Ms sect c 20170827 sunday

C1

SUNDAY, AUGUST 27, 2017

Business

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

CEO WANTS BIDET TO SUPPLANT ‘TABO’

T

HE youngest country head of a Japanese conglomerate, who started his marketing career by selling beer at bars and restaurants in Manila, is now on a mission to change Filipinos’ bathroom culture, from the ‘tabo’ or dipper system to an automated hygienic technology complete with bidet.

Scan this icon to view the PDF

Lixil Water has a wide range of products— from toilet, bidet, shower, bathroom, bath tub, urinal, lavatory and wash basin to kitchen sink, kitchen accessories and kitchen faucets to ceramic tiles.

Alban says Lixil Water will soon launch the Inax brand in the Philippines. Inax is the leading Japanese manufacturer of bidet seats with automated functions. He says Okada Manila, a casino resort put up by a Japanese billionaire, placed an order for 2,500 Inax sets, for the use of its guests.

Alban, who became the country manager of Grohe at the age of 36 before the German company was acquired by Lixil in 2014, believes that the local market is now ready for these mid to high-end bathroom solutions.

He says the expanding middle-class and the construction boom allowed Lixil Water Technology to book more than 30-percent growth in revenue in the fiscal year ending March 2017. Condominium buildings developed by leading property developers are usually fitted with bathroom products of

BATHROOM CEO. Lixil Water Technology country manager for the Philippines Alen Alban

Lixil, according to Alban.

“We are looking for the right timing to introduce more products,” says Alban, who also worked for American Standard before transferring to Grohe. Alban says being the current owner of these two brands, Lixil Water Technology now has a 56-year history in the Philippines.

Alban, the youngest among the country heads of Lixil in Asia, attends quarterly meetings overseas to plot the growth path of the company. He says while the Philippines is not the largest market in the region, Lixil is looking at it for growth.

Alban, a bachelor who goes to work from his home in Bacoor, Cavite on a daily basis, leads a team of 70 professionals in Lixil Water Technology. He was a Dean’s Lister as a student at De La Salle University where he completed a marketing degree in 1997. He also attended the Ateneo Graduate School of Business.

He was active in extra-curricular activities, being an officer and member of Junior Entrepreneurs’ Marketing Association and Junior Philippine Institute of Accountants.

Alban considers his ‘people skills’ as a major advantage. He recalls that after graduating

from college, he worked as a senior account executive for a marketing company and handled events. “One time, one of the promo girls we hired for a beer company did not show up. Pressed for time, I had to do the job myself,” he says.

“You have to go through a lot, even negative experiences, to learn. It is really hard work that will help you succeed in whatever you are doing,” says Alban.

He joined Splash Corp. in November 2000 and managed the Maxi-Peel brand which eventually became a leader in the exfoliant category. He pioneered the trade marketing department of Splash and later became the company’s customer development manager, before he joined American Standard Philippines Ltd. Co. in August 2006.

Alban helped revive the new American Standard branding in the Philippines and created successful product portfolio. He was the head of project sales department of the company and was next in line for country leadership position, when he opted to join Grohe Philippines in March 2011.

He helped grow Grohe’s business in the Philippines by more than 600 percent in four Turn to C2

AURORA PROVINCE PROMOTED AS ‘CITY OF CHARM’ AURORA province will take center stage as the Philippines’“City of Charm” in the 14th China-Asean Expo in Nanning, Guangxi, China on Sept. 15 to 17.

As a part of the Philippine delegation led by the Department of Trade and Industry-Center for International Trade and Expositions and Missions, the local government of Aurora will highlight the province’s wonderful sights, fascinating culture and promising investment opportunities in the ‘City of Charm’ pavilion.

In the booth, the Aurora provincial government is also set to feature the

UST GRAD TURNS THESIS INTO DINER IN MANILA

By Othel V. Campos

“Our expectation is to really grow and change the bathroom habits of the market— to shift to electronic toilets,” Alen Alban, the 40-year-old country manager of Lixil Water Technology, says in an interview in Makati City.

Lixil Corp. is a leading Japanese conglomerate that provides housing and building materials, with unit Lixil Water Technology considered as the world’s leading bathroom company that owns the brands American Standard, Grohe, Inax, Jaxson and Ecocarat.

Lixil Water Technology country manager for the Philippines Alen Alban (second from right), along with other company executives showcase their latest bath tub technology.

Chiquitos owner Celine Tabia wins the Next Gen Entrepreneur Award.

