Gilas Philippines’ hoops progress reflects sport’s surge after 4 huge defeat from Croatia, Greece, Argentina and Puerto Rico

Philippines’ Japeth Aguilar, left, and teammate Jim Alapag, right, celebrates after winning the match at the end of the match against Senegal during the Group B Basketball World Cup match between the Philippines and Senegal in Seville, Spain, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014. The 2014 Basketball World Cup competition will take place in various cities in Spain from Aug. 30 through to Sept. 14. (AP Photo/Miguel Angel Morenatti)

Philippines’ hoops progress reflects sport’s surge

 

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines may have beaten only one of its five opponents and been eliminated at the group stage of the Basketball World Cup but they have won over a country that can sense the rapid progress of the sport in the nation.

The Filipinos defeated Senegal, 81-79, in overtime Thursday in their last game in Group B to end the tournament on a high, though just qualifying for the trip to Spain was satisfying enough.

“Being there is a mini victory for the country already,” former captain Chris Tiu told The Associated Press. “It means that we belong to the elite of Asian basketball.”

One of the most successful coaches in Philippine professional basketball, American Tim Cone, shared Tiu’s sentiments.

“What a moment,” he said in commentary on local television as the Filipinos geared for the opening battle last Saturday against Croatia. “No matter what happens today, just the fact that we are part of this is a phenomenal thing.”

It has been 36 years since the country played in the world championship, in 1978, 40 years since it last won a game and 60 years since winning a medal.

The breakthrough win over Senegal was no less than the ‘Gilas Pilipinas’ deserved after a succession of narrow defeats. In the opening game, the forced an extra period against Croatia, having tied 71-71 and lost 81-78, with some satisfaction that they had given one of Europe’s top national teams a genuine scare.

“What a message we sent today. In a word, awesome! I mean, wow!” Cone said after watching the game in Manila.

That was followed by an 82-70 loss to Greece, and 85-81 defeat by Argentina and then a 77-73 reverse against Puerto Rico.

Tiu said the undersized team had played with “the biggest heart” and its performance “shocked the world by coming too close to juggernauts like Croatia, Greece, Argentina, Puerto Rico.”

“That to me is our victory,” he said.

The Filipino passion for the sport can be seen in the ubiquitous presence of basketball courts in both poor and wealthy communities — some built by local residents and others donated by politicians trying to leverage the sport’s popularity into votes. Neighborhoods that don’t have real courts would block off the best paved roads where they hold village basketball tournaments.

One of the country’s biggest lovers of the sport is boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, who plays basketball with his entourage during breaks in his training. The country’s wealthiest athlete also has joined the professional league as playing coach of the newly-formed KIA Sorentos. His team will see action for the first time in October.

Basketball, along with baseball, was introduced by the Americans a century ago when they arrived to colonize the country as the Spanish rulers were close to total defeat by Filipino revolutionaries.

Baseball was more popular in the early days but basketball slowly eased it out with more followers and players after the Philippines won Asian competitions in the early 50s and early 60s.

Sports analyst Eddie Alinea said that basketball is now more popular than other sports because it is the cheapest game and can be played virtually anywhere.

“Even if you are just wearing slippers, you can play,” he said. “You only need a pail or a basket that you can nail to a wall and ask for a donation for a ball.” Unlike baseball or football, it doesn’t need wide open fields, which are at a premium in a country with a small land mass and burgeoning population.

Basketball, like boxing, has become the road to riches for aspiring college players seeking to be drafted into the professional league where “people are earning in the millions” of pesos (tens of thousands of dollars) Alinea said.

Professional teams recruit NBA players to boost their lineups. Pacquiao’s new team is eyeing NBA All Star Metta World Peace, the former Ron Artest who had stints with the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and the New York Knicks. World Peace currently plays for the Sichuan Blue Whales in the Chinese Basketball Association.

Tiu said he is against drafting imports, especially for college teams. He said it would take away opportunities for local players and may deprive “our big men” who play center or power forward from reaching their “full potential.”

“When schools seriously recruit foreigners and give them very attractive packages, you tend to question the underlying values of the game and the school as well. What’s more important? Academics or basketball? Is it always about winning? Or is it about developing student-athletes?” said the former college basketball star.

Imports in the pro league can take away livelihood opportunities for Filipinos, he said, but the Philippine Basketball Association has done “a decent job in balancing this” by providing an all-Filipino conference and requiring only one import per team in the other conferences. - AP/ Inquirer

 

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Japan, Philippines agreed to establish "Maritime Security" in Asia to Police China's Aggression

 

Japan, Manila in landmark sea pact

Japanese and Philippine lawmakers yesterday signed an agreement that they hope will jumpstart a global campaign for peaceful resolution of disputes in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and East China Sea.

The Joint Document for Co-operation on Promotion of the Rule of Law at Sea states that both sides recognise that in settling maritime disputes, states should make and clarify their claims based on international law and they should not use force or coercion in pursuing their claims.

The agreement seeks to settle disputes by peaceful means and avoid any unilateral attempts to change the status quo through force or coercion.

Both sides further agreed to address maritime issues and encourage members of Congress to join efforts in establishing a “Parliamentarians’ League for Maritime Security in Asia” aimed at protecting and promoting maritime order based on international law.

Rep. Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the House Committee on National Defence and vice chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Relations, said in a news conference that he will work for the adoption of the agreement in Congress as a resolution similar to what was signed in the US Congress.

