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Enticing matchups highlight 2019-20 NBA games schedule

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LOS ANGELES — When the NBA released its regular season and TV schedules for the 2019-20 season on Monday, there were some immediate matchups worth noting that involve moving-on All-Stars like Kawhi Leonard and Anthony Davis.

Leonard, who helped the Toronto Raptors win an NBA title in June, is now with the Los Angeles Clippers, who will meet his former team in Toronto on Dec. 11. Davis, who moved from the New Orleans Pelicans to join LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers, goes back to the Big Easy to face No. 1 draft pick Zion Williamson and Co. on Nov. 27, the same day the Brooklyn Nets’ Kyrie Irving goes back to Boston to meet his ex-Celtics teammates.

Other notables include the Houston Rockets’ Russell Westbrook returning to face his former Thunder teammates in Oklahoma City on Jan. 9 after previously playing them in Houston on Oct. 28, and new Clippers forward Paul George also returning to Oklahoma City, on Dec. 22.

Also, Utah Jazz guard Mike Conley plays in Memphis for the first time as a visitor on Nov. 15, and Boston guard Kemba Walker makes his return to Charlotte on Nov. 7.

There are many other highlights with the NBA schedule, in its 74th regular season that tips off on Oct. 22 and ends on April 15. Opening night includes a doubleheader with the Pelicans at the Raptors on ring night, and what promises to be the beginning of a more heated rivalry when the Lakers and Clippers meet in the battle for Los Angeles.

Twelve of TNT’s 31 doubleheaders and 22 of ESPN’s 36 doubleheaders will tip off at 7:30/10 p.m. ET or 7/9:30 p.m. ET, a half-hour or hour earlier than last year’s 8/10:30 p.m. starts. National TV starts at 10:30 p.m. ET were reduced from 57 to 33.

The Lakers will have the most national TV appearances (31), followed up the Golden State Warriors (30), who will get the chance to show off their new arena, the Clippers and Rockets (26), the Celtics (25) and the Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers (24). Williamson and the Pelicans will be on national TV 20 times.

The previously announced Christmas Day schedule includes five games — beginning with the Celtics at Raptors at noon ET; other matchups (all times ET) are Bucks at 76ers (2:30 p.m.), Rockets at Warriors (5 p.m.), Clippers-Lakers (8 p.m.) and Pelicans at Denver Nuggets (10:30 p.m.).

Games on TNT, ESPN, ABC and NBA TV will include flexible scheduling during the regular season “to provide the most compelling matchups to a national audience,” the league said in a release.

The All-Star Game is Feb. 16 in Chicago. There are no games from Feb. 14-19. — Reuters

Murray won’t play US Open singles after loss on return

CINCINNATI — Andy Murray announced on Monday he would not play singles at the US Open after losing in his long-awaited return from hip surgery at the Cincinnati Masters.

The Scot lost 6-4 6-4 to Richard Gasquet in his first singles match since January before saying he had turned down a wild card into the men’s draw at the year’s final Grand Slam.

“I am not going to play US Open singles,” the 32-year-old said.

“I didn’t feel I was able to make that decision before today’s match.”

He indicated, though, that he would play doubles and mixed doubles at Flushing Meadows in two weeks and left open the door for possibly for playing before then.

“I may play Winston-Salem potentially,” he said of the North Carolina event, which starts in six days.

“But I’ll probably look at just playing doubles and mixed doubles. That’s what I will do at the US Open.”

In his first match since the hip resurfacing surgery which he hopes will prolong his career, Murray started tentatively but improved as the went on, even if he was always up against it after Gasquet broke his serve to start both sets.

“I don’t really know what I was expecting, to be honest. I think I did okay,” he told a news conference.

“I think there was a lot of things I would like to have done better in the match, but, you know, you also have to be somewhat realistic, as well, in terms of what you can expect.”

Not having playing singles tennis for several months had an obvious impact, he said.

“I think physically, you know, my legs were a little bit heavy at the end of the match in comparison to maybe what they normally would be if you played a bunch,” he said.

“I was having to move quite a lot laterally, and I didn’t move forward particularly well. Like when he drop-shotted, there was a few times I didn’t even run to the ball, didn’t react to it, and that’s nothing to do with my hip.”

The former world number one arrived on centre court to huge cheers, recording a video of the moment as he offered a big smile.

But the first serve was far from what Murray and the crowd — particularly the fan waving the Scotland flag — wanted. — Reuters

Having a blast

Four games have been played in the best-of-seven Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup finals series between the San Miguel Beermen and TNT KaTropa and so far it has been an engaging and eventful affair, and something I am having a blast watching.