A tourist rides the waves in Baler, Aurora the birthplace of surfing in the Philippines.

amazing sight and economic potential of each of its eight municipalities, namely: Baler, Casiguran, Dilasag, Dinalungan, Dingalan, Dipaculao, Maria

Aurora and San Luis.

Caexpo is the second biggest trade event in China, with a total exhibition space of about 80,000 square meters and 4,600 exhibition booths with around 57,000 participants. It is the only international trade fair in the region dedicated to promoting the building of China-Asean Free Trade Area and celebrating regional economic and trade cooperation.

“Aurora will be given a chance to promote its premier agriculture sector and tourist destination in the Chinese and Southeast

Asian market. This will lead to more employment and livelihood opportunities to its locals through the entry of foreign and domestic capital that will boost our incomegenerating industries,” said Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions executive director Clayton Tugonon.

“Harnessing the economic competitiveness of Aurora province will enable its local to diversify its products and improve the services that it can offer to the local and international markets,” Tugonon said.

WHILE most students are doing thesis to comply with the requirements for a college degree, this young entrepreneur turned hers into a business.

Celine Tabia says her thesis has become a diner called Chiquitos, which caters to students passing along Laong Laan and Tolentino Streets near University of Sto. Tomas in Manila.

“Chiquitos was still a thesis in 2009. I started out the business in 2010 while finishing school at UST. My mom and dad helped me pull it through. Mom used to take orders while Dad washed the dishes and kitchen stuff. Our household help did the cooking. We used to operate a 10-seat capacity in our first branch in Asturias. It ran for two years,” she says.

Tabia says she did a thesis in compliance with her BS Commerce Degree, Major in Entrepreneurship.

Chiquitos was named after her late grandfather who was fondly called Quito and her pet Chi. The diner’s main offerings are chicken chops—small deep-fried cuts of chicken breast topped with choice sauce from a select list of proprietary sauces, all crafted by Tabia herself.

She says meal choices come and go but the main attractions continue to be the chicken chops, hand-pulled beef and a select roster of student meal paired with drinks starting at an affordable P70 per meal.

After Chiquitos’ first branch was closed because of the renovation works on the building that used to house the diner, Tabia used her earnings to bring back Chiquitos at a better spot along Tolentino Street, now bigger with a 50-seat capacity.

With her boyfriend as a business partner, they also set out to open another branch of Chiquitos at a busy nook along Laong Laan Street.

“We did this so as to cater to the student crowd frequenting the area. But as I see it, the sales were sort of divided on both branches. Nevertheless, both branches are doing well especially during the school season,” she says.

The Tolentino branch can rake in as much as P25,000 in sales on a good day, she discloses.

A middle child, the second from a brood of four, Tabia has never felt the so called“middle-child syndrome”because of the love and attention her parents lavishly give her and her siblings.

With support from her parents, she still does most of the meal preparations at home like meat marination and sauce making.

Her entrepreneurial skills first manifested when she was still a high school student at St. Scholastica’s College where she used to peddle small cute notebooks to schoolmates.

“I bought those cute notebooks from National Bookstore at P2 each and sold them for P10 apiece to my classmates. Back then I thought that was a good price since the notebooks were really pretty,” she says.

In college, she dabbled in selling ladies apparel and opened a online store she fondly calls AntiFashion, where she sells her own creations.

Collaborating with a dressmaker in Taytay, Tabia came up with a unique line of ladies’ wearables.

The shop now is an amalgamation of apparel imports from Bangok and personal designs of Tabia.

“For me, Chiquitos is a work I love but AntiFashion is the play part that I like,” she says.

Tabia won first prize for the Next Gen Entrepreneur Award during the 27th Franchising Expo in July 2017.

Business

C2

SUNDAY, AUGUST 27, 2017 business@manilastandard.net

CEO WANTS...

From C1

years, as Grohe became the leading premium bathroom brand in the country. He was appointed country manager of the German company in 2013, a position that he would retain when Lixil acquired Grohe the following year.

Lixil posted more than 30 percent growth in sales of American Standard and Grohe in the fiscal year ending March 2017, and the double-digit growth continued in the first quarter of current fiscal year.

He received an award from Lixil for his commitment to achieve growth targets above the average industry performance.

“We just have to be more aggressive and surpass the market growth of 12 percent. The market is growing, because there is a lot of construction activities. We also would like to get a share from competitors. We are in mid to high-end segments. More people can now afford to buy condos,” he says.

