, and for the UK, -2.3% in 2019 to -13.4% in 2020. And yet they are the worst performing countries among the world’s top 50 largest economies in 2020: Spain’s GDP was -11.0% and the UK’s GDP was -9.9% (see https://www.bworldonline.com/10-reasons-to-lift-the-lockdown/, April 26).

There is a close positive relationship between power generation and GDP growth, so if we want to propel faster and sustained economic recovery, our electricity production and power supply should rise more at competitive and cheaper prices. In Table 2, I divided the selected countries (all belong to the top 50 largest economies in the world) into group A, Europe; group B, North and South America’s largest economies, and group C, major East Asian economies.

Table 2 shows two important trends:

One, as experienced by many countries, as the percent change in power generation declines from the 2000s to 2010s, average GDP growth also declines.

Two, European economies with low and anemic growth have a high share of wind-solar over total power generation. Conversely, Asian economies with fast growth have a low share of wind solar over total power generation.

The Philippines needs to prioritize more growth and economic dynamism, more businesses and job creation, and this is possible only with more fossil fuel use, not less. Or use nuclear power but many people are still scared of it.

Efforts to attain “net zero” carbon emission by 2050 or 2040 for the Philippines will be counter-productive and poverty expanding, not reducing. As of 2020, wind + solar + biomass combined contributed only 3.5% of total electricity generation. Geothermal + hydro contributed 17.7% of the total. So, the total RE share is 21.2% of total electricity generation. To demand that this should rise to 100% by 2050 is unrealistic and irrational.

Concerns about climate change is understandable but climate change is natural (nature made), not man-made. It is cyclical (warming-cooling) and not “unprecedented, unequivocal warming” since the planet Earth was born about 4.6 billion years ago. We do not “fight” what is naturally and cyclically occurring and, in the process, condemn our economy and people to perennial poverty.

 

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

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

Filipino Louie Sangalang proving worth on ONE’s The Apprentice

FILIPINO LOUIE SANGALANG has been impressive on The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition with his business acumen and toughness in the physical challenges, allowing him to be a consistent contestant of note in the program. — ONE CHAMPIONSHIP

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

THE ONE Championship edition of The Apprentice is nearing the homestretch and one of the candidates proving his worth and flourishing is Louie Sangalang from the Philippines.

As of this writing, Mr. Sangalang, 43, is the only male candidate left standing and one of five contestants still in the running for the $250,000 job offer to be the protégé of ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong and his chief of staff at the ONE Championship Global Headquarters in Singapore.

The former mixed martial arts fighter and corporate executive has been impressive with his business acumen and toughness in the physical challenges, allowing him to be a consistent contestant of note on the program.

In a recent media availability with Filipino sports journalists, Mr. Sangalang shared that finding the right balance and taking things as they come have been serving him well up to this point.

“I didn’t really have a game plan coming into the competition because I didn’t know what to expect. So my preparation was quite simple: I told myself that I’m just going to be my best professional self and practice mental toughness, then I will adapt to the situation along the way,” said Mr. Sangalang, who also made a mark as the first Filipino cancer survivor to finish the North Pole Marathon.

As further proof of his consistency, of all the 16 candidates in the show he is the only one who has stayed undefeated as a project manager.

It is the same course he wants to stay in all the way to the end.

He went to say that the competition gets only tougher as it moves to the finish and that each and every one of them still in the mix are deserving to win.

But he is confident of what he can bring to the table and reiterated that he is out to win it all.

“What matters is proving one’s self. Chatri found strong characteristics and abilities in each one of us. So it doesn’t matter whether you’re male or female. We’re here and there’s a reason why we’re here. Probably, Chatri sees some greatness in us that he believes he can unlock once he chooses ‘the one,’” he said.

“From my end, my mind-set is when you’re part of something, you have to make yourself valuable. Make your mark, show that you bring value.”

Apart from Mr. Sangalang, still in contention in The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition are Irina Chadsey of Russia, Jessica Ramella of Venezuela, Minca Millington of the United States, and Paulina Purnomowati of Indonesia.

The Apprentice: ONE Championship Edition is hosted by Mr. Sityodong, who has an estimated net worth of $350 million. It can be seen in the Philippines every Thursday on AXN at 8:50 p.m. and on Mondays on One Sport at 9 p.m.