Save for the first game where TNT had its way, the series has taken a highly competitive route with games punctuated by runs and counter-runs, comebacks and jacked-up performances by the combatants which have left fans at the edge of their seats from end-to-end.

The fact that the series is currently knotted at two games apiece further underscores the nip-and-tuck and exciting nature of the series, which is a rematch of the finals of the same conference two years ago.

It certainly helps in enhancing the affair to what it is that the series features two squads who are doggedly determined to see their respective causes through.

You can tell it with their actions on and off the court as well as how they talk that this is something they really want won.

This latest edition of the San Miguel team, for all its successes in the past years, has not won a grand slam and something that is motivating it in the ongoing series albeit it has not said it outright.

Getting the Commissioner’s Cup will make it two titles for the Beermen this season after their conquest of the season-opening PBA Philippine Cup, needing only one more title to complete a rare grand slam, which the franchise was able to achieve 30 years ago in 1989.

San Miguel was in a position to win one in 2017 but failed to get the final conference to make it two grand slam feats, and I am sure it is an unfinished business that it wants to be done and over with.

TNT, for its part, is out to make the most of its first final appearance after two years and aching to end a PBA title drought which is currently running for four years now.

The KaTropa had its struggles in the last few conferences until it found the right mix in the ongoing tournament. And it goes without saying that the team would love to have this breakthrough and spirited campaign end with the Commissioner’s Cup trophy in their hands.

Then there are the imports who are in no way just out to “complement” their respective teams but are there to make things happen and lead their squads to the title.

TNT’s Terrence Jones has been a total all-around threat and has been a handful all tournament long.

He was adjudged as the best of import conference prior to Game Four on Sunday and quite deservingly so for he has willed TNT to much success in the tournament in so many ways.

So solid he has been that it is not a stretch to say that how far he goes, so goes the team.

Also coming up big is San Miguel import Chris McCullough.

While not as well-rounded as his TNT counterpart, McCullough is making full use of his height and length to make a difference for his team.

In the last two games he has posted 20-20 numbers in points and rebounds and has taken upon himself to weave his team through rough patches which bodes well for the Beermen.

Local heroes also abound in the series, making it all the more competitive and unpredictable.

Jayson Castro has been in tip-top form for TNT is creating shots both for himself and his teammates, highlighting how deserving he is of his fifth best player of the conference award.

Troy Rosario and Roger Pogoy are flourishing with the presence of Jones, finding their shots from all cylinders.

Don Trollano has been a true utility guy, doing it all on both ends to help TNT. And so does Brian Heruela.

Over at San Miguel there are the old reliables June Mar Fajardo, Chris Ross and Alex Cabagnot.

Fajardo had his struggles early in the series but has since picked things up and starting to throw his weight around against the KaTropa.

Backcourt mates Ross and Cabagnot have been true floor leaders, facilitating and taking charge for the team when needed.

Off the bench, Christian Standhardinger, Terrence Romeo and Von Pessumal have been chipping their fair share.

Veteran Arwind Santos has not had his typical game for much of the series but continues to be a threat.

Practically a “perfect storm” of a series, the San Miguel-TNT is surely a gem to witness.

And the thing about it all, more engaging stuff should come and it could well stretch to the full route of seven matches.

Great time to be a PBA fan.

 

Michael Angelo S. Murillo has been a columnist since 2003. He is a BusinessWorld reporter covering the Sports beat.

msmurillo@bworldonline.com

Team USA

Yesterday came with news of yet another departure from Team USA’s contingent to the World Cup. Granted, Kyle Lowry’s pullout wasn’t a surprise; continuing convalescence from surgery to his thumb last month had kept him out of training camp. Nonetheless, it served to strengthen the prevailing narrative that suiting up for flag and country isn’t as fulfilling as it used to be; the premise may be unfair, but there can be no questioning the numbers. Of the 35 names USA Basketball announced as part of its national team pool last year, only four remain.

Certainly, the holdovers are only too glad to be donning red, white, and blue in China late this month. And, so far, Kemba Walker, Khris Middleton, Harrison Barnes, and Myles Turner have been holding their own; if nothing else, the Blue vs. White scrimmage over the weekend underscored their importance to the cause. At the same time, it’s fair to note that the talent gap between the United States and the rest of the hoops-loving world remains so wide that sending in third stringers won’t matter in the final analysis. Gold continues to be the most probable outcome.