About 60 percent of Lixil’s sales are retail (households), while the balance of 40 percent represent corporate transactions. Alban says the biggest clients are property developers, hotels and office buildings. “We are seeing a lot of developments, not only in Metro Manila, but also in Cebu, Iloilo and other cities,” he says.

As country manager, Alban meets and deals with a lot of people, from company presidents to plumbers.

“You have to be very flexible to do this job,” he says.

Alban says he can only succeed as country manager if he has the full support of his employees. “We try to build the capability of our employees through trainings. When I leave, I want the company to be sustainable and not depending on one person for the success of the company. Building the capability of our people is one thing I am focusing on. If you build that, the business side will follow,” he says.

He considers his leadership style as democratic. “I cannot do it alone.

I give them [employees] leeway to make mistakes. I calculate if the mistake is not detrimental to the business, or if he or she can learn from that mistake,” he says.

“Building people and staying focused are important in leading a company. People have different personalities, but if you do the right things, they will realize that even if you have different personalities, it is the goal that will unite you,” says Alban.

It is also important to be dedicated and organized to keep the organization running, he says. “If you set a certain goal, stay positive that you will achieve that. It is really the determination that achieves the goal. You do everything you can to achieve it. It starts with planning.

Then, there are the organization skills, and getting the right people to work with you,” he says.

Alban says the goal right now is to change the bathroom habits of Filipinos. “We are competing with tabo,” he says, referring to dipper, which is popular in Filipino bathrooms.

“We are consistently introducing new technologies such as shower control, which is more intuitive, easier to use and with massage functions. In the kitchen, we are introducing new technologies such as Grohe Blue, which deliver fresh, great-tasting filtered water and even sparking water,” he says. “ We are expecting a shift in bathroom technology. Right now, most IoT [Internet of Things] take place in the IT sector. The bathroom also experiences a shift in technology,” says Alban.

“We want to be the leader in bathroom solutions. Lixil is the biggest in the world, with the combined brands that we have. We are not even offering everything in the Philippines yet. The economy is growing. The construction sector is growing. Little by little, we choose the right time to put all our portfolio in the Philippines. As the biggest bathroom company in the world, our target is to bring them to the Philippines. In all our activities, we want the Philippines to have the best practices,” says Alban.

Roderick T. dela Cruz

UPS Philippines managing director Chris Buono

C

WHY THE NEW UPS BOSS IS BULLISH ON PHILIPPINES

HRIS Buono, the new managing director of UPS Philippines, expects that the sustained expansion of the economy will translate into bigger opportunities for the American logistics company, despite the conflict in Mindanao.

“I think the future is very bright for both UPS and the Philippines,” says Buono, who succeeded former UPS Philippines head Tim Gohoc who moved on to take a regional role.

UPS, formerly United Parcel Service, is a global leader in logistics, offering solutions such as transporting packages and freight, facilitating international trade and deploying advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business.

UPS serves more than 220 countries and territories worldwide. In the Philippines, it has an existing partnership with local company Air21.

UPS, which was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1907 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, posted $61 billion in revenue in 2016, when it handled 4.9 billion packages and documents. The company transports an average of 19.1 million packages and documents globally each day. It has 434,000 employees worldwide.

Buono was based in Singapore as vice president of information technology for UPS Asia Pacific before he was appointed country head in the Philippines. He was instrumental in building UPS’s new IT business analyst team and in implementing the Beijing Olympics’ logistics and warehousing technology, where he and his team achieved a zero-accident rate in an operation that delivered over 19 million items.

As country head in the Philippines, he is now responsible for express delivery and logistics operations in the country. His tasks include marketing, business development, international trade services, industrial engineering, human resources, customer service, security, finance and accounting, supply chain solutions as well as ocean, air and ground operations.

Buono, who holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Transportation and Logistics from Penn State University, began his career with UPS

in 2003 as IT solutions manager for Asia Pacific.

He has personal ties to the Philippines, a country he had been visiting for ten years before he was named country head of UPS. “I love the Philippines. My fiancée is a Filipino as well, so there are some personal ties coming here. Coming here as a visitor for the last ten years is a lot different than coming here and working. The first five months is like getting on the ground, talking to my people, understanding challenges from internal and external perspective, understanding our operations, meeting with multiple different customers, meeting with our partners. The last thing I want is to come in and make sweeping changes, without understanding what is happening on the ground,” he says.

