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BIR ready to conduct transfer pricing audits

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has signaled that it will conduct transfer pricing audits with the promulgation of its Transfer Pricing Audit Guidelines under Revenue Audit Memorandum Order (RAMO) No. 1-2019. The Transfer Pricing Guidelines were issued in 2013 through Revenue Regulations (RR) No. 2-2013.

What can taxpayers expect?

A transfer pricing audit, like any other audit, is definitely not a welcome development for taxpayers. However, we are aware that we will come face to face with this progression sooner or later, and sooner here it comes. It would be best to view it on a positive note and to respond to the certainty by taking appropriate actions and decisions.

RAMO No. 1-2019 provides standardized audit procedures and techniques in auditing taxpayers with related party or intra-firm transactions to ensure a quality audit. While the RAMO is primarily a manual for BIR officers, taxpayers can take valuable insights into and guidance on how to prepare for the audit and avoid transfer pricing adjustments. If commenced at the time the taxpayer gets an audit notification, some preparations require significant lead time which may not be possible to put together within the deadline. The first notice to give information about related party transactions provides a five-day period to comply.

Who are covered and what will be the scope of the audit?

The guidelines will apply to controlled transactions or transactions between related parties where at least one party is taxable in the Philippines. It will cover the sale, purchase, transfer and utilization of tangible and intangible assets, provision of intra-group services, interest payments, and capitalization.

A Philippine branch of a foreign corporation will be treated as a separate entity from its head office for tax purposes. Hence, the transactions of the branch with its head office, as well as with other branches or subsidiaries in the group, shall also be subject to transfer pricing rules.

The BIR has not yet provided thresholds on the extent of control necessary to be covered by the rules. At the most, RAMO No. 1-2019 suggests that companies with shareholders owning more than 25% of the equity or those with related party transactions that are more than 20 percent of the relevant threshold are not deemed independent and should be rejected as comparables for benchmarking.

How will the audit be conducted?

The transfer pricing audit will be governed by the same rules of regular audits. A Letter of Authority (LoA) will also be served. The request for documents can include the following, among others:

a. information about the related party transactions;

b. segmented financial statements;

c. functions, assets, and risks (FAR) analysis;

d. characteristics of the business;

e. comparability analysis;

f. transfer pricing method used;

g. comparables used in applying the arm’s length principle;

h. determination of the fair prices/profits in the related party transactions.

Most information is part of the transfer pricing documentation prescribed in RR No. 2-2013. Other documents and information, including contracts, can be requested in the course of the audit.

Revenue officers are tasked to prepare for the audit by studying the available documents, conducting research, and discussing with the taxpayer to identify issues on which the audit can be focused.

The audit implementation phase involves three major activities: understanding the characteristics of the business and the transactions, selection of the transfer pricing method, and application of the arm’s-length principle.

As in a regular audit, revenue officers will report on their audit, which will include a critique of the taxpayer’s methodology, their analysis, and a determination of the appropriate arm’s-length price based on their analysis.

If the revenue officers find that the price or margin in the controlled transaction is not in accordance with the arm’s-length principle, they will propose an adjustment by imputing the arm’s-length price, margin, or interest rate. For sales of goods and services, adjustments will be proposed if the consideration received is less than the arm’s-length price or if there is no fee charged. For purchases of goods and services, an adjustment will be necessary if the price or fee is deemed excessive.

The revenue officers will discuss their findings and confirm with the taxpayer their agreement with the facts and the issues identified. This phase could be the Notice of Informal Conference (NIC) stage.

Thereafter, the audit should proceed pursuant to the regular rules, including on the remedies available to the taxpayers.

The manual does not mention the penalties applicable on the adjustments. These should, therefore be governed by the general audit rules.

In RAMO No. 1-2019, there are mentions that corresponding adjustments can be requested by the other party to the transaction, referred to as secondary adjustments. For example, an excessive transfer price was disallowance: the RAMO suggests that the seller-affiliate can request to reduce its revenue and, correspondingly, its income tax liability, based on applicable tax regulations. This should be explored by the affected taxpayers operating in the country so that the transfer pricing adjustments can be neutral.

The manual describes in greater detail the transfer pricing methods, their applicability on different types of transactions, the comparability factors that must be considered in selecting comparable companies for benchmarking, and the adjustments that can be adopted to increase the comparability if there are differences that may affect the price or profit. It also provides guidance on when transactions should be tested individually or evaluated as combined transactions.

Other than the purchase and sale of goods and services, the manual devoted separate chapters on the following special topics: business restructuring, intra-group services, intangible assets, cost-contribution arrangements, and intra-group loan transactions.