Utah Jazz top Sacramento Kings to finish with best record in NBA

JORDAN Clarkson scored 33 points and made six 3-pointers and Bojan Bogdanović added 18 to lead the Utah Jazz to a 121-99 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday night.

Rudy Gobert added 13 points and 16 rebounds. Mike Conley chipped in 11 points, nine assists, and six rebounds. Utah (52-20) clinched the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs after finishing with the league’s best regular-season record.

Terence Davis scored 20 points to lead the Kings. Damian Jones chipped in 19 points. Buddy Hield added 13 points, nine assists and seven rebounds for Sacramento.

The Kings (31-41) rested several key players in their final game of the season. De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Harrison Barnes, Marvin Bagley III and Richaun Holmes were all the sidelines but being short-handed did not faze Sacramento early in the game.

Utah played sloppy to start the first quarter. The Jazz had six turnovers compared to only five baskets in the game’s first nine minutes.

Sacramento took advantage, ripping off an 11-0 run to stake an 11-5 lead. Delon Wright assisted a basket to start the run and capped it off with a 3-pointer. Utah climbed back to within a point on a 3-point play from Clarkson. The Kings answered with a 14-3 run — highlighted by three straight baskets from Davis — to extend their lead to 25-13.

Clarkson helped Utah erase the deficit before the first quarter ended. The Jazz scored on six straight possessions to mount a 15-0 run. Clarkson scored three baskets to help Utah reclaim a 28-25 lead going into the second quarter.

The Kings struggled to keep pace as the second quarter progressed. After Sacramento trimmed Utah’s lead to 50-45 on back-to-back baskets from Wright and Jahmi’us Ramsey, the Jazz closed the half on a 14-4 run to take a 64-49 lead. Conley scored a pair of baskets and assisted another to fuel the run.

Utah put the game out of reach after opening the third quarter with a 20-6 run. Clarkson capped the run with a pair of 3-pointers that gave the Jazz an 84-55 lead.

WARRIORS
Stephen Curry scored a game-high 46 points en route to his second NBA scoring title and Jordan Poole stalled a rally with a late 3-pointer Sunday afternoon as the Golden State Warriors held off the visiting Memphis Grizzlies in San Francisco for a 113-101 win to claim the No. 8 position in this week’s play-in tournament. — Reuters

Gilas continues to build legs for tough international competitions

THE GILAS PILIPINAS men’s team made up of cadets is hard in training at the INSPIRE Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna, and is excited to plunge into action and represent the country. — INSPIRE SPORTS ACADEMY FB PAGE

THE Gilas Pilipinas men’s team continues with its preparation for two tough international competitions slated for the middle of this year.

This was shared by Ryan Gregorio, assistant to the president of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP), in his session on The Chasedown television program on Saturday, saying all members of the pool are cooperating to have the possible representation for the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers and the Olympic Qualifying Tournament next month.

The team made up of Gilas cadets is hard in training at the INSPIRE Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna, and is excited to plunge into action and represent the country.

“They have been in the bubble for three to four weeks already,” said Mr. Gregorio. “They temporarily broke camp for the players to be reenergized but they are to reenter in five days’ time and resume training on May 22.”

Upon return, the team is expected to pick up their training further before entering the “bubble” tournament for the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Cup Qualifiers in Clark, Pampanga, on June 13.

The nationals are to compete in the third and final window of the qualifiers set for June 16 to 20 where they will seek to formalize their entry into the FIBA Asia Cup in their games versus Korea (June 16 and 20) and Indonesia (June 18).

Gilas currently leads Group A with an unblemished 3-0 record, followed by Korea (2-0), Indonesia (1-2) and Thailand (0-4).

After the Asia Cup Qualifiers, the national team then competes in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Serbia from June 29 to July 4.

The Philippines plays in Group A along with the Dominican Republic and Serbia. Group B, meanwhile, has Puerto Rico, Italy, and Senegal. One Olympic spot is up for grabs in the tournament.