Buono will bring a lot of his experience as an IT manager to his job as country head. “One of the things I used to do when I was in IT was actually facilitate a lot of local management processes, so I got the opportunity to come to Clark to train a lot of supervisors on leadership, competency and things like that. That is something I am trying to bring me here to further develop people, not only find successors or find succession plan for growth, but provide opportunities to rotations and opportunities outside the Philippines for locals who are here,” he says.

UPS established a foothold in the Philippines in 1997 during the financial crisis. In a span of 20 years, it expanded its operations to employ 1,213 Filipinos. “A bigger portion of our employees in the Philippines operate our international call center which is based out of Clark. Clark is also our hub. Our flights come in and out of Clark.

We have about 700 people that sit in Clark, doing call center work for both US, Australia, Singapore to handle a lot of different areas. We have 300 people in UPS operations in the Philippines. We will add folks as needed, where we see them needed,” he says.

UPS also deploys around 50 vehicles to transport packages and documents around the country. “We have about 45 to 50 UPS vehicles in and around Metro Manila, as well as Cebu and Clark. With our partnership with Air21, that expands to quite a bit more,” he says.

Buono says aside from Air21, “we do look consistently at other organizations that we can potentially work with.”

“I think there are a lot of opportunities for us to grow with some companies here, be it different customers as well as other potential companies,” he says.

Buono says the gross domestic product growth of nearly 7 percent means opportunities for the growth of businesses, including small and medium enterprises. “We are ready to support what we saw in Q2—that 6.5 percent growth.

We are really excited about that. That is our opportunity to grow with the country as well,” he says.

UPS is particularly looking at several industries to serve such as industrial manufacturing, the automotive market and retail. “These are the areas that continue to be a focus for us. As markets and sectors come, we want to support as much growth that the country is offering,” says Buono.

Another opportunity that UPS is looking at is the wine and liquor trade. UPS can now ship wine, beer and spirits (liquor) to businesses and consumers in 10 destinations across Asia Pacific, he says.

Buono says the economic integration of the 10 member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also presents opportunities for UPS. “UPS is supportive of the implementation of Asean road map for the integration of logistic services which aims to liberalize logistics services to ensure that Asean firms have access to world-class service providers. With the Philippines having recently signed the ratification of the protocol on the legal framework to implement the Asean single window, UPS definitely wants to pursue more opportunities to help local businesses take advantage of intensifying inter-Asean trade and grow with UPS as they venture into new markets,” he says.

“The Philippines chairmanship of Asean this year should see closer cooperation between the country and other Asean member states to push through the full implementation of these agreements, to deepen the integration of Asean, and help Filipino businesses better take advantage of a true Asean economic community,” he says.

“I am truly excited about the opportunity to not only help UPS grow here in the Philippines, but also the opportunity to help local businesses grow,” says Buono. Roderick T. dela Cruz

DANISH SCIENTIST REVEALS BREAKTHROUGH IN PEDIATRIC NUTRITION

By Ryan Carlos Gamilla A DANISH scientist has recently visited the Philippines to reveal the latest breakthrough in pediatric nutrition— MFGM, short for Milk Fat Globule Membrane, which he says is compositionally closely similar to human breast milk.

MFGM, which is extracted from cow’s milk, is rich in nutrients needed to support a child’s brain development and immunity, according to Tore Jesper Andersen.

Andersen, a researcher based in Denmark, clarifies that “the best optimum nutrition for infant is the mother’s milk.”

MFGM, he says, is an alternative ingredient which is rich in important nutrients that infants need to build to the brain.

MFGM is a tri-layer complex rich in bioactive components that has been proven in studies to support the cognitive development of infants. A study reveals that MFGM also contributes to the behavioral or EQ development of children.

“MFGM is a very complex ingredient and there’s a lot of components in it— phospolipids, gangliosides and proteins for all organs with different nutrients. Its importance means that you get closer

Danish scientist Tore Jesper Andersen to optimum nutrition which is the human breast milk and it helps in the development of the cognitive, the brain development and protects against infections, so MFGM has a great potential to narrow the gap [with human breast milk],” says Andersen, one of the leading

experts on MFGM. Andersen says MFGM can change the landscape of pediatric nutrition.

“This is not about replicating one of the crucial milk components. It is about successfully extracting MFGM and introducing it to milk formula to maximize its efficacy for the development of our children,” he says.

Positive effects of MFGM on cognitive or IQ development among infants were further corroborated by a study published by Dr. Niklas Timby of Umea University in Sweden.

The study shows that infants fed with MFGM-enriched milk had significantly higher cognitive scores compared to infants who were fed a formula without MFGM. Also, this cognitive score was not different from result report for breastfed infants.