Business restructurings where profits are reduced can be accepted only if there were corresponding reductions in the FAR. An independent party would not restructure its business to its disadvantage.

For intra-group services, such as the provision of management, administrative, technical, commercial, and other support services to the group, the manual highlights the need to evaluate that the services have actually been performed and provided economic benefits to client affiliates. Comprehensive guidance is provided in determining the arm’s-length charge under different circumstances.

Companies that are incurring losses need to establish that the losses are commercial in nature or a result of valid business strategies. Documentation is best maintained to establish non-transfer pricing factors that contributed to the losses.

After the BIR issued the transfer pricing guidelines in 2013, Philippine taxpayers have started to prepare for a possible transfer pricing audit. However, the lack of guidelines and certainty on how the audits will be conducted have somehow put transfer pricing concerns on the sidelines for some companies, considering the many other tax compliance requirements and minding the core business. With the certainty that audit notices may be coming, it is good to place transfer pricing concerns front and center. Once standard compliance is established, routine updating will be easier and the company can be confident that it can face and challenge a transfer pricing audit.

Let’s Talk Tax is a weekly newspaper column of P&A Grant Thornton that aims to keep the public informed of various developments in taxation. This article is not intended to be a substitute for competent professional advice.

 

Lina P. Figueroa is a principal of Tax Advisory & Compliance division of P&A Grant Thornton, the Philippine member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd.

pagrantthornton@ph.gt.com

Remember, remember, the 9th of September: Zamboanga Siege through the lens of transitional justice

It has been six years since the Zamboanga Siege took place on Sept. 9, 2016. It was an armed incursion into Zamboanga City led by a faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) loyal to Nur Misuari. Fighting ensued between the MNLF and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

NO COMING BACK HOME
The siege ended on the 28th of September, only 19 days after it began. But in the process, several barangays and hundreds of thousands of civilians were affected. According to a publication of the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCR) entitled “Zamboanga City: Five years after the Siege,” at the start of the siege, “a total of 119,714 individuals (23,794 families) were displaced” and of this number, 28,976 individuals (5,881 families) took temporary shelter with their relatives or relatives — locally referred to as “home-based internally displaced persons (IDPs)” while “another 90,738 individuals (17,913 families) sought refuge in 70 evacuation centers in different locations in the city.”

Those who were displaced sought temporary refuge at the San Joaquin Grandstand and Cawa-Cawa Boulevard. According to the UNHCR study, in 2018, 216 families were still in transitory sites (TS), with only a few having benefitted from receiving permanent resettlement with concrete houses, and quite a number still considering themselves as IDPs where their resilience was a matter of the imperative to survive.

As of last year, 6,343 houses were constructed: 1,856 on land and 4,487 on stilts; 1,439 of the houses on land were either awarded or turned over and 3,538 of the houses on stilts had the same status. Only “tagged families,” or those verified through census/survey, were considered as legitimate IDPs and thus entitled to permanent housing assistance.

Those who are still displaced have no place they can call home. Despite an armed conflict that was not of their doing, they continue to suffer double victimization: first, being displaced six years ago, and now, as alleged trespassers/illegal entries in areas where their houses once stood.

Additionally, there has been a divide between those who were awarded and those who were not, and those who were awarded houses of different types and quality of materials. This is polarization between and within post-conflict artificially created communities.

VICTIMS, HEROINES, AND GONE
And then there was the re-victimization of victims — the hostages, more specifically — who were used as human shields by the MNLF, as human factories of heroism stories by various media outfits (they even received offers of episodes on television and movies), and as human faces that believed in the promises of politicians and government secretaries. Six years later, none really progressed in as far as getting back on their feet with the appropriate assistance from state and none-state actors.

The women who were hostaged have different but interconnected stories to tell. There were those who were “designated” by the MNLF to domestic chores such as cooking, delivering food, washing clothes, getting supplies for both the armed group and the hostages. There were those who mentioned being sexually harassed, some even groped; a few were offered marriage and to be brought to Sulu; and there is a lingering common anecdote of someone being raped but no one exactly knows (or refuse to say) who the victim was.

Then there was a mother who lost her child when a bullet went through his little head when they hid in the ditch in the middle of heavy gun fire between the AFP and the MNLF. There was an elderly woman whose leg was hit by shrapnel, and several young women who had multiple wounds from multiple sources.

