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SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2017
Business
Ray S. Eñano, Editor / Roderick dela Cruz, Issue Editor business@thestandard.com.ph
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DUSITD2.
The planned dusitD2 Resort, San Juan.
DEVELOPERS BRING MALIBU TO LA UNION A
GROUP of real estate developers tapped Thai hospitality company Dusit International to manage a hotel in a Malibuinspired project in La Union province.
Fausto Liriano, chairman and chief executive of RCL Realty & Consulting Ser vices, says dusitD2 Resort will rise within the 7.5-hectare Waves Beach Club and Residences in Barangay Panisican, San Juan, La Union—the country’s surfing capital. The project is envisioned to be a high-end and secure residential resort community in Northern Luzon. “All the projects we work on have a theme. In this case, with the development of Waves Beach Club and Residences, we have the theme of Malibu, California. So there is consistency in the development and at the same time, we want to protect the investment of different investors who are going to invest in our development,” says Liriano, a 38-year-old civil engineer from the Dominican Republic. Liriano heads RCL Realty & Consulting Services, a real estate and proper ty development advisory firm headquartered in Makati City and with a satellite office in La Union.
RCL stands for Rojas, Chong and Liriano—the names of the three partners. Aside from Liriano, the other partners are Francisco Custodio Rojas from Spain, who serves as the vice president for investor relation and David Chong from Panama who is the vice president for marketing. RCL is composed of a diverse team of exper ts who have accumulated years of experience not only in the Philippines, but also in 15 countries in three continents across the globe. RCL is developing Waves Beach Club and Residences, together with Brightbeam Corp. which owns properties in Tagaytay, Bulacan, La Union and Baguio City and is the franchisee of Rapide Auto Service Experts, a chain of quick service center for motor vehicles. Liriano says dusitD2 Resort, San Juan will sit at the front of Waves Beach Club and Residences which is slated to open by the first quarter of 2019. He says dusitD2 Resort will be an eight-story hotel with 174 rooms and two levels of basement
parking. He says dusitD2 Resort, San Juan will also offer residences divided between two to three condominium towers and a minimum of 50 villas. Facilities will include a gym, spa, swimming pool, two restaurants, two bars and a 1,000-capacity function room. Guests will have a direct access to the property’s private beach in Urbiztondo, the famed surfing spot. “It is the first of its kind in the area, and is expected to bring in more tourists, secondhome buyers and other forms of investments to the area,” says Liriano. D u s i t I n te r n a t i o n a l h a s previously opened dusitD2 resorts in Thailand, the United States, China and Kenya, and is in the process of opening twelve more properties in China, the Philippines, Oman, Bhutan, United Arab Emirates, Myanmar and Qatar. “It is a part of the aggressive expansion plan of Dusit International in the Philippines. Now Dusit is working on more than 50 projects worldwide,” says Liriano. Liriano says the partnership with Dusit will assure homebuyers of the quality of the project. “You can have a peace of mind, because
the one managing your property is Dusit,” he says. “This is what the brand is promising—luxurious hospitality.” Liriano says the target market of the residential project include residents of San Fernando and La Union province, overseas Filipino workers, professionals and the income groups A to C. “ The market is open to everyone, but the lifestyle is there. It is a good investment,” he says. He says the project is designed with luxury, comfort and safety of residents in mind. “It is floodfree. We are assuring you that the development has already been tested and it is not flooded. I am pretty sure that Dusit before they partnered with our group, has already done a study,” he says. Liriano says the project will also help bring more tourists to La Union and contribute to the development of the province. “We are very glad, and we look forward to the future of the province of La Union,” he says. “The arrival of dusitD2 branded properties in La Union signifies positive growth in the real estate and proper ty development industry of Region 1,” says Evelyn Singson, Philippine Hoteliers Inc. vice chairman and president. Roderick T. dela Cruz