Another study of Timby on the effects of MFGM also shows that the compound is beneficial to strengthening children’s immune system. Milk formula added with MFGM have reportedly reduced incidence of acute otitis media and episodes of bloody diarrhea among infants.

A different study conducted by Genevieve Veereman-Wauters established that children who consumed formula

enriched with MFGM demonstrated significantly improved parent-reported scores for behavioral regulation compared to children receiving control formula without MFGM enrichment.

Behind this revolutionary ingredient, a laborious process of getting MFGM from cow’s milk is obvious. “From cow’s milk you could produce cheese, you could also get a recipe called whey and whey’s very very thin, and that you can filter, you go to a membrane filtration, and you end up with a concentrate which is MFGM,” says Andersen.

MFGM provides benefits closer to human milk can produce, giving exceptional nutrition for the growth and development of infants and children.

“Of course when they are very young, that’s the best time to teach them because that’s when the brain is very malleable,” says Dr. Tippy SumpaicoTanchanco, a developmental behavior pediatrician.

Andersen says MFGM is already in foreign markets like China, Europe and America. It’s a matter of time before it reaches the Philippines as well.

MFGM is also seen to usher in a new era in pediatric healthcare and nutrition in the Philippines, he says.

Sports

C3

SUNDAY, AUGUST 27, 2017 reuelvidal@yahoo.com

Chris Tiu (17) controls the rebound against TNT big man Moala Tautuaa.

TIU CITED

BY PBA PRESS Filipino-British boxer Marvin John Tupas (middle) connects with a left hook on the face of Malaysian counterpart Adli Hapidz Bin Mohd Fauzi (right) whose face contorts at the force of the blow. Tupas won by spectacular knockout after the referee stopped the bout less than a minute into the first round. PSC Media

FILIPINO BOXERS DISPLAY POTENTIAL

By Reuel Vidal

Q

UALITY over quantity.

The Philippine boxing team to the 2017 Southeast Asia Games may have won just two gold medals, which was less than their 2015 SEA Games haul, but the victories are more impressive and the boxers show more potential to advance to the Olympic stage.

Filipino-British Marvin John Tupas won the gold in the light-heavyweight division while Eumir Felix Marcial ruled the middleweight division. Bantamweight Mario Fernandez settled for silver.

Light welterweight Charly Suarez and flyweight Ian Clark Bautista annexed bronzes.

The Philippines only finished second to Thailan in the boxing tourney with two gold, one silver and two bronze med-

als. The Thais topped the competition with two gold, three silver and a bronze medal.

But there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful given the quality of victories by Tupas and Marcial.

Tupas was spectacular. He charged at Malaysian Adli Hapidz Bin Mohd Fauzi and unloaded left and right blows to the head and face of his defenseless opponent.

After just nine seconds the

Filipino-British boxer Marvin John Tupas (left) and Felix Eumir Marcial show off their gold medals which they won during the 2017 SEA Games in Malaysia. PSC Media

Filipino boxer Felix Eumir Marcial (right) connects with a straight right to the face of Vietnam’s Nguyen Manh Cuong (left) in the middleweight class of the men’s boxing competition of the 29th Southeast Asian Games at the MITEC Hall 8 in Kuala Lumpur.

Marcial won via unanimous decision. PSC Media

referee halted the bout to give the Malaysian a standing eight count. After the count the referee allowed the fight to continue but after Tupas delivered a few more hard blows to the face and head of the Malaysian, the referee stopped the fight after just 21 seconds of the first round.

In the online interview Tupas said he didn’t want to take any chances to avoid a hometown decision.

“I wasn’t surprised. Once we get in, we are there to destroy people. Nothing more. I came to win,” said Tupas.

Meanwhile, Marcial, who hurt his hand earlier in the tourney, outclassed Thailand’s Pathomsak Kuttiya of Thailand in the middleweight finals despite fighting with one hand virtually tied behind his back.

Marcial dominated the three-round finals bout to win the title decisively.

Both fighters have now set their sights on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics following their decisive victories in the boxing competition 29th Southeast Asia Games.

Marcial and Tupas said the Olympics are their final goal in plans outlined by officials of the Alliance of Boxing Associations of the Philippines (ABAP). They are taking it one step at a time. First the SEA Games. Then the Asian Games next year. They will then target the qualifying tournaments with the Olympics as the ultimate goal.

Boxing coach Pat Gaspi said they are preparing the two protégés for bigger and better things. Both are undergoing intensive strength and conditioning to develop strength and power.