Part of the Gilas player pool are Matt Nieto, Mike Nieto, Isaac Go, Dwight Ramos, Rey Suerte, Jordan Heading, William Navarro, Tzaddy Rangel Jaydee Tungcab, Kemark Carino, Javi Gomez de Liaño, Dave Ildefonso, SJ Belangel, RJ Abarrientos, Carl Tamayo, Justine Baltazar, Jason Credo, Geo Chiu, Lebron Lopez, and naturalized player candidate Angelo Kouame.

The pool is training under the guidance of Gilas Pilipinas program director Tab Baldwin, and coaches Jong Uichico, Sandy Arespacochaga, Boyet Fernandez, Caloy Garcia, Alton Lister, Sandro Soriano and Dex Aseron.

Mr. Gregorio said they appreciate the sacrifice the players and coaches are giving to be part of the team and their cooperation to what the SBP is putting in to make its program “sustainable.”

As to the federation’s preparation for hosting the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers here, the SBP official said the process is ongoing despite the challenges presented by the pandemic.

“The SBP is trying to make sure everything is cleared for the hosting. Duties have been deputized for proper coordination. We are in the process of asking for needed documentation from the federations who will compete here. It has been challenging because of the pandemic, but we are confident of having it done,” he said.

They are also appreciative of the approval they got from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to proceed with the qualifiers, which were set to take place initially in February but had to be canceled because of the emergence of new variants of the coronavirus.

Aside from Group A, the Clark bubble will also host games in Groups B and C. All the matches will be played behind closed doors as part of health and safety protocols. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Pagadian Explorers and Iligan Archangels look to make waves in VisMin Super Cup Mindanao leg

ILIGAN Archangels homegrown players

TEAMS from Pagadian and Iligan are girding for their respective campaigns in the soon-to-start Mindanao leg of regional basketball league VisMin Super Cup.

Pagadian, which will parade a team known as the Explorers, will make its return to regional basketball competition after a decade while Iligan pins its tournament bid on homegrown talents collectively known as the Archangels.

The Explorers were one-time finalists in the National Basketball Conference before competing in Liga Pilipinas during the late 2000s.

They are seeking to have the same success now in the VisMin Cup in reviving the team.

“Before, we already had a team. I don’t know what happened because I was out of politics for six years. Right now, I have another first term and I made sure to revive a team,” said Pagadian mayor Sammy Co of the decision to assemble another squad.

He said they hope the team would serve as an inspiration for their citizens, especially the youth, to keep themselves active and healthy and stay away from drugs.

Through the league also, they want to promote Pagadian City and showcase what the place has to offer.

Bannering the Explorers is 6-foot-6 Mark Benitez, who previously played for Rizal-Xentro Mall during the 2019-21 Chooks-to-Go Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Lakan Cup.

Head coach is Harold Sta. Cruz while team manager is Dodong Pamaran.

HOMEGROWNS
Meanwhile, Iligan will boast 12 natives out of 13 players in its roster.

According to team manager Amador Baller, Mayor Celso Regencia made sure to have an all-homegrown squad so that the province’s youth will be able to relate with the team.

“Iligan is very active in sports. It’s part of our campaigns here that will encourage the youth to get into sports and not into drugs,” said Mr. Baller, who is also the sports coordinator for the province.

Headlining the team is 6-foot-2 swingman Jericho Montecalvo, who at just 20 years old will be the youngest player in the competition.

“We expect them to perform well in the upcoming tournament,” said Mr. Baller. “Some of our players played in the MPBL while others are varsity players in known universities. Almost the entire team is from Iligan. We got them so that the kids will look up to them.”

The VisMin Super Cup Mindanao leg will kick off on May 30 with Chooks-to-Go as presenting partner. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Sports infrastructure focus of PSC online national summit on May 19

SPORTS infrastructure takes center stage in the 14th session of the online Philippine Sports Commission national summit on May 19. — JUDGEFLORO

SPORTS infrastructure takes center stage in the 14th session of the online Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) national summit on May 19.

Multi-awarded architect Gerard Lico leads the discussion which will explore sports infrastructure, providing an overview of different facilities in the country.

University of the Philippines professor Lico led the team behind the renovation of the historical Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.

He is also behind notable works on Philippine architecture and cultural studies such as Edifice Complex: Power, Myth, and Marcos State Architecture (2003) and Arkitekturang Filipino: A History of Architecture and Urbanism in the Philippines (2008).