Of course, USAB isn’t around simply for the here and now. If anything, its more important purpose is to ensure the there and then. And it came into being precisely because, not too long ago, US dominance in the sport became threatened by the opposition’s well-designed initiatives emphasizing the value of the collective over individual strengths. Which, from the outside looking in, makes the recent rash of withdrawals concerning. The country’s superstars should keep wanting to play for pride in international competition, not deeming a waste the time they will spend doing so.

Parenthetically, USAB managing director Jerry Colangelo is right to point out the importance of “player equity” in determining rosters for future events, including the Olympics. If he has continually emphasized how much participation in other tournaments for Team USA is worth, it’s because he aims for continuity and wants those toiling for the World Cup to also consider it as an investment. It’s just too bad he missed emphasizing the point by denying Carmelo Anthony, the most decorated American in international competition, a spot in the lineup headed to China.

Again, there’s really no denying the inevitable. The Star Spangled Banner will be playing during the awarding ceremonies this time next month. And the scenario will likely be the same in the Tokyo Games next year. Still, the USAB’s ultimate objective is to deal in certainty, and the spate of absences shows it has a long, long way to go.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

Peso weakens further

THE PESO weakened on Tuesday as protests in Hong Kong dented sentiment, causing markets to flock to safe havens.

The local currency lost 58 centavos to close at P52.46 against the greenback from its P51.88-per-dollar finish last Friday.

Local financial markets were closed on Monday in observance of Eid al-Adha.

The peso opened weaker at P52.10 a dollar. It dropped to as low as P52.47 versus the greenback, while its intraday high stood at P52.07 per dollar.

Dollars traded on Tuesday totalled $1.21 billion, higher than the $914.71 million seen on Friday.

“The peso depreciated significantly due to strong safe-haven dollar demand from heightening geopolitical uncertainties abroad and diminishing optimism on global trade developments,” a trader said in an email on Tuesday.

Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion, chief economist at UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc., said the main drivers of the peso’s movement yesterday were mainly external in the absence of local leads.

“Global trade tensions, coupled with concerns surrounding protests in Hong Kong prompted players to move toward safer assets,” another trader said.

Hong Kong’s airport, the world’s busiest cargo airport, reopened on Tuesday after protesters managed to close it down the previous day. The mood remained cautious as the increasingly violent demonstrations have plunged the Chinese-ruled territory into its most serious crisis in decades.

The weeks-long protests began in opposition to a bill allowing extraditions to mainland China but have quickly morphed into the biggest challenge to China’s authority over the city since it took Hong Kong back from Britain in 1997.

For today, the peso is expected to weaken further on likely strong US data.

“The local currency is expected to weaken further amid likely firm US consumer inflation reports overnight,” Mr. Asuncion said.

The first trader gave a forecast range of P52.30 to P52.60 versus the dollar, while Mr. Asuncion sees the peso moving within the P52.30-P52.60 band.

Most other Asian currencies also weakened on Tuesday, as the prolonged Sino-US trade dispute and a free fall of the Argentine peso weighed on investors’ risk appetite, while Singapore cutting its full-year growth forecast added more pressure in the region.

Signals of a drawn out tussle between the US and China have kept global markets on edge and the lack of any progress in resolving their differences is a major worry for many Asian economies, which count Beijing as a top trade partner.

In Argentina, the local peso weakened more than 15% against the dollar after President Mauricio Macri got thumped in Sunday’s primary vote, a stark early warning for the incumbent ahead of the general election in October.

Meanwhile, the Singapore government cut its full-year forecast range for gross domestic product (GDP) as global conditions were seen worsening and data confirmed the slowest growth rate in a decade amid mounting fears of recession in the city-state.

The Indian rupee led losses on the day, weakening as much as 0.6% to 71.190 against the dollar, its lowest level since Feb. 28.

The Indonesian rupiah, the South Korean won and the Thai baht depreciated up to 0.3% each.

The Malaysian ringgit fell as much as 0.2%, while the Chinese yuan, the Singapore dollar and the Taiwan dollar depreciated slightly. — BML with Reuters

PHL stocks decline as HK protests dent sentiment

By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

LOCAL SHARES fell on Tuesday as heightened protests in Hong Kong dragged already negative sentiment due to the US-China trade war.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) plunged 0.84% or 65.94 points to close at 7,788.45 yesterday, being bought up at the close as the index hit an intraday low of 7,622.27. The broader all-shares index likewise shed 0.87% or 41.89 points to 4,742.22.