The two boxers are themselves something of an anomaly in local amateur boxing.

Marcial is built like a bodybuilder and hits with the power of a professional boxer.

Tupas, who is mestizo and tall enough to be basketball player, is even more impressive.

The two are a complete departure from the traditional Filipino amateur boxers, who come from very poor families, were generally smaller, skinnier and fought in the lighter classes.

Marcial and Tupas could herald the next generation of Filipino boxers who will not be short of stature and limb, look malnourished and fight in the lightest categories.

Dare we say it? Olympic gold in boxing.

WHO says the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are doomed to mediocrity without longtime coach Yeng Guiao?

Chris Tiu and the rest of his teammates made sure experts won’t ever be saying that with back-to-back victories over the Kia Picanto and the TNT KaTropa the past week in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Governors Cup. With the pair of victories Rain or Shine (3 wins, 2 losses) climbed into a tie at sixth place with TNT (3-2).

Leading the standings are the unbeaten Star Hotshots (4-0), the Meralco Bolts (5-1), Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (3-1), the San Miguel Beermen (3-1) and the NLEX Road Warriors (5-2).

The other teams include the Blackwater Elite (3-3), the GlobalPort Batang Pier (2-3), the Phoenix Petroleum Fuelmasters (2-6), the Alaska Aces (0-5) and Kia (0-7).

With his effort Tiu captured the PBA Press Corps Player of the Week award after helping Rain or Shine to those wins in the PBA Governors’ Cup. Tiu earned the citation for the period of Aug. 13-20 over teammates Jericho Cruz and Beau Belga, Meralco’s Garvo Lanete, Blackwater playmaker Roi Sumang, GlobalPort’s Stanley Pringle and NLEX’s Kevin Alas.

Rain or Shine has been in transition since management decided to trade longtime resident gunner Jeff Chan to Phoenix in exchange for Mark Borboran.

The Elasto Painters also had to deal with the absence of ace defender Gabe Norwood and Raymond Almazan, both on loan to Gilas in the FIBA Asia Cup in Beirut, Lebanon.

But Tiu showed why he’s a key contributor for coach Caloy Garcia as he averaged 9.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 7.0 assists off the bench to help Rain or Shine register victories over KIA and TNT. The 32-year-old Tiu provided instant offense with 13 points, highlighted by three triples, pulled down five rebounds and issued eight assists as Rain or Shine subdued KIA, 94-86 on Aug. 13.

A week later, Tiu contributed did just enough—tallying six points, five rebounds and six assists as Rain or Shine clobbered TNT, 105-73.

Tiu is a product of Ateneo De Manila University. He was a member of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s seniors champion in 2008 and a two-time member of the UAAP Mythical Five (2007, 2008).

He was a key member of the Philippine national team which won the gold in the 2011 Southeast Asia Basketball Association and the 2011 Southeast Asian Games and which won the bronze in the 2011 William Jones Cup.

LADIES VOLLEYBALL TEAM IMPROVES SEAG PERFORMANCE

Philippine women’s volleyball outside hitter Alyssa Valdez (2) hammers the ball through the blocking hands of a Vietnamese defender during their women’s volleyball match in the 29th Southeast Asian Games. The Vietnamese prevailed, 26-24, 25-12, 25-23. PSC Media

DESPITE back-to-back, straight-set losses to Vietnam and Thailand the Philippine Ladies Volleyball team will improve its 2015 Southeast Asia Games finish.

In 2015 the Philippines placed fifth behind champion Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore. The Philippine squad takes the floor against Vietnam today for the bronze medal and will place higher than fifth even if they lose their match.

The Philippines dropped a 24-26, 1225, 23-25 decision to Vietnam to complete its elimination round schedule which meant the team had to face perennial ladies volleyball champion Thailand in the semifinals.

The Thai ladies volleyball team is like the Philippine men’s basketball team in

SEA Games competition. They are looking for their 13th straight gold medal, after placing second to Japan in the 2017 AVC Asian Senior Women’s Championship.

Alyssa Valdez and Jaja Santiago powered the Filipinas to an early six-point, 8-2, lead in the third set. But the Vietnamese were quick to regain their composure and climbed all the way back to post the hard-earned third set victory.

Tran Thi Thanh Thuy led Vietnam with 19 points. Middle blocker Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hoa added 11 markers.

The Philippine squad had competent attackers in middle blocker Santiago, outside hitter Valdez and opposite hitter Jovelyn Gonzaga. But they seemed to have forgotten the basics as they

yielded 28 ball-handling errors.