For the PSC, the talk on sports infrastructure is an important component in what it wants to achieve with the online summit.

“We are elated for the chance given to us by Dr. Lico to share his breadth of knowledge and skills to our summit stakeholders on this important topic. The improvement of sports facilities has always been part of the goal to provide a better sporting experience to our countrymen,” said PSC Chairman William Ramirez in a statement.

The online PSC summit is aimed at taking insights of different sports stakeholders and using them 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

Nadal downs Djokovic in Rome final

RAFA Nadal warmed up for the French Open with a battling (7-5, 1-6, 6-3) win over world number one Novak Djokovic as the Spaniard claimed a record-extending 10th Italian Open title in Rome on Sunday in the latest chapter of their rivalry.

After a mid-match wobble, Nadal turned up the heat in the decisive moments of his 57th meeting with top seed Djokovic — the pair’s ninth in Rome — to secure the victory over the defending champion in two hours and 49 minutes.

Nadal broke to go ahead 6-5 in a tight opening set and staved off a late comeback attempt from Djokovic to take the early advantage in the contest with a searing inside-out forehand that caught the Serbian off guard.

Second seed Nadal then saved two break points at 2-2 in the decider and fired an emphatic shot down the line to hold, before switching gears to complete the win and match Djokovic’s record of 36 ATP Masters 1000 titles. — Reuters

MLB roundup: Ohtani’s late homer lifts Angels

SHOHEI Ohtani’s two-run homer off Matt Barnes with two outs in the ninth inning lifted the Los Angeles Angels to a 6-5 win over host Boston on Sunday, preventing the Red Sox from completing a three-game sweep.

The Red Sox were one out away from getting that sweep when Mike Trout stepped to the plate to face Barnes (1-1), who entered the game 9-for-9 in save opportunities.

Trout, who was 0-for-15 on the trip and hitless in his last 18 at-bats overall, blooped a single into shallow right center field.

Barnes’ first pitch to Ohtani was a 96 mph fastball that the slugger wrapped around the right field foul pole for his 12th homer of the season.

ORIOLES 10, YANKEES 6
Ryan Mountcastle finished with four RBIs, Maikel Franco hit a two-run homer and drove in three, and pitcher Bruce Zimmermann gave Baltimore solid long relief as the host Orioles rallied to beat New York.

Zimmermann (2-3) shut down the Yankees after they scored four runs in the first off starter Adam Plutko. He came on in the second and allowed one run on two hits in 5 2/3 innings. Zimmermann struck out six and walked one.

Aaron Judge also homered, his fourth of the series, but the Yankees could not hold onto the big lead. Reliever Michael King (0-1) took the loss after giving up a run on two hits in two innings of work.

ATHLETICS 7, TWINS 6
Ramon Laureano scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the ninth inning as Oakland edged Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Matt Chapman went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and Matt Olson, Mark Canha and Sean Murphy each had two hits for Oakland, which took two out of three in the series. Lou Trivino (2-1) worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win.

Max Kepler homered, doubled and drove in four runs, Andrelton Simmons belted a two-run homer and Trevor Larnach had three hits and scored a run for Minnesota. Taylor Rogers (0-2) was saddled with the loss.

MARINERS 3, INDIANS 2
Seven Seattle relievers combined to scatter seven hits and allow one earned run as the host Mariners beat ace Shane Bieber and Cleveland.

Bieber (4-3), the American League’s reigning Cy Young Award winner, had his major league-record streak of 20 consecutive starts with at least eight strikeouts snapped, as he fanned seven in 4 2/3 innings while giving up three runs on five hits with four walks. Bieber also had a streak of 40 straight appearances pitching five or more innings come to an end.

Paul Sewald (1-0), making his Mariners debut, got the victory with two scoreless innings of relief of fellow right-hander Robert Dugger, who didn’t allow a hit over the first three innings.

ASTROS 6, RANGERS 2
Chas McCormick produced a two-run single as part of a four-run eighth inning and Houston capped a four-game series sweep of visiting Texas with a win.

The Astros loaded the bases with one out against Rangers reliever Joely Rodriguez (1-2) before Yuli Gurriel snapped a 2-2 tie with a sacrifice fly that scored Jose Altuve, who singled twice and extended his hitting streak to 11 games.