There was no scarcity of media trying to find a “human face” of victims — the more extraordinary, the better. It became a pornography of tragedy, with victims telling and re-telling their stories. There is one story of young woman whose story was proposed as material for an episode of a TV show — from a student to a hostage to a heroine who helped save other hostages. She was allegedly promised assistance by two government secretaries — none came.

FROM A TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE LENS
Transitional justice was defined by the United Nations Secretary General in 2004 as the “full range of processes and mechanisms associated with society’s attempt to come to terms with the legacy of large scale abuses committed in the past in order to achieve accountability, serve justice, and achieve reconciliation.”

In my mind there are several violations that merit consideration for transitional justice. First is the fact that non-state actors violated international humanitarian law (IHL) by using the hostages as human shields. These hostages are still waiting for progressive assistance — whether in the form of sustainable livelihood, educational support, and psychosocial healing (not just a one-shot debrief!).

Second, there was massive internal displacement and, up until now, the conflict-affected people have not been able to call their existence a dignified one. If they had homes, they were sub-standard; if they did not have homes, they continue to live in make shift areas — “tapal-tapal lang nga kahit ano” (just slapping anything together) — with extended families, most of them elderly. The post-conflict scenario then is not that of recovery, reconstruction, and rehabilitation. This is a large-scale human rights violation against the internally displaced, a violation of international human rights law (IHRL).

From the perspective of transitional justice, two imperatives must be forthcoming: first, the accountability for violations under IHL and, second, reparation for victims of internal displacement under IHRL. But are these still on the radar of duty bearers? Will the victims of war continue on as victims of peace — as collateral damage for appeasing factions and actors in the name of peace keeping?

Remember, remember, the 9th of September… and remember, dissatisfaction and discontent may likely transform into rage and radicalization and guarantee the repetition of violence.

 

Professor Ma. Lourdes Veneracion-Rallonza, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science, Ateneo de Manila University and Director of the Asia Pacific Center for the Responsibility to Protect — Philippine Office.

mrallonza@ateneo.edu

Has Mindanao agriculture diversified at all?

Mindanao, with six regions, has the highest poverty incidence (36% in 2015) among the three main island groups including Luzon and Visayas. The region hosts a disproportionate percentage of rural poor. Agriculture diversification is key to reducing the high rural poverty.

But what had happened in the past 20 years? Has Mindanao diversified? One metric is the change in cropped area over time.

Over the past 20 years (1998-2018), the changes were:

• The harvested areas of the top 10 crops grew by almost 23%.

• The harvested areas of the top three crops (rice, corn, coconut) increased 15%. Rice expanded faster than coconut. Corn fell. Their total share fell to 81% in 2018 from 85% in 1998. For the other “minor” seven, their shares rose to 19% from 15%.

Meanwhile, these were the advancers or crops which increased their harvested areas faster than rice (+53%):

• Banana, rubber, coffee, mango, sugarcane, and pineapple.

• Among minor crops, outside the top ten: durian, cacao, abaca.

So, which regions performed better?

All regions remain heavily dependent on coconut, rice and corn.

1. Three regions fared well in crop diversification: Davao, Northern Mindanao, and Soccsksargen in that order. The first two regions performed even better.

2. The poor diversifiers: Caraga and ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao)

3. The diversification drivers included:

(a) Davao: banana, coffee, and sugarcane. Special mention: cacao and durian

(b) Northern Mindanao: sugarcane, banana, cassava

(c) Soccsksargen (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General Santos): rubber, banana, sugarcane, pineapple. Special citation: oil palm.

Is there a correlation between diversification and poverty incidence? The relationship appears weak, except perhaps in Davao.

The main conclusion is: Mindanao has not diversified enough over the past 20 years. Past research also shows that low productivity is the major factor why poverty incidence is unusually high in many regions.

This is the challenge for the Department of Agriculture and the local government units. Given the experience of banana, pineapple, and coffee and cacao; private sector investment is primordial. They must be given flexibility in land access, crop choices, and business models to drive diversification and job creation to the next level and reduce poverty incidence. There is merit in consolidating farms under one management to achieve high productivity and market-led diversification.

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.

 

Rolando T. Dy is the Co-Vice Chair of the MAP AgriBusiness Committee and the Executive Director of the Center for Food and AgriBusiness of the University of Asia & the Pacific.

map@map.org.ph

rdyster@gmail.com

http://map.org.ph

Copyright and trademark in the ASEAN

“A power ‘to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing, for a limited time, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.’… The right to useful inventions seems with equal reason to belong to the inventors. The public good fully coincides in both cases with the claims of individuals.”