Yesterday, the Philippines then endured a 21-25, 17-25, 17-25 shellacking from Thailand in the semifinals at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre Hall 11.

The Pinay spikers teased their fans and managed to keep the game close in the first set before yielding 21-25. But that was as close as they got as powerhouse Thailand then imposed its might with quick attacks and deceptive serves.

By the third set the Thais put in their second stringers which continued their beatdown of the Filipinas.

Thailand thus moved to the goldmedal game in the tournament as heavy favorites.

C4

Sports

SUNDAY, AUGUST 27, 2017 Riera U. Mallari, Editor / Reuel Vidal, Issue Editor / Randy Caluag, Issue Editor

sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Anna Clarice Patrimonio returns a forehand against the Thai top seed Luksika Kumkhum (PSC Media Team) Kiyomi Watanabe (white gi) of the Philippines pins Orapin Senatham of Thailand en route to the golden victory via ippon (PSC Media Team)

K

JUDO, TAEKWONDO SAVE DAY FOR PHL

UALA LUMPUR—The Philippine men’s poomsae team successfully defended its gold medal at the start of the taekwondo competition while Judoka Kiyomi Watanabe masterfully beat her foes one after another en route to the minted podium in the 29th Southeast Asian Games here.

The trio of Dustin Jacob Mella, Raphael Enrico Mella and Rodolfo Reyes, Jr. had a near-flawless execution to gain a total of 8.40 points and beat five other rivals at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center in an event that the Nationals have been dominating since the Myanmar SEA Games in 2013.

Malaysia settled for the silver medal and Indonesia for the bronze medal.

In Judo, the 20—year-old Filipina-Japanese won all her victories in the female -63kg division, capping her mighty performance with an ippon win in just 36 seconds over Orapin Senatham of Thailand.

“It’s not easy. There was pressure on my part to win but I did my best for the country,” said Watanabe in Nihonggo, through her Cebuana mother, Irene.

Meanwhile, the women’s poomsae squad of Jocel Lyn Ninobla, Rinna Babanto and Juvenile Faye Crisostomo tallied 8.27 points to settle for bronze.

Reyes also won the bronze in men’s individual event.

Both Raphael and Dustin Mella were part of the team that won the gold in 2013 and 2015 SEA Games while Reyes joined the team only this year.

“All the hard work and sacrifices paid off. Lahat ng mga

hirap naming sa training was worth it,” said the 22-year-old Dustin, a Business Economics student at the University of the Philippines-Diliman and eldest of four siblings.

“We trained almost half day daily plus yung workouts pa.

Binigay lang naming ang best namin para sa bansa at naging patas naman ang mga judges,” said Raphael of the team that also won the bronze in the Korean Open last June.

Reyes was also overwhelmed with the victory, saying their four years together helped a lot.

They will just rest for a few days to start preparing for the 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games this coming September 17-27 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

World Grand Prix and the AVC Asian Senior Women’s Championship.

With the setback, the Nationals kissed their chances for gold medal goodbye and were relegated to the battle for bronze medal against Vietnam, which suffered a 25-18, 21-25, 27-29, 25-15, 13-15 setback to Indonesia in the other semifinal pairing.

Match is set on Sunday at 10 am with the Vietnamese coming in as heavy favorites after hammering a straightset conquest of the Filipinos in the group stage Thursday.

The 21-year old Santiago delivered 10 kills, four aces and a block for 15 points while Valdez chipped in 10 markers for the Philippines, which gamely challenged 12-time SEA Games gold medalist Thailand in the first set before losing control in the second and third sets.

“Thailand is a veteran team that plays at a very high level,” said head coach

The Philippine trio of Dustin Jacob Mella, Raphael Enrico Mella and Rodolfo Reyes, Jr ., in gold medal winning performance in the team poomsae event in taekwondo (PSC Media Team)

Francis Vicente, noting the disparity in the error department where the Thais committed only 11 while the Philippines had 18.

“This game shows that our volleyball program still has a

Lady spikers bow to Thais

The Philippines absorbed yet another sorry loss, this time to reigning champion Thailand, 21-25, 17-25, 17-25, in the semifinals of the 29th Southeast Asian Games women’s volleyball tournament Saturday at the MITEC Hall 11 here.

Jaja Santiago and Alyssa Valdez provided the spark, but the Nationals simply couldn’t handle the stronger, more experienced, Thai squad that is fresh from a successful stint in the FIVB

Outside spiker Jaja Santiago led the Filipina spikers’ losing cause

long way to go. We still have a lot to learn and need more international exposure.”