Biazon and Hiroshi Nakada, a member of Japan’s House of Representatives and the head of the Japanese delegation, presided over the news conference.

In his discussions with the Japanese officials, as well as with other countries’ officials, Biazon cited the need to do a campaign “to raise awareness of other nations that there must be a resolution of disputes and this resolution must be in accordance (with) international law, specifically the Unclos.”

Unclos stands for the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a 1982 accord recognised by 166 countries, including China and the Philippines.

“I agree with the mounting of a campaign by nations interested, nations that are directly affected and that are indirectly affected,” Biazon said, noting that 40% of world trade and commerce passes through the West Philippine Sea. - By Bernice Camille V Bauzon/Manila Times / Gulf Times

 

 

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Moody’s ups outlook for Philippines, a sign for New Credit rating upgrade?

 

image source: politico.com

Moody’s ups outlook for Philippines

MOODY’S Analytics has raised its full-year economic growth forecast for the Philippines following a surprisingly strong second quarter, but warned that continued government underspending amid tightened monetary policy could slow expansion next year.

 

“With the latest Q2 numbers, 2014 GDP growth [could hit] 6.2%. This sounds more realistic,” Moody’s Analytics senior economist Glenn Levine said in an e-mail yesterday, citing “exports [and] solid consumer demand” as drivers.

Second-quarter economic growth bested expectations after it expanded at a faster 6.4% from a downwardly revised 5.6% in the first three months of the year. The latest result, however, was still slower than the 7.9% notched in the April-June period a year ago.

For the first half, gross domestic product (GDP) growth averaged 6%, slower than the 7.2% notched in the same six months in 2013.

The government targets GDP to grow 6.5-7.5% this year.

Last March, Mr. Levine had said GDP expansion could slacken to 5.8% this year from the two consecutive years of stellar growth of 6.8% in 2012 and 7.2% in 2013, in line with a projected region-wide slowdown as downside risks within and outside Asia Pacific persist.

A Moody’s Analytics report released separately yesterday said economies in Southeast Asia “are expected to expand 4.3% in 2014, well below their recent trend rate just over 5%.”

Nonetheless, the Philippines was cited for being one of the two strongest performers in the region in the first half of 2014, the other one being Malaysia.

The report -- written by Moody’s Analytics economist Fred Gibson -- noted that the Philippines “has shrugged off” effects of typhoon Yolanda which devastated parts of central Philippines on Nov. 8-9, while saying that political uncertainty has weighed on Indonesia and Thailand.

Growth prospects for the region are nevertheless much brighter next year due to “firming global demand and stronger domestic spending.”

“Export earnings are projected to improve over the next 18 months in line with firming global demand,” the report read.

“The US economy is on a sustained upward trend and the Chinese economy is responding positively to the government’s stimulus.”

“The outlook is sanguine for companies involved in the production of smartphones and PCs (personal computers) as the global tech cycle continues to trend higher. Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore will benefit,” it added.

IMPERILED

In the case of the Philippines, however, expansion of economic activity in the country could be imperiled by slow public and private spending, Mr. Levine said separately by phone yesterday.

“The fixed investment cycle is slowing quickly, both from the private sector and public sector. It’s fading quickly. The PPP (public-private partnership) pipeline has slowed,” Mr. Levine noted.

“That, coupled with slightly higher interest rates that run through investment channels, could ease GDP growth to 5.5% next year.”

Data released by the Bureau of the Treasury last Friday put the budget gap last month at just P1.8 billion -- down 97% from P53.2 billion a year ago -- as revenues grew 15% to P166.7 billion from P144.6 billion while expenditures fell 15% to P168.5 billion from P197.8 billion.

The government has set a P550.977-billion spending target for this quarter alone, of which P107.884 billion -- nearly a fifth -- is supposed to go to infrastructure needed to support accelerating economic activity.

July’s tally, in turn, nearly halved the budget gap to just P55.7 billion in the first seven months from P104.5 billion the past year, as revenues grew 12% to P1.101 trillion from P984.1 billion and expenses edged up just 6% to P1.156 trillion from P1.089 trillion.

Mr. Levine thus pressed the government to accelerate spending, particularly on ports, roads, airports, and utilities, “to get the push we need.”

STABLE SUPPORT

Another analyst, however, expects other drivers of growth to provide stable support for now.

In a separate note yesterday, economist Jun Trinidad of the research arm of Citigroup Global Markets, Inc., said “hopefully, private sector activities will continue to offset weak fiscal contribution to growth as evidenced by the second-quarter GDP growth... despite real fiscal expenditures were down 2.2% year on year.”

“This highlights benefits of investment-driven growth over the past years that resulted in a more diversified GDP growth base -- from non-tech manufacturing to BPO (business process outsourcing) and transport services. Any sector bbenefitingfrom investment flows can provide the upside growth surprise aside from the OFW (overseas Filipino workers) remittance story.”

Mr. Trinidad added that initial state spending slowdown after the Supreme Court ruled as illegal in July “acts and practices” to implement the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) -- which the administration had described as a stimulus measure -- should lift as soon as the dust settles on this controversy.

“Post-DAP brouhaha, legal clarity of what can and cannot be done within the budget system would no longer be a botteneck [sic],” Mr. Tridinad wrote, adding this would leave the usual weather and systemic constraints as the only real hurdles to growth.

“Other than inclement weather, fiscal challenge would be down to absorptive capacity constraints.” - Business World Online

 

 

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