Ms sect c 20170430 sunday

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SUNDAY, APRIL 30, 2017

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor / Roderick dela Cruz, Issue Editor business@manilastandard.net

NOVELIST WANTS TO REWRITE PH REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY

I

t takes about 24 minutes to go down a 30-story residential building with 1,200 units near a commercial business district in Metro Manila—sometimes longer than it takes to travel to work.

“This is because of the congestion in queuing at the elevator,” says Prof. Enrique Soriano, a real estate expert from Ateneo Graduate School of Business.

Soriano says “cookie-cutter” units like this now abound in Metro Manila. “It is happening to a lot that we have been monitoring. This is because their value proposition is low price. But in the end, it is going to boomerang in the industry itself. That’s what scares a lot of people like me. Watch out for developers who are cookie cutters, who have no value to offer,” he says.

He says unit owners of low-value real estate units are likely to default on their monthly amortization, because of the bad experience with the units. “If you compute that in multiples of 100 who will default, it is now a problem of the bank. Your default rate is going to affect the viability of the banking industry and the property sector,” he says.

This emerging situation in the real state sector is what Rex Drilon II tries to avoid. Drilon, an author and property executive, reemerged from retirement five years ago to establish a company that aims to offer better real estate products in the country. He is the author of“Patriots on the Street,”a novel about love of country.

Keyland Corp., a five-year-old company established by Drilon, started its business renovating buildings in Makati City like the one at the corner of Ayala Ave. and Paseo de Roxas. Seeing the need for better-quality condominium units, Keyland introduced Casa de Sequoia in Las Piñas City for first-home buyers and has recently launched 110 Benavidez Serviced Residences in Makati City for the investor market.

Casa de Sequoia is a one-hectare property project with six low-rise buildings that cater to the affordable market. Other ongoing projects are Signa Designer Residences and Southkey Place.

“We envision ourselves as a niche player. We started with zero landbank, as against Ortigas with 4,000 hectares to start with or Ayala with 600 hectares to start with. There are other bigger players. The intention of Keyland is really to create its own niche, no different from when we were running Ortigas,” says Drilon, a former chief operating officer of Ortigas & Company Limited Partnership who helped transform Greenhills Shopping Center into the most profitable mall in the country on per square meter basis. He also headed several units of developer Ayala Land Inc. Drilon, the founding chairman of Keyland, says the company’s goal is to offer great value to homeowners and investors alike. “There is value in identifying your core competence, core market.

Keyland is still a startup. Our board approved just last month a 10-year investment program that will invest significant numbers. The vision is to be one of the key players in the industry, not necessarily the biggest, but probably [with] the best value-formoney,” he says.

Keyland also teamed up with The Ascott Ltd. of Singapore, the world’s largest international serviced residences operator, to launch 110 Benavidez Serviced Residences in Legaspi Village, Makati City.

Keyland president and chief executive Jose Ma. Montinola says the company started by renovating old office buildings and leasing them out to business process outsourcing companies and other tenants.

“Our chairman’s strategy then was to buy existing buildings, do a quick retrofit, magically turn it around and start leasing. That’s what we did for three office buildings in Makati. They were all existing office buildings. We didn’t tear them down.

Tearing them down would entail four or five years to finish. So we bought them, renovated them in

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NOVELIST.

Keyland Corp. chairman Rex Drilon II nine months and leased them in 12 months. Our office buildings are all 100-percent leased out. Once we had the cashflow, we started doing residential,” says Montinola.

Keyland now operates five office buildings with a combined floor area of 50,000 square meters.

Montinola says the next stage is the development of residential buildings such as Casa de Sequoia and 110 Benavidez Serviced Residences.

“It took us a year to get some traction [for the first project]. Now, it [Casa de Sequoia] is almost sold out. It took us a while, but once we finished our first building, the market saw the price point. It is really value for money.

That’s why we now have a faster velocity with our projects,” he says.

Keyland has more projects in the pipeline. “Most of our projects are owned 100-percent by Keyland.

But we also have a joint venture partner for two Alabang projects. We also have a joint venture with Robinsons,” he says.

“After this, we have a property that we recently acquired in Salcedo Village. We are in the planning stage for that. We have another property in Legaspi Village. That’s also in the pipeline. So we have two more in the pipeline,” Montinola says.

Montinola says 110 Benavidez Serviced Residences, a 32-story residential tower near Greenbelt in Legaspi Village, will have 209 units, including 67 private residences and 142 serviced apartments that will be managed by Ascott under the brand Citadines Benavidez. He says the project is aimed at the investor market, who can afford to shell out P7.5 million to P15 million for studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units that will have an annual return on investment of 6 percent

to 8 percent.