No less than Department of Foreign Affairs Sec. Alan Peter Cayetano was in attendance to extend his support and talk to the players after the match.

An avid volleyball supporter who was appointed as chairman of the organizing committee of the 30th Southeast Asian Games in 2019, Cayetano vowed to support the training and international exposure of the national women’s volleyball team.

“This is just the start,” Cayetano told members of the team. “After this, you will just take a brief rest and start training again for other international competitions. I am behind you all the way.”

Team captain Pleumjit Thinkaow and Kokram Pimpichaya registered 13 markers apiece for Thailand, which also had more attacks, 43-34, and blocks, 7-3, than the Filipinos.

PATRIMONIO BAGS SILVER IN TENNIS THAI top seed Luksika Kumkhum outclassed Filipina netter Ana Clarice Patrimonio, 6-0, 6-1, to capture the women’s tennis singles gold medal at on the center court of the National Tennis Center located at the heart of the Malaysian capital here.

After a two-hour delay caused by rain, Kumkhum, once ranked No. 85 in the world, needed just 48 minutes in dispatching Patrimonio, who settled for the silver medal.

“Medyo ninerbiyos po ako sa dami ng tao. Pero masaya na rin dahil naka-silver,” admitted the pretty netter and daughter of former PBA star Alvin Patrimonio for her lackluster showing.

“I will try to do better in the 2019 SEA Games,” added the unseeded Patrimonio, 23, who advanced to finals after vanquishing Cambodian fourth seed Andrea Ka, 7-6 (6-5), 7-6 (6-5), in the semifinals last Friday.

I t was her first individual silver medal in three SEA G ames out i n g s a f t e r s h a r i n g t he women’s team silver in the 2015 Singapore SEA Games.

“You have to hand it to Clarice, she played well the whole week but the Thai was just too strong,” noted coach Cris Cuarto.

Ruben Gonzales and Francis Casey Alcantara netted the Philippine squad’s other silver medal in men’s doubles while the Filipino bets also had a pair of bronze medals in the mixed doubles through Gonzales and Denise Dy and the women’s doubles from Dy and Fil-German Katharina Lehnert.

Their output was lower compared to the one gold, three silver and three bronze medals they took home from Singapore two years ago.

CYNA, PRINCESS JOIN LPGT PRADERA HUNT CYNA Rodriguez and Princess Superal take time out from their Symetra Tour campaign as they banner the field in the ICTSI Pradera Verde Ladies Classic firing off Tuesday at the Pradera Verde Golf and Country Club in Lubao, Pampanga.

Rodriguez and Superal, the two winningest players on the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, are expected to slug it out for top honors in the P750,000 event owing to their talent and form although a slew of players are also out to foil their bid in the 54-hole championship sponsored by ICTSI.

They include Pauline del Rosario, who has racked up two victories in her rookie year at Orchard and Baguio legs and finished twice, the last at Riviera where she lost by one to amateur Abby Arevalo on the final hole.

Former leg winners Chihiro Ikeda, Fil-Am Cristina Corpus and Sarah Ababa and Korean Euna Koh are also going all out to nail their second win in the seventh leg of the circuit organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments Inc. Thais Tiranan Yoopan and Sarinee Thithiratanakorn, on the other hand, are

also raring to spoil the locals’ bid at the long but flat layout which hosted the first Southeast Asia vs Phl Ladies Golf Challenge early this year.

Although Arevalo won’t be around to go for a second straight victory, a talentladen cast of amateurs is joining the title hunt, led by former LPGT leg winner Bernice Olivarez-Ilas and Sofia Chabon of The Country Club team, along with teammates Sam Dizon, Laia Barro and Mafy Singson, Marianne Bustos, Jonah Ilagan, Sheila Ward and Kinjo Mana of Japan.

Club bet Annika Pineda-Cayabyab,

12, also hopes to cash in on her local knowledge of the bunker-laden course that could challenge the best in the fold in the presence of the wind.

But focus will be on Rodriguez, a three-time LPGT Order of Merit winner, and Superal, who has posted convincing victories both as an amateur and pro, who are both on a break from the Symetra Tour in the US and are tipped to clash for the top P150,000 purse in the event backed by Custom Clubmakers, BDO, Meralco, Sharp, KZG, PLDT, Champion, Summit Mineral Water and K&G Golf.

Cyna Rodriguez is one of the favorites