— James Madison,
The Federalist Papers,
No. 43, 1788.

This argument by Madison would be among the basis for the enactment of the USA’ first copyright law in 1790. The US patent law was also enacted that year while its trademark law was made in 1881, revised and expanded in 1905.

The Philippines’ law on these are contained in the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (RA 8293, 1997). A report in BusinessWorld, “Intellectual property applications climb 11% in first half” said:

“‘Society is now appreciating the IP (intellectual property) system more than ever,’ IPOPHL (Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines) Director-General Josephine R. Santiago said. Trademark filings rose by 11% year-on-year to 18,964 in the first half… Patent filings grew 4% to 1,991… Utility model filings grew 31% to 1,173… Industrial model filings rose 14% to 824… Copyright filings rose 53% to 990.”

These are good numbers. I checked the World Bank’s World Development Indicators (WDI) database, data on trademark application. Then, I also checked the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) 2018 report — Pillar No. 12 is Innovation capability, and among the sub-pillars are patent applications and trademark applications per million population.

So for the numbers in the table, trademark applications are in absolute amounts, both country residents and non-residents, while the index for patent and trademark applications refers to per capita applications. China and India lead in absolute amount while Singapore and the Philippines are the laggards as of 2017. But in patent applications ranking, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea were the world’s top three (See Table).

The good news for the Philippines then is that we are fast catching up on the use of intellectual property rights (IPR). Trademark applications have doubled from 2007 to 2017, and for copyright, IPO’s first half data for 2019 show a huge increase of more than 50%.

Recall also that the fastest-growing sub-sector in the Philippine economy over the past 5-1/2 years, 2014 to H1 2019, is intellectual property products, under Capital Formation (or private investments). It was growing at 28% per year, capital formation growing at 14%, and GDP at 6.3%.

Fast growth in IPR use also means fast growth in IPR infringement. This was tackled in the last panel of the BusinessWorld Industry Summit 4.0 last week, Sept. 9, at Shangri-La at The Fort at BGC. The last panel was about “Content and piracy” with speakers from the Coalition Against Piracy, the Optical Media Board, Globe Telecoms, and a film director.

So the role of the state in protecting private property, both physical and intellectual property, is reasserted by the current situation. And on this, two IPR-related events will be co-sponsored by our think tank, Minimal Government Thinkers (MGT).

The first is the launching of a new report, “The importance of IPR for progress: reform agenda for ASEAN countries,” in partnership with Geneva Network (UK), on the afternoon of Sept. 24 at the Holiday Inn Makati. Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez will give the keynote speech and, since the DTI is the mother agency of the Intellectual Property Office, he has a good overview of the sector in relation to the overall trade and investment environment.

The second is the global launch of the International Property Rights Index (IPRI) 2019 by the Property Rights Alliance (PRA, Washington DC) on Oct. 16 at Fairmont Hotel Makati. MGT and the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF) will be the local partners in launching this big event. The author of the report, Dr. Sary Levy-Carciente, and PRA Executive Director Lorenzo Montanari will come to Manila to present the report. Both events are by invitation only, but we will consider some interested individuals working on the sector who are not in our list. Send me an e-mail.

Private property is the cornerstone of economic freedom and free enterprise. Both physical property and intellectual property. Investors come if they are assured that their offices, investments, corporate brands/trademarks, patented and copyrighted inventions are respected and protected by the government against pirates and IPR thieves.

 

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

minimalgovernment@gmail.com

What now Gilas Pilipinas?

We are all familiar with the story of David and Goliath, the Biblical account of a shepherd boy beating with a mere sling shot a giant warrior. How did a boy not trained for armed combat defeat in battle a giant of a veteran warrior?

Students of ancient wars say that opposing warriors engaged in hand-to-hand combat. They went to battle armed with a javelin and a sword. To protect themselves from the blows of the enemies, they wore armor, a helmet, and shin guards, all made of metal.

That was how Goliath of the Philistine forces readied himself for hand-to-hand combat with whoever the Israelites sent to engage him. But no such Israelite warrior came to do battle with him. Instead a shepherd boy, with a sling in one hand and stones in the other, showed up to confront him.

But David provoked him from a distance, rendering Goliath’s weapons, designed for in-fighting, useless. The shepherd boy, David, adept at slinging stones at the predators of his sheep, then slung a sharp stone at the exposed part of Goliath’s head. Dazed by the sharp blow to his head, the giant fell. David rushed to him, and with the fallen warrior’s own sword, cut off Goliath’s head.