Rangers right-hander Kyle Gibson produced his eighth consecutive quality start, limiting the Astros to two runs on four hits — all singles — and two walks with three strikeouts over seven innings.

RAYS 7, METS 1
Manuel Margot and Willy Adames belted two-run homers, starter Josh Fleming fired five shutout innings and Tampa Bay swept New York in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Rays’ series sweep of the National League East club pushed their winning streak to four and lifted them to four games over .500 for the first time this season.

In his season debut after arthroscopic knee surgery in March, Tampa Bay’s Ji-Man Choi started at first base and went 3-for-4 with an RBI double. Margot capped his 2-for-4 day by plating Choi with the final run on an eighth-inning single. Brandon Lowe also homered and scored twice.

NATIONALS 3, DIAMONDBACKS 0
Erick Fedde shut out Arizona through seven innings and pinch hitter Yadiel Hernandez’s home run started a three-run rally in the eighth in Washington’s win at Phoenix.

Fedde (3-4) allowed only three hits and had four strikeouts and two walks as Washington finished the three-game series at Arizona with two wins. The Nationals have won three of their last four but only four of their last 12. The Diamondbacks are 4-11 in their past 15 games.

Closer Brad Hand picked up his fourth save in six chances. Hernandez pinch-hit for Fedde to lead off the eighth and broke the scoreless tie with his second home run of the season, a solo shot off reliever Stefan Crichton (0-1). Arizona right-hander Luke Weaver left after four innings due to right shoulder discomfort. He allowed just one hit, struck out three and walked two.

BREWERS 10, BRAVES 9
Starting pitcher Freddy Peralta gave host Milwaukee a terrific performance as it avoided a sweep by holding off Atlanta.

Milwaukee, which had lost its previous three games, had an 8-0 lead before lifting Peralta for the seventh. Atlanta put up seven in the inning but fell short of completing the rally.

Atlanta did not get its first hit off Peralta until Austin Riley singled to left with one out in the top of the fifth.

GIANTS 4, PIRATES 1
Alex Wood allowed one run and struck out six over six innings to improve to 5-0 as San Francisco earned a four-game series split with a victory at Pittsburgh.

Buster Posey had three hits, Mike Yastrzemski belted a two-run homer and three relievers held Pittsburgh batters without a hit as the Giants bounced back from dropping the previous two games of the set in walk-off fashion.

Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller (2-5) yielded two runs on six hits and three walks, striking out eight, over five innings. Adam Frazier and Erik Gonzalez each had two hits for the Pirates, who were trying to match a season high with a third consecutive win.

REDS 7, ROCKIES 6
Shogo Akiyama had a career-high three hits as Cincinnati rallied with six runs over the final two innings to beat host Colorado in Denver.

Sean Doolittle (3-0) pitched the eighth inning for the win and Tejay Antone worked out of a jam in the ninth to pick up his second save. Reds reliever Amir Garrett pitched the sixth inning in his first appearance after serving a five-game suspension.

After scoring four runs in the eighth, the Reds trailed by a run to start the ninth but rallied. Mychal Givens (1-2) loaded the bases with two outs, and a passed ball allowed Tucker Barnhart to score to tie it. Eugenio Suarez walked to reload the bases and Nick Senzel scored on a wild pitch to give Cincinnati the lead.

BLUE JAYS 10, PHILLIES 8
Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette opened the bottom of the first inning with home runs and Toronto went on to defeat visiting Philadelphia at Dunedin, Florida.

Semien added two doubles and had three RBIs in a sloppy rubber match of a three-game series. Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. homered for the third straight game and had an RBI double in a three-hit game.

Nick Maton had four RBIs with two solo homers and a two-run single for the Phillies. Andrew McCutchen added a solo homer.

WHITE SOX 4, ROYALS 3
Jose Abreu scored the winning run on a Wade Davis wild pitch and Tim Anderson had three hits as host Chicago rallied with two runs in the ninth to salvage a four-game split with Kansas City.

Anderson started the rally by opening the ninth with a ground-rule double. Anderson scored on a Yoan Moncada single, but Moncada was thrown out moments before Abreu’s heroics as Whit Merrifield corralled a Yermin Mercedes single to nab Moncada at the plate for the second out of the inning.