“Geopolitical tensions pushed safe haven assets such as gold and US Treasury higher, and the equities market in the Philippines much lower. Stocks dropped as political unrest in Argentina and Hong Kong hit investors already nervous about trade tensions,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

What started out as a protest against the extradition bill in Hong Kong has now extended to its 11th week, with protesters calling for democracy and investigations into police brutality. Hundreds of flights were canceled from Hong Kong’s airport on Tuesday, forcing several Asian airlines to reroute their aircraft from the city.

Asian indices ended lower on Tuesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down by 1.11% or 229.38 points to 20,455.44. The Hang Seng index tumbled 1.81% or 467.23 points to 25,357.49, while the Shanghai Composite slipped 0.63% or 17.73 points to 2,797.26.

Wall Street indices also bled, as growing fears on the US-China trade war triggered a sell-off. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.48% or 389.73 points to 25,897.71. The S&P 500 index retreated 1.22% or 35.56 points to 2,883.09, while the Nasdaq Composite index declined 1.20% or 95.73 points to 7,863.41.

“Market will continue to be volatile due to the US-China trade war and lack of liquidity as the ghost month of August lingers,” Diversified Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Aniceto K. Pangan said via text.

Back home, four sectoral indices moved to negative territory, led by property which plummeted 2.6% or 106.62 points to 3,993.40. Financials lost 1.76% or 32.60 points to 1,819; services slumped 1.37% or 21.85 points to 1,569.74, while industrials dropped 0.95% or 103.29 points to 10,700.98.

In contrast, mining and oil climbed 0.62% or 50.77 points to 8,202.99, while holding firms rose 0.53% or 40.59 points to 7,671.01.

Some 1.82 billion issues valued at P8.58 billion switched hands, lower than the previous session’s P6.17-billion turnover.

Foreign investors were net sellers for the sixth straight session at P2.12 billion from P670.93 million on Friday.

Decliners were almost triple the advancers, 157 to 53, while 42 names ended flat.

Eleven out of the 20 most actively traded stocks incurred losses, led by Filinvest Land, Inc. (down 7.18%) and Megaworld Corp. (down 5.26%).

Nation’s chief diplomat retracts Chinese ship ban

FOREIGN AFFAIRS Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr. retracted his earlier threat to ban Chinese survey ships from waters covered by the country’s exclusive economic zone, saying an international treaty bars the Philippines from doing so.

“I am reliably informed that under UNCLOS we cannot ban marine surveys but that marine surveys need our permission to be conducted,” Mr. Locsin said on Twitter on Tuesday, referring to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

He said the Philippines would apply the law uniformly on all neighbors such as the US, France, Japan and China.

Earlier yesterday, presidential spokesman Salvador S. Panelo said the palace agrees with Mr. Locsin’s move to ban Chinese survey ships, which becomes the policy of the Duterte administration “unless the president makes another policy statement.”

Ryan Martinson, an assistant professor at the US Naval War College, said in a Twitter post on Aug. 6 that the Chinese oceanographic survey ship Zhanjian had been seen operating 80 nautical miles off the Philippine east coast.

On Aug. 7, he also tweeted: “Add the Dong Fang Hong 3 to the list of Chinese survey ships operating in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone today.”

In a radio interview last Sunday, Mr. Panelo said the Philippine government could seek US help in monitoring the country’s exclusive economic zone.

Responding to Mr. Panelo, Mr. Locsin tweeted: “I banned marine survey ships, amending restriction to France and Japan by adding China.”

“To pick and choose invites suspicion of favoritism,” the Foreign Affairs chief said then. “I will universalize the ban. Period. Granting exception to one country will automatically lift the ban universally. Exceptions invite bribes,” he added.

Jay L. Batongbacal, director of University of the Philippines Institute of Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea, replied to Mr. Locsin’s Tweet: “Sir, could we please allow at least Philippine marine scientific research to push through?”

He said UP had organized marine scientific research but got banned after inviting foreign scientists and asking to use foreign ships. “We end up losing opportunities for tech transfer and experience.”

Mr. Locsin said he wanted to “see the academic qualifications of the UP guys looking for a cruise.”

President Rodrigo R. Duterte earlier said he plans to invoke a 2016 ruling by an international arbitration panel in the Hague that rebuffed Chinese claims over parts of the South China Sea when he visits Beijing later this month, according to Mr. Panelo.

The United Nations tribunal in July 2016 ruled China’s efforts to assert control over the South China Sea exceeded the law, rejecting its shared claims with Taiwan to more than 80% of the main waterway.