SOLAR NOW CHEAPEST SOURCE OF ENERGY SOLAR power is becoming the world’s cheapest form of new electricity generation, according to an international group of renewable energy and financial experts. A recent report from the Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a team of experts in cross-sectors and crossgeography trends spread across six continents, shows that solar now outranks wind as the cheapest form of renewable energy, and is outperforming coal and gas as well. The report showed that solar energy prices in China, India, Brazil and 55 other emerging market economies have dropped to about one third of its price in 2010. This is owed largely to China’s massive deployment of solar, and the assistance it had provided to other countries financing their own solar projects. In light of this development, members of civil society and renewable energy advocates reiterated their push for the Duterte administration to review and adjust its energy trajectory, which relies heavily on coal for the generation of electricity. “The government can no longer hide under the guise of development in its support for coal,” said Gerry Arances, head convenor for the Center for Energy, Ecology and Development. “This latest report from the renewable energy sector confirms that not only does solar energy provide cleaner energy, but more sustainable and cheaper electricity for all.” “Aside from cheaper electricity, solar energy that is gathered and distributed through communitymanaged ‘mini-grids’ can also solve the problem of energy’s costliness and riskiness in the countryside,” said Arances. “Increased government support for solar energy would also enable communities in far-flung areas to finally be electrified, something that coal, which relies heavily on large mega-grids for distribution, has failed to do,” he said. The group has been vocal in highlighting the increasing economic cost of coal, as it is projected by economic experts as stranded assets, meaning that Filipinos will end up paying more for electricity generated from coal power plants in the next 25 years in their electric bills, as the technology is becoming more and more obsolete. “Despite this, the Department of Energy’s Philippine Energy Plan, leads us to relying on more coal for the next 15 years, instead of transitioning away from it,” Arances said. According to the PEP, coal is set to have a big share in the country’s primary energy supply even under a low-carbon scenario, with coal still having a growth rate of 4.8 percent, giving it a 25.2 percent average share in the primary energy supply.
FIORGELATO GOES INTERNATIONAL FIORGELATO, the country’s most popular home-grown, best-tasting and purest gelatos made from 100-percent fresh milk and natural gelato ingredients and formula from Italy, is taking steps to prepare the company for its international expansion while making sure to capitalize on the opportunities of the regional integration. Fiorgelato, which marked its 25th anniversary in 2016 with over a hundred outlets nationwide, recently opened its newest outlet at the country’s international gateway Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 to serve departing international passengers its signature gelato brand and its Fior Café with pasta, pastries, freshly brewed coffee mixes. Milkin Corp., the company behind Fiorgelato, was established in 1989 under a Filipino-Italian business venture. The company started as Designer’s Ice Cream Manufacturing Company created to formulate tailored ice cream products. The specially prepared ice cream catered well-known restaurants, hotels
and food chains in a “private labeling” arrangement. Within the same year, the company was also granted exclusive rights from Italy to manufacture, sell and distribute Fiorgelato “The Pure Italian Ice Cream” for the Philippine market. It created a big following from the AB market, which made Fiorgelato “the ice cream of the elite.” The company has penetrated various institutions like schools, exhibit halls, restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, bake shops, office lounges and scooping stations. Milkin’ Corp. president and chief executive Richie Cuna, owner of Fiorgelato Ice Cream/ Fior Cafe, said his company is bullish on its international expansion and targets to establish presence in all Asian countries starting this year. Fiorgelato Ice Cream stores, available in all SM, Robinsons, and major malls nationwide, has been attracting startup entrepreneurs with its affordable franchising package and very marketable products that allow easy and fast recovery of their investment.
Milkin’ Corp. president and chief executive Richie Cuna (center) along with (from left) bartender Romer Renz Catalan, Milkin’ International Ltd. chief operating officer Angel Francisco and supervisors Janela Collantes and Jan Michael Rañosa.