Yeng Guiao, head coach of the national basketball team Gilas Pilipinas that competed in the just concluded FIBA World Cup in China, should have read the story of David and Goliath when he was in grade school and learned a few lessons from it. Obvious from his own life story, Yeng drew from the David and Goliath legend these lessons: 1. Believe in yourself; 2. know your opponent; 3. might or size does not matter; 4. there is always a novel way of beating the mighty.

Short he may be but Yeng played varsity basketball when he was in the University of the Philippines. He coached a team made up of aging veterans, second-round draft picks, and undrafted players to Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) championships. He accepted his appointment as coach of Gilas Pilipinas even if he knew the team would go up against the best in the world.

Upon learning that the Philippines was grouped with Italy, Serbia, and Angola in the qualifying round and that Gilas Pilipinas’ first encounter would be against Italy, Yeng remarked: “They are big. We will try to beat them with three-point shooting and speed.” He had planned to beat the lumbering Goliaths of Italy with the agility and sling shots (three-point shots) of Gilas Pilipinas Davids.

While the final lineup had not been chosen, Yeng was decided on including three-point shooters Paul Lee, Matthew Wright, Roger Pogoy, Troy Rosario, Mark Barroca, and Keifer Ravena in the national team. He had hoped that Marcio Lassiter’s injury would heal before the start of the qualifying round so that Super Marcio could join the team. As for speed, the same guys and Gabe Norwood can run the breaks.

But then Wright got injured and Lassiter’s injury had not healed by the time the tournament was to start. So, CJ Perez and Robert Bolick, both outside shooters and run-and-gun players, replaced Wright and Lassiter.

Gilas assistant coach Sandy Arespacochaga went to China ahead of the team to scout the Italian team. Sandy reported: “They have a lot of post-up plays, not for their center, but for their point guard, small forward, and power forward. They also like to make the extra pass. So, our defense has to be very solid against them. They have a lot of weapons that we have to stop.” Coach Yeng went to China hoping Italy underestimated Gilas Pilipinas and that his coaching staff had prepared for the game better than the Italians did.

It turned out it was Coach Yeng who underestimated the Italians. They were giants as Yeng knew, but they were not slow and lumbering Goliaths as Yeng thought they were. They had the agility of David. They played with precision. As Assistant Coach Sandy had reported, they passed the ball around crisply, the ball always ending up in the hands of an open man. As a result, they had 30 assists, making 48% or 15 out of 31 attempts.

The Italians also took care of the ball very well. In contrast, our dribblers turned the ball over 23 times leading to 34 points off turnovers for the Italians. Our giant, Andray Blatche, was more like the Goliath of Biblical times — lumbering, maybe because he was at least 20 pounds overweight, and fumbling. He turned the ball over nine times.

Not only did Italy have superior “gilas” (elegance) than Gilas Pilipinas, its defense was as solid as Goliath’s metal armor. Yeng had counted on outside shooting to beat Italy. But Italy’s solid defense disabled Gilas Pilipinas’ main weapon. The national team shot only 13% from beyond the arc (three out of 23) and those treys came only after Italy loosened its defense towards the end of the game when the win was in the bag. Italy beat Gilas Pilipinas by 46 points, 108-62.

Coach Yeng noted that Italy’s guards were so tall that they could defend the Gilas Pilipinas big men, and that they were so athletic that they could stay in front of Gilas Pilipinas’ shorter guards.

The next game was against Serbia, regarded by many as the team that could give the USA a run for its money. Four members of the team play in America’s premier basketball league, the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nikola Jokic, the 24-year-old who plays for the Denver Nuggets in the NBA, was a contender for the Most Valuable Player award in NBA’s 2019 season.

Gilas Pilipinas went down in defeat in a more humiliating way, losing to Serbia by 59 points, 126-67. The ridiculous outcome led Serbia’s coach to ask if the Philippines had the material to compete in the World Cup. “Obviously, you’re missing quality. But two European top teams who know how to play tough, physical basketball (give you) results to think about (for the future),” Serbia’s Coach Sasha Djordjevic said.

As Coach Yeng lamented, “There’s no way we could beat them inside the paint, they’re just too big and too good. Even their bigs were shooting the outside shot really well. Even if we tried to put our hands in their face, it was not enough for us to disrupt their shots. We’re playing Asian-level basketball but of course, the world level is different, several notches different.”

But Serbia was eliminated from the Semi Finals. The team whose coach asked why the Philippines was in the World Cup ended up only No. 5 in the world ranking.

So, where does Gilas Pilipinas go from here?