The project is expected to be operational by the first half of 2022, according to Ascott regional general manager for the Philippines and Thailand Arthur Gindap.

Gindap says Ascott, which is led by Singaporebased Capital Land, is now the world’s largest operator of service residences, referring to hotel units that are designed for long staying guests. “In the Philippines, half of our business is in the hotel model,” he says.

Ascott, which owns the brands Ascott, Citadines and Somerset, aims to develop new brands for the millennials.

“In the hospitality space, the return that we offer is the highest in the industry,”says Gindap. “By 2020, we will have around 5,000 units in the Philippines.

That translates to about 25 to 30 properties. So we are quite bullish.”

Montinola says the partnership with Ascott is in line with Keyland’s value proposition. “We always want to come up with a product that is unique, that has a certain appeal to whatever target market we are looking at. We don’t want to just keep doing condos, just like everybody else. We have a selling proposition,” he says.

Keyland is investing P1.2 billion in 100 Benavidez and expects to generate P2 billion in sales. The unit is being sold at P220,000 per square meter, but it will be fully furnished into a hotel room. The project will also have a rooftop infinity pool, fitness center and hotel lobby.

Keyland signed a 15-year partnership agreement with Ascott. “When you have a partner like Ascott Turn to C2

Kickstart President Minette Navarrete introduces Globe Future Makers Program to the local startup community.

GLOBE ENGAGES FILIPINO STARTUPS GLOBE Telecom has engaged the local startup community to be part of Globe Future Makers, a social innovation program which seeks to adopt game-changing digital solutions to address various causes of poverty in the country in line with the company’s sustainability commitment to create positive societal impact.

Startup founders and members met with Globe representatives at the recent staging of Kickstart Venture Inc.’s signature startup community mixer Raid The Fridge, a monthly open networking event that gathers startup founders for opportunities to learn, engage, or collaborate with investors, developers, corporations, the government and even with media.

During the presentation, Globe invited the startups to participate in the program and be part in bringing about positive changes especially to the marginalized sector of society as a response to UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 9 which calls for investment in infrastructure and innovation to find lasting solutions to both economic and environmental challenges.

“Poverty, the lack of access to quality health care and education, the negative impact of climate change to the environment, and the displacement of communities due to armed conflict remain society’s most pressing and pervasive issues.

These are the issues that the Globe Future Makers Program wants to address. By offering efficient, sustainable solutions for the bottom and middle of the pyramid, startups can make massive impact to help drive social development in the Philippines,” said Minette Navarrete, president of Kickstart, the country’s leading venture capital firm and wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe.

“Globe and Kickstart believe that systemic solutions are possible! Startups focused on solving social problems can use technology to make impact at scale, and the Globe Future Makers Program is intended to support social innovation, so that we can build a better future for everyone,” said Navarrete.

Th e p ro gra m i s o p e n to anyone with a working prototype, preferably a pilot test done with potential beneficiaries. Entries should clearly articulate how technology is being used to optimize the social impact of the organization on the four focus areas, namely healthcare, learning and education, climate change, and peace and order.

Application will be accepted until May 7, 2017, after which, selection and evaluation of all entries will be conducted.

BAYAN ACADEMY, JPMORGAN BOOST FILIPINO ANIMATORS’ SKILLS BAYAN Academy’s Technical and Livelihood Center, in partnership with JPMorgan Chase & Co., has recently completed a Technopreneurship course on 2D and 3D Animation NC III in Quezon City.

The four-month program for 2D animation and five-month program for 3D animation aim to equip aspiring Filipino animators with the necessary skills essential to their success and critical to ongoing efforts of both public and private institutions to boost job creation within the animation industry in the country.

A total of 50 graduates received their certificates of completion from Bayan Academy for successfully completing 840 and 1,040

hours of classroom training in the 2D and 3D Animation NC III courses, respectively.

They also finished at least 120 hours of internship which included project immersion to further enhance their competencies, and test their attitude and workplace relationships. Of the 50 graduates, 47 already passed the TESDA assessment; while the remaining 3 are scheduled to take their tests.

Graduates of 3D animation who One of the scholars is 21-year old are scholars of Bayan Academy and JP Pamela Ladrillo who is currently employed Morgan Chase by a local animation studio. According to her, the training she received prepared her to find women animators, I’m confident for the demands of the job. “I learned a lot that I can compete amongst the best in from my training and while it is uncommon the industry. I am now a 3D animator but

my employer -– impressed with my work –- saw my potential to do 3D modeling too,” Pamela said.

For one of the grant beneficiaries, Marlon Rapsing, the course helped him fast-track his career in Animation.“The skills I’ve learned, plus the exposure and training I’ve received helped me deliver high-value creative services which made me stand out from the competition,” he said.