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2017 business@thestandard.com.ph
CYBER SECURITY EXPERTS NEEDED GOVERNMENT agencies are increasingly falling victim to cyber attacks. In July 2016, following the United Nations International Arbitration court’s ruling regarding the West Philippine Sea territorial dispute, at least 68 Philippine government websites were attacked according to official reports. Following this, public organizations in the Philippines are stepping up their efforts to tighten cyber security against hackers. One of these initiatives includes hiring the right personnel, which is also becoming a worldwide dilemma. A study by Frost & Sullivan, which was conducted on behalf of the International Information System Security Certification Consortium, revealed that there will be a shortfall of 1.5 million cyber security professionals by 2020. With threats continuously evolving in size, form and sophistication, there is a need for organizations especially in the public sector to hire the right talent to improve their cyber security posture. “Because the rapidly increasing demand for information security professionals far outpaces the market supply, there will come a time when even the most up-to-date infrastructure will not be enough to meet the level of security needed in the public sector,” said Nico Alcoseba, vice president and head of PLDT’s Disruptive Business Group. “To be effective in implementing a holistic security approach, we need to ensure that the right platforms, the right processes and the right talents are in place.” “Cyber security is one of the most pressing issues faced by the government today, not only in the Philippines but also worldwide. This raises the need for the public sector to either hire security professionals or engage with partners who can do that job for them. This is where ePLDT comes in,” he said. ePLDT Inc., the digital enterprise enabler of PLDT that sets the pace for innovation in the country’s telecommunications and IT industry, identified that organizations are faced with global security expertise shortage on top of other existing internal challenges such as budget priorities and compliance concerns. “Finding, hiring and retaining top security administrators can be difficult and yet is strategically-critical, especially now that the public sector is accelerating its own digital transformation. At ePLDT, we offer the right solutions and the right people, backed with globally-benchmarked security practices, that enable us to manage security policies and systems and help organizations comply to regulatory policies and standards,” said Nerissa Ramos, group chief operating officer of ePLDT Inc.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III (right) swears in new DBP president and chief executive Cecilia Borromeo.
LANDBANK EXECUTIVE NAMED AS NEW PRESIDENT OF DBP V
ETERAN banker Cecilia Borromeo was recently sworn in as the new president and chief executive of Development Bank of the Philippines.
banking and management from Land Bank of the Philippines to her new post in DBP. She started her banking career in Land Bank in 1989 and rose through the ranks to serve as officerin-charge from Aug. 1, 2016 to Nov. 10, 2016. She previously served as executive vice president of the Agricultural and Development Lending Sector of LBP where she managed the delivery of financial services for farmer Borromeo was sworn in by Finance Secretary organizations, MSMEs, local government units, Carlos Dominguez III in simple ceremonies at the GOCCs, corporations, other financial institutions DBP headquarters in Makati City. and consumer clients. Borromeo assumes her post in the stateShe also performed oversight functions over owned bank on Jan. 9, 2017. LBP Insurance Brokerage, LBP Leasing Corp. and Borromeo brings a wealth of experience in Masaganang Sakahan Inc. She also supervised
the treasury, investment banking and global banking operations as executive vice president of LBP Institutional Banking Sector. Borromeo obtained her Bachelor of Science degree inAgribusinessfromtheUniversityofthePhilippinesand took the Master of Business Administration program of the De La Salle Business School. She is a graduate of the Advanced Bank Management Program of the Asian Institute of Management and the Pacific Rim Bankers Program of the University of Washington Executive Education Foster School of Business. She also attended the International Study on Rural Banking and Finance at the Massey University in New Zealand.
JEALOUSY OF ONLINE FRIENDS LEAVES PEOPLE FEELING DOWN SOCIAL media started life as a way of staying in touch with friends and sharing happy memories. However, the results of the latest study from Kaspersky Lab indicate that social media now leaves many people feeling negative instead. The hunt for likes plays a central role in this, with the majority of people feeling down or upset when they don’t get as many likes as they expect for a post, and with 42 percent saying they feel jealous when their friends get more likes than them. In addition, the research shows that people feel envious when they see the seemingly happier lives of their friends on social media. In a sur vey of 16,750 people worldwide, including 1,000 respondents from the Philippines, Kaspersky Lab has unearthed people’s frustration with social media. People often experience negative emotions after spending time on social media due to a variety of reasons, and these overpower the positive effects of social media. Users visit social media for positive reasons and to feel good. Most people (65 percent) use social networks to stay in touch with friends and colleagues and to see entertaining and funny posts (60 percent). People also devote a significant amount of time to creating their digital profile and filling it with all kinds of