China has rejected the ruling. — Arjay L. Balinbin

Dengue cases almost double in 6 months

DENGUE cases almost doubled in the six months to July to 167,607 from a year earlier, the Department of Health said yesterday, weeks after declaring a national epidemic for the viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes.

In a report, the agency’s Epidemiology Bureau also said 720 people have died from dengue, 55% higher than a year earlier.

(DoH) reports there are nearly 170,000 cases of dengue from January to July, following its declaration of a National Dengue Epidemic last week.

Dengue cases rose 70% from a year earlier to 12,880 for the week ending on July 27, the Health department said, adding that 39 people died for that week alone.

About 23% or 38,268 of the victims as of July were children aged 5 to 9 years, the agency said.

Last week, the Health department declared a dengue epidemic nationwide.

Western Visayas had the most number of dengue cases at 27,765 followed by Calabarzon — Cavite, Laguna, Rizal ad Quezon with 19,732, Northern Mindanao (14,349), Zamboanga Peninsula (13,579) and Central Visayas (11,217).

The local peak in dengue cases reflects a global spike that happens every three years, the World Health Organization earlier said.

Science cannot explain the three-year spike that has been observed globally. Dengue, which causes fever and acute pains in the joints, has now erupted in places that have not seen the disease before, according to WHO. — Gillian M. Cortez

Terror email probably a hoax, NBI agents say

GOVERNMENT investigators have cleared three suspected terrorists who were reported to be planning to enter the Philippines.

An anonymous email linking the three to terrorism was probably a hoax, according to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Victoria Sto. Domingo, one of the three, had passed “thorough checking,” NBI spokesman Ferdinand M. Lavin told a briefing yesterday. She also had no criminal record.

The woman earlier issued an affidavit denying her links to a terror group responsible for bombing in Sri Lanka.

Mr. Lavin said state agents had received an email saying three suspected terrorist bombers were coming to the Philippines and one of them was already here. The email could have been sent by Ms. Sto. Domingo’s father because he did not approve of her relationship with her Sri Lankan fiancé, he said.

State agents are considering filing charges against the father, Mr. Lavin said.

Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said there were no arrival records for the other two suspects. “In any event, the Bureau of Immigration’s anti-terror group is on the alert regarding further movements of these persons,” he said. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Marcos asks SC to step up election case

FORMER Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr. has asked the Supreme Court hasten his election protest by ordering a preliminary conference.

In a motion dated Aug. 9, the losing vice-presidential bet noted that under the rules, the court must designate hearing commissioners once the ballots in his three pilot provinces are revised. The commissioners will set the dates for the submission of any evidence and other affidavits, he said.

“Public interest demands that this electoral controversy be resolved with dispatch to determine once and for all the genuine choice of the electorate for the contested position,” said Mr. Marcos, who lost buy a hair to Vice-President Maria Leonor G. Robredo in the May 2016 elections.

The court acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal last month deferred action on Mr. Marcos’ plea to investigate alleged rigging of votes in three provinces in Mindanao until the recount of votes in his three pilot provinces — Camarines Sur, Iloilo and Negros Oriental — was finished. — Vann Marlo M. Villegas

Red tide warning up in 9 areas

NINE AREAS remain positive for shellfish poisoning, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) said in its latest laboratory results. The areas where the red tide alert is up are: Puerto Princesa Bay, Puerto Princesa City in Palawan; San Pedro, Maqueda, Irong-irong, Silanga and Cambatutay Bays in Western Samar; Lianga Bay in Surigao del Sur; and coastal waters of Dauis and Tagbilaran City in Bohol. “All types of shellfish and Acetes sp. or alamang gathered from the areas are not safe for human consumption. Fish, squids, shrimps, and crabs are safe for human consumption provided that they are fresh and washed thoroughly, and internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking,” BFAR said. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

Cordillera RDRRMC orders units to be on high alert, halt outdoor tourism activities amid monsoon rains

THE CORDILLERA Administrative Region’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (RDRRMC) has directed all its units to assess the situation in communities and implement preemptive evacuation if necessary amid continuous rains brought by the southwest monsoon. In a memorandum issued Aug. 12, the RDRRMC said all local councils should ensure the “zero casualty” goal. Last Sunday, the regional council issued another notice saying tourism activities such as hiking, trekking, and caving are “strongly discouraged.” The Department of Public Works and Highways has also issued several notices on roads affected by landslides or slips. Among the areas affected were Mankayan and Bokod in Benguet, Mayoyao in Ifugao, and Baguio City. On Tuesday, classes were suspended in Baguio City, and some towns in Benguet and Mountain Province.

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