Rapsing is now with Tycoon Animation, the fastest growing animation company in the Philippines, as a junior animator along with five former trainees.

Sharing Rapsing’s success story are six other graduates of the program who are

now 2D and 3D animators in Dreamlords Digital, a direct-to-digital studio based in Las Vegas and Manila, specializing in games and gamified apps.

Another inspiring grantee is Marissa Cassica who left her previous work to pursue her passion. After finishing the program, she was accepted in September 2016 as an artist and production officer at SGNFX, an integrated in-house design and manufacturing company.

After three months, she was promoted to operations division head managing at least 20 people from different departments such as administration, purchasing, design, sales and production.

Business

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SUNDAY, APRIL 30, 2017 business@manilastandard.net

DENTISTS HOLDING BIGGEST CONFAB

PARTICIPANTS in the 108th annual convention of the Philippine Dental Association—considered the biggest gathering of its kind on May 1 to May 5 at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City—can look forward to an enriching and fruitful experience.

Dr. Carlos Buendia, PDA president and Dr. Mark Villalobos, PDA president-elect and general chair said the full-packed convention proper would have the opening ceremony on May 1 with Dr. Rainnier Reyes, officer-in-charge of Board of Dentistry at Professional Regulation Commission as keynote speaker. Scientific sessions hosted by the general and specialty affiliates of the PDA will feature foreign and local lecturers on May 1 to 5.

A fellowship night will feature interactive production numbers using state-of-the-art stage design and technology, amusing event accents and elements, wacky and entertaining games and raffle on May 2.

A daily health screening program will offer a wide array of medical services to all registered dentists on May 2 to 4 while the president’s night will be held on May 5. Capping the event is the awards night on May 6.

In addition to the scientific sessions, the convention, which has for its theme “PDA: Challenging the Next Generation of Leaders,” also provides a symposium for government and health center dentists, PDA officers and volunteers who engage in community dentistry.

Private practitioners who wish to practice non-invasive dentistry for their patients can be further enlightened with the topic “Minimum Intervention for Community Dentistry” which will highlight evidence-based strategies aimed at addressing the severe and chronic problem of caries among Filipinos.

There will be another symposium for dental students.

The Dental Trade Exhibits, a permanent fixture in PDA’s annual conventions, will showcase state-of-the-art dental equipment and latest dental materials, par ticipated in by 357 local and international traders. The exhibit design is based on international standards so participants can comfortably move around the venue.

NOVELIST...

From C1

managing the building for you, it retains its original form. After 15 years, it will still look like it’s new because the standards that they are following cannot be altered,” Montinola says.

Meanwhile, Soriano believes that the property sector still has room for growth, despite the presence of some “cookie cutter” projects. “It has been a boom and bust cycle within the property sector since 1987. I have seen three or four cycles in the sector. The only good thing about the sector is that it is technically an unreal estate market. Why? Because there are still many who have no houses,” he says.

“The papers report that the housing backlog is around 5 million units. That’s the official number. If you ask me, it is around 7 million. Every year, around 40,000 to 50,000 houses are in demand in the mid-market and around 400,000 units in the low-end market. We can only supply practically 22 percent to 23 percent. It keeps on building up,” he says.

“And the huge migration of people from the the provinces all the way to Metro Manila, that is around 200,000 to 300,000 a year,” says Soriano.

Soriano says the huge housing backlog is not an excuse to build “cookiecutter” houses. “To be in the market, you need to be competitive. You need to have a compelling and a powerful value proposition,” says Soriano.

Roderick T. dela Cruz A NEW tourism destination which combines a scenic river, amazing natural attractions, varied flora and fauna, an interesting agricultural community and a colorful festival is beginning to draw a lot of visitors in Cagayan province.

Casagan, an agricultural village first inhabited by Aetas in Sta. Ana, Cagayan is now known for its bountiful rice fields and beautiful Tangatan River where villagers use a wooden boat called “takuli” to transport passengers and their agricultural products from the farm to the market.

The river, a source of income and food for Casagan residents, offers a variety of fish and edible shells.

A version of the story goes that the name of the village originated from the Aeta word “Casagan” which means “a place to meet together.” Aetas were the first inhabitants in the barangay and used to build their huts along the riverbank.

Clearing in the area began with the arrival of settlers from other areas who were drawn by fertile soil and nearby thick forest where narra, ipil and lawan grew. Casagan thus became an agricultural barangay and is now one of

AMWAY REACHES OUT TO YOUNG FILIPINOS

By Othel V. Campos

A

fter two decades of bringing quality consumer products to Filipinos, Amway Philippines is building a new center and introducing new products to reach out to new demographics—the millennials.