positive moments, posting things that make them smile (61 percent), and telling their networks about the great time they are having during holidays and vacations (43 percent). While it is not surprising that 72 percent of people are annoyed by advertising that has become extremely intrusive and interrupts their online communications, the reasons for frustration go deeper. Despite the desire to feel good from their interactions on social media, when people see their friends’ happy posts about holidays, hobbies, and parties,
they are often left with the bitter feeling that other people are enjoying life more than them. For example, 59 percent have felt unhappy when they have seen friends’ posts from a party they were not invited to, and 45 percent revealed that their friends’ happy holiday pictures have had a negative influence on them. Fur thermore, 37 percent also admitted that looking at past happy posts of their own can leave them with the feeling that their own past was better than their present life. Answers from 1,000 sur vey
respondents from the Philippines revealed a great majority (76.7 percent) of Filipino netizens use social media to keep themselves updated with the latest news and current events. Ironically, almost three out of 10 (27.7 percent) social media users admitted seeing news about politics, economy and foreign countries makes them sad. Aside from being a news source, Filipinos (76 percent) also consider social platforms like Facebook and Twitter as tools in keeping in touch with their families, friends and colleagues. In terms of how social media affects
their mood, the survey showed 29 percent of the Filipino respondents felt very low when someone else got control of their profiles, when someone seems to have a better life than them (27.7 percent) and when a friend’s photo or status update received more likes than their own (25.8 percent). About 27.7 percent of the respondents also confessed seeing their friend’s photos during parties they are not invited to results to feeling down. Also, 27.7 percent Filipino social media users also said they felt sad when someone trolls them or their community. “Our relationship with social media has developed into a vicious cycle. We want to go onto our favorite social platforms to tell all of our connections about the positive things we are doing – that makes us feel good,” says Evgeny Chereshnev, head of Social Media at Kaspersky Lab. “But the reality is that everyone is doing the same thing, so when we log onto social media we’re bombarded with images and posts of our friends having fun. And it looks like they’re enjoying life more than us. It’s easy to see why this is leaving people feeling down and why so many people have considered leaving social media altogether. The difficulty is that people feel trapped because so many of their precious memories have been stored on social media and they don’t want to lose access to these.”
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2017 reuelvidal@yahoo.com
Boyet Fernandez, then head coach of the NLEX Road Warriors, paces the sidelines during a PBA game.
Eduard Folayang (left) connects with a roundhouse kick to the face of Shinya Aoki. Folayang eventually won this match to annex the ONE Championship lightweight crown. ONE Championship
FOLAYANG IS 2016 FIGHTER OF THE YEAR
O
NE CHAMPIONSHIP had a banner 2016 with outstanding fighters having a spectacular year with exciting victories. But one fighter stood tall above them all to win the Fighter of the Year Award. His name is Eduard “Landslide” Folayang. Is there anyone who had a better year in 2016 than Folayang? The Filipino lightweight veteran has come full circle as a mixed martial artist, completing his journey from standout contender to realizing his dream of becoming MMA world champion. The 33-year-old former school teacher appeared thrice inside the ONE Championship cage in 2016, beginning with a comprehensive wrestling performance against Japanese star Tetsuya Yamada in January. It was an impressive victory for Folayang, who showed the world what he had worked on the years prior when he spent time shuffling back between the Philippines and the United States to improve his wrestling game. Then in August, Folayang overcame the incredibly durable Australian warrior Adrian Pang. Pang stepped into the cage against Folayang and performed as advertised, catching Folayang’s best shots right on the chin, not even flinching the entire way through despite being knocked down repeatedly. Folayang hit Pang with every strike in his arsenal, but it still wasn’t able to deter the forwardmoving Australian. That’s more of a testament to Pang’s overall toughness than Folayang’s fin-
ishing ability. Regardless, Folayang was able to pull away for the comprehensive unanimous decision victory which was wellearned. It all came to a satisfying conclusion when last November in Singapore, Folayang took the challenge to compete for the ONE Lightweight World Championship held by Japanese MMA legend Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki. Folayang negated Aoki’s grappling prowess to get the TKO victory in spectacular fashion via flying knee and ground strikes. Deserving of runner-up honors for the award are Angela “Unstoppable” Lee, Marat “Cobra” Gafurov, Bibiano “The Flash” Fernandes and Ev “E.T.” Ting. Twenty-year-old Lee fought twice in ONE Championship this year, and they were two of the toughest fights in her young career. This past February, Lee took on American Rebecca Heintzman. Although Heintzman’s wrestling ability gave her a tough challenge, Lee’s grappling was on point that night. The result was a second round submission via neck crank, Lee’s fifth straight. Then came May, fighting in front of her adoptive hometown crowd of Singapore, Lee chal-