There is lots of talk about the formation of a national team made up of the PBA’s outstanding players long before the next World Cup to achieve chemistry among the team members. But the early formation of a national team does not necessarily mean the players will grow taller and heftier.

Pulling out players from their PBA mother teams would also mean players giving up fat paychecks, big bonuses, and endorsement opportunities. It is very likely the chosen players would decline inclusion in the national team. We will send to the next World Cup a weaker team.

The national team failed to win a game in the consolation round of the just concluded World Cup, making relevant Sasha Djordjevic’s question why the Philippines is in the World Cup. The Philippines will host the next World Cup — in 2023. Will coaches of the participating teams be asking why the Philippines was chosen as host?

 

Oscar P. Lagman, Jr. is a retired corporate executive, business consultant, and management professor. He has been a politicized citizen since his college days in the late 1950s.

Cardinals look to sustain assault on top half spot

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

THE Mapua Cardinals seek to continue their assault on the top half of the standings of Season 95 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association when they trek back to action today at the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

Set to take on the College of Saint Benilde Blazers in the scheduled 2 p.m. match, the Cardinals, currently at sixth place with a 4-6 record, will try to forge ahead and catch up with the league leaders as competition in the country’s oldest collegiate league hits the critical stretch.

Mapua is coming off a gutsy double-overtime win, 105-101, over the Letran Knights on Sept. 13 where Noah Lugo exploded for a career-high 31 points.

The Cardinals played catch-up for much of the contest but delivered when it needed the most to outlast the Knights and fashion out the upset win which set off their second-round campaign to a good start.

Cyril Gonzales tallied 18 markers in the Mapua win with Laurenz Victoria and Justin Serrano adding 13 and 12 points, respectively.

“The players really worked hard to get this win [against Letran] both offensively and defensively. We held on in overtime and in the second overtime. It was not easy but I give credit to the players for not giving up and fighting all the way to the end,” said Mapua coach Randy Alcantara after their hard-earned victory.

Out to stop Mapua is Saint Benilde (6-4), which has experienced some slowing down after opening their season campaign with five straight victories.

The Blazers have lost four of their last five matches, including their last two against Letran and the San Sebastian Stags, in that order.

James Pasturan is leading the way for CSB with 10.3 points per ball game.

Justin Gutang has been good for 10.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists while Yankie Haruna is adding nine points a game for the TY Tang-coached Blazers.

Also playing today are San Sebastian (7-3) against the Perpetual Help Altas (3-7) at 12 noon and the Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers (4-7) versus the Arellano Chiefs (2-9) at 4 p.m.

Meanwhile, San Sebastian’s Allyn Bulanadi is the reigning NCAA player of the week after dropping a career-high 32 points in their win over CSB on Sept. 13.

The veteran wingman shot 11-of-21 from the field, punctuated by five triples.

In winning the award, given by media covering the league, Mr. Bulanadi bested Lugo of Mapua, Donald Tankoua of San Beda, and Reymar Caduyac of Lyceum.

Falcons score late, hang on to defeat Eagles

ATLANTA — Matt Ryan connected with Julio Jones for a 54-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-3 with 2:10 left in the game, and the Atlanta Falcons rallied for a 24-20 home win over the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday night.

After Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz scored on a 1-yard touchdown dive with 3:13 left to cap a 13-play, 73-yard drive and hit Zach Ertz with a 2-point conversion pass to give the Eagles a 20-17 lead, Ryan (27 of 43 for 320 yards, three touchdowns, three interceptions) came through with his own heroics.

He hit Jones (five receptions, 106 yards, two touchdowns), who took the receiver screen and sprinted more than half the field for the eventual winning score. The Falcons improved to 1-1, the same as the Eagles, who got down to the Atlanta 16-yard line before Ertz was held a yard short on fourth-and-8 with 38 seconds left.

Wentz, who took a shot to the ribs and spent time in concussion protocol during the first half, was 25 of 43 for 231 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He spent most of the game minus his two top receivers Alshon Jeffery (calf) and DeSean Jackson (groin), who left in the first half with injuries.

Calvin Ridley caught eight passes for 105 yards with a touchdown for the Falcons, who went up 3-0 at the 9:28 mark of the first quarter with a 50-yard field goal from Matt Bryant. Philadelphia tied it in the second quarter on Jake Elliott’s 34-yard field goal.

Desmond Trufant picked off Wentz for the second time, and Atlanta scored five plays later when Ryan hooked up with a leaping Ridley for a 34-yard touchdown connection to make it 10-3 with 4:56 left in the half.