In its 20th year in the country, the company unveiled fresh initiatives to keep up with changing consumer profile.

“What do you do if you’re a company 20 years in the market already. Sometimes, you have to keep innovating. That’s what Amway is known for,” says Amway Philippines country manager Ma. Elenita Olmedo.

“For one, we are coming up with products specific for the Filipino market. One of the biggest things we’ll be doing in the near future is we will be having our new physical infrastructure and we call it the Brand Experience Center. We’re moving our headquarters and location for Amway distribution center. We’re opening up in a way that you can shop and be experiencing Amway in a whole new way,” Olmedo says.

The new Amway center will serve as a second home for Amway business owners –a place that gives more room for expanding distribution and consumer base.

Amway Philippines is also expanding its product line to accommodate timely products specific to Filipino consumers, especially the youth.

The company has 200 active products in the Philippines.

Global lineup covers more than 450 products.

“We will have a brand specific to the Philippines that will reach younger demographics.

This Amway brand will not be available anywhere else.

Since beauty and skin care still dominates direct selling, this is where we want to be,” Olmedo says.

A report by market research firm Euromonitor shows that direct selling business in the Philippines is worth P62.7 billion annually. Of this, skin care and the make-up category is about P19 billion.

“And that is mostly mass.

Amway as a prestige brand targets the huge opportunities presented by the local cosmetics sector. We see the potential and that’s what we want to capture. That’s where we are going and while we can’t say we’ll be majority, we want a big

[market share],” says Olmedo.

The prestige category is only about 20 percent of total skin care and cosmetics. Product launch is planned at the end of the first semester.

Amway ’s main produc ts will remain Nutralite health supplements, its lifeblood accounting for 50 percent of total sales. Nutralite health supplements are produced using 100-percent plant derivatives from lycopene to flavanols.

Amway has its own certified organic farms where most of the plants and herbs needed to sustain the health supplement segment are grown.

In the Philippines, Amway teamed up with local coffee company Figaro to co-develop an energy-packed instant coffee product called Achievers Coffee in 2011.

Because of the distinc t characteristic of the Filipino consumer, the Philippines has been chosen as pilot testing site for Amway products.

T h e c o u n t r y ’s y o u n g demographics, social savviness of the Filipino youth and penchant for all things western contributed to it being a pilot test site for Amway.

“Which means that if you’re going to pilot test anything that has some global influence, deserves some global impact in the future, the Philippine has every good ground for doing that. We’ve been testing a lot of digital and social initiatives in the Philippines. So, it’s for this reason that we’ve been identified to pilot test some products,” Olmedo says.

She says the Philippines is in a unique position to provide a fertile testing ground for new ideas for Amway.

“Our economy is currently among the fastest-growing in Southeast Asia, and has been on this stable trend in recent years. Growth is being driven by in-market consumption. With declining poverty incidence and rising income, the Philippines is fast becoming an upper middleincome country, providing more opportunities for retailing, especially for consumer goods in the fast-growing categories

Amway Philippines country manager Ma. Elenita Olmedo

of health and wellness, beauty and home care,” she says.

“The Philippines is in a sweet spot as the 100 million skews young, with about 70 percent of the population below the age of 35, and average age, as of last survey, is now at 23 year old. The Philippines is also among the largest English speaking population in Asean, very western in orientation, and therefore, any new initiative piloted in the market will have

great applicability globally,” she says.

“What’s really driving the business is the sponsoring growth or the increasing number of distributors joining the organization. This is one of the indicators of a company’s health –when it is being driven by people joining the business,” says Olmedo.

Amway Philippines has more than 60,000 distributors nationwide.

NEW TOURISM DESTINATION RISES IN CAGAYAN

the rice producers in Sta. Ana. After its success with Palaui Island’s community-based sustainable tourism program, the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority recognized and identified Casagan as its next area for CBST development.

Ceza, in coordination with Casagan’s barangay unit and the Department of Tourism, officially launched Casagan as a new tourism destination in Cagayan Valley on May 14, 2016, in time for its annual colorful festival. Barangay Casagan celebrates a festival in honor

of San Isidro Labrador in May. To promote Casagan as a destination, Ceza launched a tourism development program dubbed “Casagan-all-you-can” which sends a message of invitation to everyone. It has opened varied activities and interesting sites in the village.

Casagan’s geography makes it an exciting destination for river-cruising.

A cruise to the river offers a unique natural setting that is composed of varied flora and fauna such as the mangroves and trees that grow along the river banks, the different species that include wild birds that migrate to the area during specific seasons and the fireflies that shine after sunset and before sunrise.