Angela Lee (right) faces off against opponent Mei Yamaguchi who unloads a left hook during their championship bout won by Lee. ONE Championship
ONE Championship World Featherweight Champion Marat Gafurov (on top) batters challenger Kazunori Yokota during their championship bout. Gafurov prevailed to retain his title. ONE Championship
lenged Japanese MMA veteran Mei “V.V” Yamaguchi for the inaugural ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship. It was a back-and-forth title fight for the ages, and one that was recently named ONE’s Fight of the Year. It was raw talent versus experience, and in the end, not a single person was left in their seat. Confetti rained down to the applause of a packed Singapore Indoor Stadium crowd. The sight was truly mesmerizing as Lee was crowned ONE’s first women’s champion. Gafurov appeared in two tough title defenses in 2016. In May, Gafurov took on Japanese fight veteran Kazunori Yokota. Yokota had over 30 professional fights on his resume with an incredible 13-fight, five-year win streak. The Russian fighter was too strong and too intelligent for the Japanese veteran. Gafurov needed slightly less than two rounds to dispatch Yokota. Gafurov was just as dominant in his second title defense as he submitted Narantungalag Jadambaa in the first round with a rear naked choke. Since making his ONE Championship promotional debut in 2012, Fernandes has remained unbeaten in nearly six years. The ONE Bantamweight World Champion Fernandes is the promotion’s most dominant champion. In 2016 Fernandes beat Kevin Belingon and then barely survived
the challenge of Australia’s Reece “Lightning” McLaren to retain his title. Fernandes easily submitted Belingon but had to endure five grueling rounds against McLaren before extracting a hard-earned decision. The only non-champion on this list is Malaysia’s Ting who emerged victorious over two of the best fighters in his weight class. The 27-year-old Malaysian-Kiwi sensation from Auckland, New Zealand, has made Kuala Lumpur his fighting home, building a strong case in the past 12 months to be next in line to face either ONE Featherweight World Champion Marat Gafurov, or newly crowned ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang. Last January, Ting took on one of the Philippines’ top fighters in “The Natural” Eric Kelly. Fighting in front of his hometown crowd in Kuala Lumpur, Ting put together a fine performance against Kelly, outlasting the Filipino warrior to win by guillotine choke submission two minutes into the third and final round. In September, Ting made the decision to try his hand one weight class above where he currently competes. Waiting for him at lightweight was the reinvented Rob “Warrior of God” Lisita, who remained as dangerous as ever. Ting did enough to get his hand raised, and proved that he has the heart of a champion to go along with his skills.
FERNANDEZ PURSUES REDEMPTION AT SBC By Reuel Vidal AFTER a dissappointing two-year stint as head coach of the NLEX Road Warriors in the Philippine Basketball Association Boyet Fernandez gets a chance to revive his coaching career after being named head coach of the San Beda Red Lions in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Fernandez faces a daunting challenge because only a title will be enough for the defending champion Red Lions. He will be considered a failure if he winds up with anything less. It shouldn’t be too difficult for Fernandez though. He inherits a powerhouse lineup. Plus he’s no stranger to winning titles after leading this selfsame team to the NCAA throne in 2013 and 2014. Fernandez, a pugnacious point guard during his playing days in the PBA, started his coaching career after his retirement in 2004. He became the assistant coach of Alfrancis Chua with the Sta. Lucia Realtors. He took on the job of head coach just before the start of the 2007 PBA Fiesta Conference. He helped the franchise win its only PBA title during the 2008 PBA Philippine Cup. For his efforts he was named PBA Coach of the Year. The Realtors were disbanded in 2010. He then took over the as head coach of the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons in the UAAP in 2010. He was the coach of the NLEX Road Warriors when they joined the PBA D-League in 2011. He led the team to six championships in seven conferences. In 2013 he took over from Ronnie Magsanoc as coach of the Red Lions. The school won two NCAA titles under Fernandez. NLEX purchased the Air21 franchise in the PBA in 2014 and Fernandez took on the job of head coach of the Road Warriors. Now two years down the road and Fernandez is back in Mendiola. Fernandez met familiar faces when he returned to San Beda’s practice facility. Jayvee Mocon and Radge Tongco, two rookies in his last season with San Beda, are now the team’s go-to players. He met Cameroonians Donald Tankoua and Arnaud Noah as well as locals AC Soberano and Jomari Presbitero, players he himself recruited years ago. The players may be the same but the San Beda strategy will definitely be different. Fernandez likes to employ a deliberate offense which will be a radical departure from coach Jarin’s up tempo, run and gun system. Fernandez promised that he and the entire team will work hard to keep the championship in San Beda. To hone his players even more Fernandez said he will include six San Beda players, including Fil-Am Davon Potts, Mocon and Robert Bolick, in a PBA DLeague squad. Fernandez is grateful for this chance at handling the Red Lions. Who knows? If he succeeds, maybe it will be enough to catapult him back to a PBA coaching job.