Backup Josh McCown started the Eagles’ final drive of the first half while Wentz was in concussion protocol and got them into the Atlanta red zone. Wentz returned, but Philadelphia settled for Elliott’s 41-yard field goal.

Things got worse for the Eagles right out of halftime as Corey Clement fumbled the kickoff, which Atlanta recovered at the visitors’ 33. Three plays later, Ryan found Jones for a 4-yard touchdown pass to make it 17-6.

However, Ronald Darby intercepted Ryan in Falcons’ territory, and Philadelphia went for it on fourth down from the 4. Wentz drilled a bullet to Nelson Agholor (eight receptions, 107 yards) for the touchdown. It stayed 17-12 after Wentz failed to score on the 2-point try with 4:57 left in the third. — Reuters

Terrific 12 tourney in Macau to be aired over ESPN5

TOP-CLASS Asian club basketball action takes center stage beginning today as the East Asia Super League — Terrific 12 tournament unfolds in Macau, China, with ESPN5 bringing the proceedings live in the country.

Happening from Sept. 17–22 at the Tap Seac Multi-Sport Pavilion in Macau, The Terrific 12 will gather some of the top teams in the region, including Philippine Basketball Association champion teams San Miguel Beermen and TNT KaTropa and Blackwater Elite.

The six-day tournament will also see Liaoning Flying Leopards, Shenzhen Aviators, and Zhejiang Guangsha Lions from China; Chiba Jets, Niigata Albirex, Ryukyu Golden Kings and Utsunomiya Brex from Japan; and Jeonju KCC Egis and Seoul SK Knights from Korea.

Now on its third year, the Terrific 12 has grown in stature and scope with 22 networks set to cover it on major global broadcast and streaming platforms this year, including ESPN5 for the Philippines.

In the tournament, the ball clubs will be grouped into four brackets with the top team from each group advancing to the semifinals scheduled on Sept. 21.

The finals will be played on Sept. 22 with the champion going home with a $150,000 prize. The runner-up will receive $100,000 while second runner-up gets $50,000.

The Beermen will have majority of their champion team in harness for the tournament, backstopped by imports Dez Wells and Lester Prosper, who impressed with his performance with the Columbian Dyip in the recent PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

TNT will have old reliable Jayson Castro leading the way, helped by reinforcements McKenzie Moore and KJ McDaniels.

Blackwater, for its part, will have do-it-all rookie Ray Parks, Jr., joined by imports Alex Stepheson and Marqus Blakely.

The PBA teams are using the tournament as well as part of their preparations for the PBA Governors’ Cup which tips off later this week.

Also set to see action in the tournament are former National Basketball Association campaigners Lance Stephenson and Shabazz Muhammad.

Apart from ESPN5, Terrific 12 games can also be seen over ESPN YouTube Live. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Spain wins FIBA World Cup

BEIJING — Spain beat Argentina 95-75 to win the FIBA Basketball World Cup for the first time since 2006 on Sunday, completing a stunning campaign for a squad considered by many to be among the outsiders when the 32-team tournament began.

The Spaniards scored first and never relinquished the lead, relying on swarming interior defence and superior rebounding to snuff out the offensive threat of 2004 Olympic champions Argentina.

Point guard Ricky Rubio racked up 20 points and three assists and Marc Gasol and Willy Hernangomez swatted three shots each as Spain pulled down 47 rebounds, 20 more than Argentina, en route to a comprehensive victory.

For Gasol it was the crowning achievement of an incredible year that saw him win an NBA World Championship with the Toronto Raptors before leading his national team to glory.

His 33 points in the semi-final victory over Australia put them in a position to fight for the gold medal, but it was his defence that put them on the top step of the podium.

From the opening tip, the 34-year-old dominated the driving lanes to the basket that Argentina had used to such great effect against France, forcing them into outside shots that would not fall.

He was equally effective banging under the basket at the other end and, though he made only two of his nine field goal attempts, he hit nine of his 12 free throws to maintain the gap between the two teams.

He and Rubio were rewarded for their performances in Spain’s unbeaten run to the gold medal with a place in the tournament’s five-man All-Star team, which was announced after the final, with Rubio named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Earlier in the day, Nando De Colo netted 19 points as France shot 43% from behind the arc to take their second consecutive World Cup bronze medal with a 67-59 win over Australia. — Reuters

PVL doubleheader in Bacolod up

VOLLEYBALL fans in Bacolod are up for a treat as the Premier Volleyball League Open Conference will have an explosive doubleheader in the City of Smiles on Oct. 13 at the USLS Coliseum.