The view is made even more spectacular with the surrounding fields and mountains, as the boat reaches the end of the river and the start of the sea.

As one takes a cruise along the river, the sight of the man-made hanging bridge adds a spectacle to the fascinating story

of Casagan.

The river cruise also leads to one of the area’s gem—the La Mesa Falls.

It is a natural waterfalls that is ideal for picnic, swimming and simply just nature-watching.

The elevated rock formation of the waterfalls makes it a potential rappelling area. The elevated area can be reached 6.81 kilometers from ParadaBatu entrance and 5.92 kilometers from Tangatan entrance.

Adding more spice to the Casagan experience is the use of takuli in the form of a wooden kayak boat. Riding a takuli does not only offer a unique experience but also shares a part of the local culture and tradition.

The Casagan experience also introduces the “salamangk a” or cannonball, which is a fruit from a mangrove plant found along Tangatan River. Each “salamangka” fruit, which usually comes out during the summer season, bears a minimum of eight and a maximum of 19 distinctive seeds that, when detached, can make an interesting puzzle, thus the name. The fruit is dried and hardened to make a puzzle out of its seeds.

Sports

ILUSTRE IS BRIGHTEST STAR OF PALARONG PAMBANSA I

T WAS three years of domination at the pool for Maurice Sacho Ilustre.

The La Salle Zobel student dished out yet another impeccable performance to emerge the most bemedalled athlete in this year’s Palarong Pambansa in Antique.

Kyla Soguilon

mates Patrick Galvez, Ianiko Limfilipino and Keane Ting to 4x100 meter freestyle honors in 3:42.98.

Ilustre is best remembered for breaking a meet record twice in a day in the 2016 Palarong Pambansa.

Back then, Ilustre was an incoming 11th grader from La Salle-Zobel.

He reached secondary boys 100-meter freestyle finish line with a prayer, and erased a 11 year-old course again in 54.15 seconds at the poolside of the Bicol University-Albay Sports and Cultural Complex On Day 1, Ilustre bested Christian Anor of Davao in 4:12.94 in the 400-meter freestyle, before taking the 200-meter freestyle gold in 2:08.00, which is 32 seconds off the meet record.

Two years ago, Maurice Sacho Ilustre ended his campaign with a bang as he and Seth Isaak Martin emerged as the most bemedalled athletes of the 2015 Palaro.

He and Martin, who claimed two national junior records, finished with seven gold medals each. But the 15year old Ilustre’s campaign in the secondary boys’ division of the swimming action was among the most memorable in the weeklong meet.

Ilustre broke the national junior record he himself set last year in the 200-meter butterfly and claimed a total of six new meet marks in all of the seven events he swept and duplicated his seven-gold sweep, just like last year.

“Sobrang saya ko. Kasi nagawa ko ulit ang nagawa ko last year,” said Ilustre in recalling his 2015 stint.

On the last day, he snared two more golds in the 200-meter freestyle and the 4x100-meter relay.

Both were done in record-breaking fashion after he clocked 1:58.83 in the 200-meter freestyle and 3:43.68 in the relays.

He and his NCR teammates Christian Sy, Drew Magbag and Andrei Pogkiongco first reset the 4:10.66 with a new best time of 4:07, in the preliminaries of the 4x100 meter medley relays.

They then ruled the finals with the same time.

THREE MATCHES UP AS PVL OPENS SHOP Games today

10 a.m. – Army vs IEM (men’s) 2 p.m. – BaliPure vs Air Force (women’s) 4 p.m. – Pocari Sweat vs Power Smashers (women’s) 6 p.m. – Creamline vs Perlas (women’s)

By Peter Atencio

Ilustre participated in seven swimming events and topped them all in glittering fashion.

The 17-year-old capped his farewell stint in Palaro with two gold medals on the last day of swimming competition, including a recordbreaking victory in the secondary 200-meter freestyle.

“That’s seven out of seven. And four of these seven are records, and there’s two that’s close to national age group records,” said Ilustre, who admitted that achievements over the past has not sunk in yet.

This could be the reason why he’s not feeling emotional, least for now, about his successful campaign.

“Maganda ang naging competition ko. But, it has not sunk in yet. Maybe later, it will. And I have to be matured and be better after this,” added Ilustre.

Ilustre, an 11th grader at Zobel started his bid on a bright note by grabbing the top honors in the 200-meter backstroke, with a fast clocking of 1:56.44. This allowed him to erase the course record of 1:58.83 that he himself set two years ago.