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SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2017 Riera U. Mallari, Editor / Reuel Vidal, Issue Editor sports_mstandard@yahoo.com
NEED FOR SPEED KNOWS NO LIMITS
Jerry AC: In each race, I always review my performance, how to do better, learn something new and further my racing skills. Inset shows Jerry flashing the no. 1 sign.
By Ramon Boado (Photos by Ramon Boado, Jon Gonzales)
I
T is never too late to fuel one’s need for speed. Jerry AC, a 45-year-old businessman, last month dominated the Asian Karting Open Championship in Macau, winning the X30 Senior, Formula 125 Senior Open and Formula 125 Open. His passion for racing actually isn’t limited to karting. Also last year, he was invited by the China Formula Grand Prix Organizing Committee to take part in the Formula 4 Championship, the China GT Championship and the Audi R8 GT series. He also dabbled in the local one-make racing, the Toyota Vios Cup. His China sojourns have made him a nominee in the Samsung 2016 Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards by the Hong Kong Kart Club Limited. “I am so glad to get these awards in such fierce competition against 58 other racers from Asia (Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, Taiwan, India, Hong Kong, Macau and China), especially at my age level,” he said. Jerry lived in Japan for over 10 years and this may have helped him absorb the Japanese culture of having a mindset that focuses on the task at hand and trying again after a failure. “In each race, I always review my performance, how to do better, learn something new and further my racing skills,” said Jerry, who now permanently resides in the country. His first taste of racing happened at the SQ Karting race in Boomland, Pasay. “I was only in it for fun, but I began to love motorsports gradually,” he said. That love brought him to take part in the local series, where being an “older” racer is actually a disadvantage. “It is not easy for a racer to face
challenges in three different series. The most challenge is in the X30 Senior where the youngest participant is just 14. Their physical condition and stamina are much higher. They seem to have unlimited power than me. The other challenge is in the Formula 125 Senior, where the kart set-up of the 125cc engine (Rotax Max 125, Iame X30, Super Rok GP Votex etc. ) is the main issue to win the competition. In the Formula 125 Veteran series, I have to face expe-
Jerry AC raises his Asian Karting Open Championship trophy.
rienced and excellent racers especially from Hong Kong and China and this is not easy for me. The laptime difference among the racers from position 1 to 20 is just 0.2 of a second,” said Jerry, who is also into other sports like tennis, bowling and golf, where he “got quite a lot of awards in my life.” “But motorsports is the most challenging. It includes mental, physical, mechanical knowledge and driving skills. I need to master these four factors to be successful,” he said. And just like his younger counterparts, he improves his craft by constant practice and staying healthy. “I am always in the gym to keep my body in good and heathy condition,” said Jerry, who is a property developer. “I have a new coach from Hong Kong in Michael Shun, who gives me advice on
how to improve my skills in terms of data support in setting up my kart. I am also going to have exchanges of ideas with some Singaporeans, who are factory drivers and have high records from Europe. I maintain and enhance my high level of body condition with the help of
Hans Santiago. Kudos also to Josefilo Bariquit, who is very loyal and a very good mechanic.” One of his plans is to race in the X30 Final Challenge in Europe and the next X30 Asia Cup in Sepang and Singapore starting this February, while putting up his Apex Racing Team. “I want to manage the team in a more professional way. Now, we have 18 drivers from here, Japan, Hong Kong and China,” he said. Jerry said his age is not a hindrance to his racing battles. “At my age, it is somewhat hard for me to battle with the young ones, but still, I want to be known by many that I am one of the best drivers in the circuit. I also want to train kids dreaming to become champions in the future. I will teach them not only to become a good driver, but to have the proper attitude, which is the most important thing. I also want to train more drivers for my Apex Racing Team,” he said. Racing, according to him is very much like real life. “This (motorsports) is like society. It is stressful and one cannot avoid politics, but you have to face and handle it. It makes me even stronger in facing problems and in building up my personality and making power and strategic management. Don’t let the behavior of other people destroy your inner peace,” said Jerry. “I am here just to enjoy the moments of winning and losing, to make friends and do my best every race,” he said. “The important thing is not the triumph, but the struggle. You have to set goals no matter how impossible they might seem at the moment. This has prompted me never to give up in both racing and business.”