Defending champion Creamline will take on PetroGazz in a rematch of the Reinforced Conference championship at 4 p.m., right after Pacifictown-Army and BanKo-Perlas take the floor at 2 p.m.

The Cool Smashers have won their first meeting against the Angels, 25-19, 28-26, 25-20, last Aug. 24, while the Lady Troopers have reasserted their mastery of the Perlas Spikers, 25-23, 25-23, 17-25, 25-20 last Aug. 14.

Those two matches will have a lot of implications in the semifinals race as the season-ending tournament reach the crucial phase of the second round.

A long-time promoter of volleyball in the different areas of the country, organizing GRID Athletic Sports is bringing to the people of Negros exciting PVL volleyball games for them to watch thrilling and action-packed games between the league’s powerhouses live in time for the MassKara Festival.

In partnership with PVL, GRID Athletic Sports will also conduct several other activities lined up to strengthen the volleyball program locally through coaching seminars, grassroots volleyball workshop and motivational guest speaking from volleyball athletes all happening prior to the much awaited games.

PHL esports team members for SEA Games bared

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter

FOR the first time this year esports will be a medal event in the Southeast Asian Games and the Philippine team set to compete in it took further form with the unveiling of its final roster.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Sibol, the Philippine national esports team, announced the names of players competing in the six games included in the 30th SEA Games which the country is hosting from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11.

The players will compete in six titles, namely, DOTA 2, StarCraft II, Hearthstone, Arena of Valor, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Tekken 7.

Among the considerations for inclusion were the players’ mastery of the esport they are going to compete in as well as their ability to work with the team.

Sibol DOTA 2 team is made up of Marvin Salvador “Boomy” Rushton, John Anthony “Natsumi-” Vargas, Bryle Jacob “cml” Alvizo, Jun “Bok” Kanehara, Mc Nicholson “Mac” Villanueva, James “Erice” Guerra and “Van” Jerico Manalaysay.

StarCraft II has Caviar “EnDerr” Acampado and Justin “Nuks” Santos while for Hearthstone it will be Jacinta “Jia” Dee and Dustin “WaningMoon” Mangulaban.

For Arena of Valor it will be the team composed of Kevin Kio “Gambit” Dizon, Jeremiah “1717” Camarillo, Miguel Klarenz “Miggie” Banaag, Jevan Lorenzo “Bents” Delos Santos, Lawrence Anthony “Rubixx” Gatmaitan, Bradie Ryan “Yatz” Velasquez, and Kyle Jepherson “Vindicated” Padlan.

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang has Angelo Kyle “Pheww” Arcangel, Karl Gabriel “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno, Kenneth Jiane “Kenji” Villa, Carlito “Ribo” Jr., Jason Rafael “Jay” Torculas, Jeniel “Haze” Bata-Anon, and Allan Sancio “Lusty” Castromayor.

Competing in Tekken 7, meanwhile, are Andrei Hosea “Doujin” Albar and Alexandre Gabrielle “AK” Laverez.

Esports competition in the SEA Games begins on Dec. 5. Venue is the FilOil Flying V Centre in San Juan City.

The team captains competing in all six titles featured in the esports event of the 30th Southeast Asian Games — Dota 2, StarCraft II, Hearthstone, Arena of Valor, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Tekken 7.

MY Football League kicks off Saturday

THE best of youth football will be showcased in the NCRFA’s Manila Youth Football League (MY Football League) which opens on Saturday at The British School Manila.

The opening tournament will feature 50 teams, which includes The British School Manila, Makati Football Club, De La Salle Zobel, Tanauan, Atheltico Diliman, G8, Manila Japanese Football Club, Tuloy sa Don Bosco, Angono Rizal and RAYA FC.

Guided by FIFA Grassroots, the NCRFA League was formed to create a program that will bring together as many people as possible through the league and its patrons. It is designed to reach out to the young and create a process that connects them to the future.

The father and son duo of Tomas and SeLu Lozano of pioneer youth club Makati FC has created a league whose thrust is growing the sport.

Tomas Lozano has been bringing Makati FC to Gothia Cup in Sweden to represent the Philippines for 37 consecutive years. Through NCRFA, it aims to elevate the level of youth tournaments locally as what the club have experience abroad.

Aside from the Gothia Cup, Makati FC was also invited to the Paris World Games last July, where its two age groups teams made it finals appearance with the Eiffel Tower as the backdrop.

After the opening ceremony, the continuation of matches will be on Oct. 5, 12, 26, with the semifinal and final to be played on Nov. 9.

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