Royals catcher Cam Gallagher dived across the plate after collecting Davis’ wild pitch, but Abreu, who had two hits, narrowly eluded the tag. The call was upheld following subsequent replay review.

CUBS 5, TIGERS 1
Kyle Hendricks tossed eight-plus strong innings and Ian Happ homered to lift visiting Chicago past Detroit.

Hendricks (3-4) scattered eight hits and walked none while striking out a season-high eight batters.

Happ had three hits, scored twice and knocked in two more runs. Matt Duffy also scored two runs and David Bote added an RBI double for the Cubs, who won two contests of the three-game series.

MARLINS 3, DODGERS 2
Adam Duvall hit a three-run home run and also threw out a runner at home plate from right field as Miami avoided a three-game sweep with a victory over host Los Angeles.

Pablo Lopez gave up two runs over five innings for the Marlins, while the bullpen polished off the victory with four scoreless innings to end a run where Miami lost six of eight games.

Austin Barnes and Mookie Betts drove in runs for the Dodgers, although Betts was thrown out at home plate in the fifth inning by Duvall after he tried to score on a Matt Beaty single. The Dodgers saw their four-game winning streak come to an end.

PADRES 5, CARDINALS 3
San Diego scored four runs in the fourth with only two singles and defeated visiting St. Louis to complete its first three-game sweep of the Cardinals since 2012.

An error by Cardinals’ Gold Glove third baseman Nolan Arenado triggered the winning rally and left-handed St. Louis starter Kwang Hyun Kim (1-1) issued three walks in the inning, including back-to-back, bases-loaded RBI free passes.

The Padres, who played the series with four starters on the injured list due to COVID-19 protocols, drew 26 walks from Cardinals pitchers in the three games, with 10 of those scoring, including three Sunday. — Reuters

PSG cling on to title hopes as leaders Lille held

PARIS — Paris St.-Germain clung on to their hopes of winning a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title with a 4-0 home win against 10-man Stade de Reims as Lille’s lead was cut to a single point with one game remaining on Sunday.

As PSG cruised to a routine victory, Lille, who have 80 points, were held to a goalless draw by mid-table St.-Étienne and now need a win at Angers in the final round to guarantee them a first title since 2011.

Monaco stayed third on 77 points, one win away from guaranteeing a Champions League spot, as goals by Wissam Ben Yedder and Aleksandr Golovin earned them a 2-1 home victory against Stade Rennais.

They lead fourth-placed Olympique Lyonnais, in the first of two Europa League spots, by one point after Rudi Garcia’s team secured a 5-2 win at Nimes thanks to a double by Lucas Paqueta and goals by Memphis Depay, Houssem Aouar and Islam Slimani.

Second-from-bottom Nimes were relegated to Ligue 2.

Six teams — Reims, Bordeaux, Racing Strasbourg, Brest, Lorient and Nantes — are separated by two points and will battle to avoid finishing 18th, which would mean taking part in a relegation playoff.

Olympique Marseille, on 59 points, occupy the other Europa League spot in fifth place as Arkadiusz Milik’s hat trick gave them a 3-2 win against Angers, while RC Lens (56) are sixth following a 3-0 loss at Girondins de Bordeaux.

At the Parc des Princes, PSG were never troubled by a Reims side who played most of the game with 10 men in a warm-up before Wednesday’s French Cup final against Monaco.

Neymar converted a penalty in the 13th minute after Yunis Abdelhamid handled the ball in the area and picked up a straight red card in the process.

Kylian Mbappe doubled the advantage in the 24th, firing home from a terrible clearance by Thomas Foket.

Marquinhos added a third with a downward header on 68 minutes and Moise Kean netted a fourth from just inside the box.

“We saw that today, Liverpool’s keeper (Alisson Becker) scored a last-minute goal, so anything is still possible,” said PSG midfielder Ander Herrera.

Lille lacked inspiration against a sturdy St.-Étienne side and missed out on securing a victory that would have allowed them to head into the final round needing only a draw when Yusuf Yazici’s free kick crashed onto the far post in the last minute.

“The way St.-Étienne played today, I had never seen them play like this but it is what it is, it was up to us to be better,” said Lille captain Jose Fonte.

“We’re now going to focus on next Sunday to win that final.” — Reuters

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