UNIVERSITY OF THE VISAYAS WINS SBP-PASSERELLE SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD. The University of the Visayas took
home the much-coveted Sportsmanship award in the SBP division of the prestigious SBP-Passerelle Twin Tournament. This award is based not only on the fair play shown by the players, but also among the coaches, school officials and parents, and aims to develop values, discipline, team work and sportsmanship among all participants. The SBP-Passerelle Twin Tournament is organized by the multi-awarded school for basketball and volleyball, BEST Center, sponsored by Milo, and supported by Chris Sports and Rain or Shine. Now on its 31st year, SBP-Passarelle is the longest running and most prestigious annual interschool basketball competition for children where students ages 9-11 compete in the SBP division, while students ages 12-14 compete in the Passarelle division. For more information about BEST Center’s classes and tournaments, email bestcentersports@gmail.com or follow its official Facebook page BEST Center Sports Inc.
PRADERA GOLF CLUB SPRUCED UP FOR LADIES’ GOLF THE Pradera Golf Club, the newest, gem of a course in Lubao, Pampanga, has been spruced up to championship condition and is ready to challenge the field clashing in the first-ever Pradera Ladies Golf Challenge on Jan. 15-17. The Ryder Cup-style format event pits the top Filipino junior and amateurs players against their counterparts from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia with the perpetual Pradera trophy going to the first team to score 15.5 points in four-ball, best ball and singles matches. “The golf course is 100 percent ready and the driving range is fully operational,” said Norman Sto. Domingo, personal coach of prodigy Annyka Pineda-Cayabyab, whose grandparents own the Mike Singgaran-designed course which sits on the 700-hectare Pradera Verde in Barangay Prado Siongco. While the par 72 layout, is relatively flat, Sto. Domingo said it remains challenging with its bunkers and hazards coming into play in almost all holes and slopping long fairways with big undulating, challenging greens. “It’s flat but there are so many bunkers and lots of water hazards. It can bring out the best and the worst from each player, especially if the wind come into play,” said Archen Cayabyab, under whose initiative with Lubao Mayor Mylyn Pineda-Cayabyab the first-ever Phl-SEA duel came about. Pauline del Rosario, one of the spearheads of Team Pradera Philippines in the novel event and who has played in a number of courses here and abroad, considers Pradera GC as unique and one of a kind. “It’s looks flat but it’s not when you begin to play. It’s certainly a great golf course,” said Del Rosario, who will be coming into the event in top form, having swept her last three tournaments in 2016 in Malaysia and Singapore. “The greens are also very challenging.” Del Rosario and the 12-year-old Cayabyab, a fivetime world junior champion and youngest Most Outstanding Kapampangan awardee, will be joined in Team Pradera Phl by The Country Club stalwarts Mikha Fortuna, Sofia Chabon, Bernice Ilas and Abby Arevalo, along with Mika Arroyo, Nicole Abelar, Tomi Arejola and Missy Legaspi. Jennifer Rosales adds prestige to the event as the twotime LPGA Tour champion will be one of Team Pradera’s skippers along with Chona de la Paz of The Junior Golfers League and Rolly Romero of National Golf Association of the Philippines. Thai teen star Attaya Thitikul banners Team SEA, which includes fellow Thais Napabhach Boon-in, Tunrada Piddon, Onkanok Soisuwan and Kan Bunnabodee, Malaysians Qistina Balqis, Geraldine Wong, Natasha Oon and Winnie Ng and Michela Tjan of Indonesia with Dato Raby Abbas and Phunumpa Pornperan as team captains. After hosting the PhlSEA Ladies Golf Challenge, Pradera GC will be staging a number of junior and amateur tournaments on top of the local and international pro events, according to Sto. Domingo.