Then, he rallied team-

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SUNDAY, APRIL 30, 2017 randyproject@yahoo.com

La Salle Zobel’s Maurice Sacho Ilustre topped all his seven swimming events in the Palaro. Peter Atencio

Ilustre broke no record when he ruled the 400-meter freestyle, but made a new mark in the 4x100 meter freestyle relay.

Ilustre also won the 200-meter butterfly, the 100 and 400 meter freestyle and helped teammates win 4x100 meter medley relays in record-breaking fashion.

He also went home with the secondary boys’ 100-meter butterfly plum.

When it was finally over, Ilustre found himself in the company of Salle Zobel standout Nicole Meah Pamintuan and Kyla Soguilon, who shone bright in the secondary and elementary girls’ action.

The 15-year old Pamintuan ended her stint with six golds, including a recordbreaking feat in the 200-meter freestyle.

“Sobrang saya ko. I achieved what I have been preparing for in training,” said Pamintuan.

Then, with Samantha Coronel, Althea Baluyut and Suzanne Himor, Pamintuan bannered NCR to the 4x100 freestyle gold, with Region 6 and region 4-a in second

Nicole Pamintuan (top left) with other awardees.

and third.

Her other gold medal conquests include the 100-meter backstroke, the 100-m freestyle, the 200-meter individual medley, the 4x100 meter and 4x50 meter freestyle relays.

In the elementary girls’ side, Soguilon took her sixth and final gold medal in topping the 50-meter freestyle.

“I took it fast, I took it fast,”

said Soguilon on her time of 29.05 seconds.

She finished ahead of Kirsten Tan (silver) and Krisha Apin (bronze), and added her to other feats.

Her other feats includes the 100-meter backstroke, 50-meter butterfly, the 200IM, the 50-m backstroke and that 4x50 meter freestyle.

She had a lone silver in the 4x100-meter medley.

THE Premier Volleyball League fires off today (Sunday, April 3) with an explosive triple-bill tipped to set the tone for another thrilling opening-season conference among the country’s best and brightest players at the FilOil Flying V Center in San Juan.

With the organizing Sports Vision renewing its partnership with giant network ABS-CBN to ensure the league’s continued wide TV live and online coverage, the Reinforced Conference promises to go the way the previous editions of the country’s longest, biggest league were held – marked by topnotch action and unpredictability with a level playing field.

Top draw Alyssa Valdez banners a Creamline squad out to make an impact in its maiden appearance and the many-time conference league MVP and former UAAP star will have a crack support crew that further makes the Cool Smashers one of the marked teams in the 14th season of the league where it all started.

They include Aerieal Patnongon, Coleen Bravo, James Suyat, Janet Serafica, Ivy Remulla, Pau Soriano, Joyce Palad, Aurea Racraquin and Jonalyn Ibisa.

Thai coach Tai Bundit will also pin his hopes on reinforcements Kuttika Kaewpin and American Laura Schaudt as they slug it out with the Perlas side anchored by former UP and Ateneo stalwarts and backstopped by Brazilian Rupia Inck and Japanese Naoko Hashimoto in the 6 p.m. main game.

The Perlas Lady Spikers will be relying on a combination of experience and youth with a slew of battle-scarred players, led by Amy Ahomiro, Sue Roces, Dzi Gervacio, Ella de Jesus, Sasa Devanadera and Jem Ferrer plus the addition of seasoned reinforcements Inck and Hashimoto putting them in good stead against the best teams in the fold.

They also put in a dose of youth and energy as they acquired Kat Bersola and Nicole Tiamzon, who recently completed their five-year tour of duty with the Lady Maroons, to beef up the Lady Spikers’ roster in the league backed by Mikasa and Asics.

The other members of the team are Mae Tajima and Amanda Villanueva.

“The core of the squad has so much experience and we welcome the addition of Kat and Nicole, they will give this team energy,” said coach Jerry Yee. Hashimoto, who plays for powerhouse Bangkok Glass and a member of the Japan team that snared the silver in the 2013 Asian Championship in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, is also raring to showcase her wares against her counterparts.

The BaliPure-Air Force duel at 2 p.m. and the 4 p.m. clash between the Pocari Sweat Lady Warriors and the Power Smashers are also expected to go down-to-the-wire with the Purest Water Defenders headed by many-time NCAA MVP Grethcel Soltones and import Jennifer Keddy of the US and Thai returnee Jaroensri Bualee and the Jet Spikers boasting of a solid crew backstopped

by Thai veteran Patcharee Sangmuan and local mainstays Joy Cases, Wendy Semana and Iari Yongco.

NCR’S BABY FALCONS RIP WV SQUAD, BAG CAGE CROWN SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique— Adamson Baby Falcons standouts Gerry Abadiano and Encho Serrano scored big baskets to lead the National Capital Region to a 75-48 beating of host Western Visayas entry, Sta. Clarita International School of Iloilo.

Their huge effort helped propel NCR to the secondary boys’ basketball crown after they were done with their finals encounter with the Ilonggos on the final day of the 2017 Palarong Pambansa.

Abadiano and Serrano eked out 27 and 19 points, respectively, as NCR reclaimed the basketball crown it last won in 2015. The Falcons proved so strong in the field that they finished their stint with a seven-game sweep at the Binirayan Sports Complex.

NCR’s full-court press overwhelmed their Visayan foes and they never looked back after taking a 30-16 advantage at the end of the first period.

“We prepared well on our defense.

And the players executed well,” said NCR coach Goldwyn Monteverde.

Monteverde is set to become National University’s next head coach in the UAAP junior basketball scene and after quitting his job with the Adamson Baby Falcons recently.

Abadiano’s triple in the last 6:37 allowed NCR to take a whopping 41-20 spread en route to the lopsided win.

Bryan Calama-an fired 11 points for the Ilonggos, who fell behind by 28 points in the third canto.

Serrano earned the Most Valuable honors in helping keep the Ilonggos at bay with his defense.

NCR’s efforts added the Metro Manila delegations’ overall medal haul of 98 golds, 66 silvers and 45 silvers.

Meanwhile, NCR also took home the gold in the secondary girls’ basketball action after smashing Negros Region, 57-32.

Southern Tagalog Region (Region IV-A) was second over with a 41-57-57 gold-silver-bronze tally.

They stood their ground in secondary girls volleyball when La Salle-Lipa needed five sets to beat NCR’s King’s International School, 20-25, 11-25, 2516, 25-16, 15-9.

Western Visayas (36-25-37) placed third while Negros Region was at fourth (26-27-36).

Region IV-A went on to sweep the volleyball honors after they stopped Davao Region, 25-23, 24-26, 26-24, 2520.

They also grabbed the elementary boys’ basketball honors after their 8641 blasting of Western Visayas.

After settling for the silver twice, Region IV-A won the baseball crown at the expense of NCR, 6-3.

In football, NCR won over Western Visayas, 3-1, to retain the crown for another year. Peter Atencio

Ralph Bajon of Western Visayas goes for a lay-up against NCR’s Robert John Minerva even as their teammates prepare for a rebound in this piece of action between the two teams in the secondary basketball final.

Peter Atencio

C4

Sports

SUNDAY, APRIL 30, 2017 Riera U. Mallari, Editor / Reuel Vidal, Issue Editor / Randy Caluag, Issue Editor

sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Michelle Nicolini (left) unloads a leg kick at Irina Mazepa during their encounter. ONE Championship

JIU-JITSU LEGEND CONTINUES TO ROLL

Alaska Aces forward Calvin Abueva (8) drives past Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters defender Jericho Cruz. Abueva was named one of the players who will represent the Philippines in the SEABA Championship May 12-18 at the Araneta Coliseum.

PH SENDS STRONGEST SQUAD TO SEABA

By Reuel Vidal

N

O MERCY. The Philippines will not be taking any chances and will send the strongest possible squad to the Southeast Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) Championship to be held May 12 to 18 here in the country.

This after veteran coach Jong Uichico warned of the improved competition following his scouting tour of the teams that will participate in the tournament.

The squad will include the best players in the Philippine Basketball Association led by three-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beer and reigning PBA Commissioner’s Cup Best Player of the Conference Calvin Abueva of the Alaska Aces.

The announcement was made April 28, Friday in Lucena. Fajardo was a member of the Gilas Team which played in Cagayan De Oro while Abueva was part of the Luzon All-Stars which played in Lucena during the 2017 PBA All-Star Week.

Fajardo is the most dominant player in the PBA right now. He won three consecutive MVP awards and is poised to become arguably the best ever to play in the league.

He is big, strong and is unstoppable underneath the goal once he is in position to score. He is also smart and gifted with a soft shooting touch. With Fajardo leading the charge SMB has a virtual lock on the All-Filipino conference.

Abueva excels at both ends of the court. He relies on explosive

speed and overwhelming strength to drive strong and finish at the hoop, pull up for jumpshots or dish to open teammates.

He is a tenacious defender at the defensive end. He is quick enough to stay in front of the fastest wings in the league yet strong enough to defend the post. He is also a ferocious rebounder who can collar defensive boards and immediately start the Alaska fastbreak offense by bringing down the ball himself.

The team also includes PBA veterans in big men Japeth Aguilar of Barangay Ginebra and Raymond Almazan of the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters. Other veterans in the squad are Star Hotshots scorer Allein Maliksi and Asia’s top point guard Jason Castro of TNT Ka Tropa.

PBA’s leading local scorer Terrence Romeo of GlobalPort Batang Pier completes the veteran cast.

The team also includes the future of Philippine basketball with former members of the Gilas Cadets in Jio Jalalon of Star, Roger Pogoy of TNT Katropa, and Matthew Wright of Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters as well as TNT KaTropa second year player Troy Rosario.

The team, already strong

San Miguel Beer center June Mar Fajardo takes it strong to the hoop against defender Jackson Corpuz. Fajardo was named one of the players who will represent the Philippines in the SEABA Championship May 12-18 at the Araneta Coliseum.

enough to manhandle every team in the SEABA, was made even stronger with the addition of naturalized player Andray Blatche.

The SEABA will be played May 12 to 18 at the Smart Araneta Colise-

um. The Philippines plays Myanmar 4 p.m., Friday, May 12. The rest of the Gilas games include: Singapore 4 p.m., Saturday, May 13; Malaysia, 4 p.m., Sunday, May 14; and Thailand, 4 p.m., Tuesday, May 16.

BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU legend Michelle Nicolini continued her ONE Championship streak with another spectacular victory submitting five-time wushu world champion Irina Mazepa in their strawweight encounter at ONE: Kings of Desiny last week.

Nicolini and Mazepa engaged in another classic matchup between a grappler and a striker with the grappler negating the striker’s advantage in distance by taking the fight to the mat.

The two dynamic female mixed martial artists tested the waters by trading strikes on their feet for the first thirty seconds of the contest. Nicolini, who trains with other BJJ and Muay Thai world champions at Evolve MMA in Singapore, will have none of that. She wasted no time in taking the fight to the canvas, and immediately ended up in side control.

Nicolini controlled Mazepa’s position and moved effortlessly into the mount. After attempting a belly-down armbar, the Brazilian was swept to the bottom. For a moment, it looked as if Mazepa was about to inflict some damage from atop a mount.

However, it was not meant to be. Nicolini was very comfortable, and knew exactly what she was doing. She quickly moved out of harm’s way and was able to lock in another armbar, which forced the St. Petersburg, Russia native to tap out at the 2:11 mark of the opening stanza.

Both fighters are renowned in their disciplines and their bout could just as easily have been a world championship in strawweight if the promotion had a world title in that division.

Following the fight, Nicolini pleaded for the inauguration of the ONE Women’s Strawweight World Championship. If a world championship for the division does materialize, the Evolve MMA product will undoubtedly be a top contender.

Nicolini improves her MMA record to 4-1. As for Mazepa, she receives the first defeat of her career, and slips to 2-1.

PH VOLCANOES RETAIN TRANSCOM RUGBY TITLE LAGUNA—The Philippine Volcanoes - Philippine Residents XV defeated Singapore in a water-logged match last week at Southern Plains, Laguna to keep the crown in the Transcom Rugby Championship in the country.

In wet conditions the visitors started strongly with two penalty conversions racing to a 6 point lead through Charlie Lambert.

Philippine Volcano Tim Bweheni stood out for the Philippines scoring all 10 points in the first half through a penalty, a try of his own and a conversion to make it 10 points to 9 after 40 minutes.

The Philippine backline was well directed

by Joe Palabay Dawson and veteran Gareth Dela Rosa Holgate, the Philippines showing flair at times in the wet whilst the forward pack

tamed the Singaporeans in tough, muddy and wet conditions.

Three minutes into the second half the Philippines extended their lead through quick thinking, a brilliantly timed quick tap from Dawson finding a flying Justin Villazor Coveney to bust over the white line for another 5 points. Bweheni converted the try to make it 17 to 9.

The Philippines found more breathing space through outside center Gregory Golmann scoring after a superb line break from the Philippine backline crashing over in the 52nd minute. Bweheni’s radar was on securing another two points from the sideline to make it 24 to 9.

Singapore fought back not long after, with

a never say die attitude Murray Campbell broke through 25 meters out to set up a 5 pointer for his team. An unsuccessful conversion from Lambert had the Philippines in the lead 24 points to 14 with fifteen minutes on the clock left.

The Singaporeans never held back, grinding away at the Philippines defensive line pushing the team to its limits at times. Ill-discipline affected the Philippines with Lambert slotting a crucial penalty to make it 24 to 17 with 5 minutes remaining.

On the 78th minute the Philippines secured the match after Bweheni found space to set up Dawson to close out the match 29 points to 17 and securing the Transcom Rugby Championship.

HE’S ALL WET. Joe Palabay Dawson sprints through the water logged pitch as he shows his experience and skill to lead the Philippines past Singapore. Raymond Braganza