NEWS
Crossovers survive pesky Perlas belles

The Chery Tiggo Crossovers live up to their billing.
Posted on Nov. 20, 8:30 p.m.
THE Chery Tiggo Crossovers live up to their billing. City—Chery Tiggo set in motion its bid for a sweep of this year’s club championships with a 25-22, 20-25, 25-14, 25-23 conquest of the Tuguegarao-Perlas Spikers in the Philippine National Volleyball Federation Champions League on Saturday at the Aquamarine Recreational Center here.
The newly-minted Premier Volleyball League Open Conference champions rallied from an 11-17 hole in the fourth set to earn their first victory in the tournament that has Rebisco, Pitmaster Foundation Inc., Top Speed, 1Pacman Partylist, Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Olympic Committee as platinum sponsors.
F2 Logistics, Asics, PLDT, MVP Sports Foundation and Mikasa are gold sponsors while BCDA, Philippine Red Cross, Lipa City, Davies Paints and Emerald PVC Pipes, Fittings and Doors as silver sponsors, with PNVF godfather, Taguig Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the Champions League, giving his full support.
Under a round-robin format where every set and every point count, coach Aaron Velez pressed his Crossovers to work double time if they want to achieve their ultimate goal of becoming the inaugural queens of the Champions League.
“We have to push harder,” Velez said. “Lahat talaga ngayon is really vying for the first-ever CL. Kaya hindi talaga puwede tayong magpatumpik-tumpik. Kailangang sa umpisa, mauna kaagad.”
Dindin Santiago-Manabat, who took the leadership mantle from her younger sister Jaja who is currently playing in the Japan V.League, knows that her team needs to elevate its level of play as the competition goes on.
“Sa sobrang excitement, hindi agad nagawa ang trabaho namin. Sa mga na-training namin in the past few days, may nagawa kami sa sobrang excitement namin, nara-rattle kami,” said Manabat, who led Chery Tiggo with 17 points. “Marami pa kaming kailangang pag-aralan pa,”
Mylene Paat, who like Manabat is also a part of the national team, contributed 11 points, including two blocks, while libero Buding Duremdes had 14 digs and 18 receptions for the Crossovers.
Velez, who praised the Perlas Spikers for pushing them, is looking forward to Chery Tiggo to play better when it takes on PetroGazz, which topped Baguio in straight sets, at 4 p.m. Sunday.
“Makita ko lang ang hard work in every player of the team. By just working hard, it is already a blessing. Now the reward will just come if we just push harder,” said Velez, who will face his close friend coach Arnold Laniog in the crucial match.
“They (Angels) are also a champion team. We have just to prepare. We have to rest today and tomorrow, we will gonna fight,” he added.
Nicole Tiamzon paced the Perlas Spikers with 21 points, while Michelle Morente had a solid all-around outing of 19 points, 14 digs and 12 receptions.
NEWS
SM Prime explores potential partnership with Japanese firm for waste-to-fuel solutions

September 25, 2023 12:39 p.m.

Shown here are (from left) SM Supermalls Vice President Liza Silerio, SM Prime Chairman of the Executive Committee Hans T. Sy, GUUN Chief Executive Officer Shinji Fujieda, GUUN Philippine Branch Senior Managing Director and General Manager Takeshi Konishi
Leading real estate developer in Southeast Asia, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SM Prime) recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s GUUN Co. Ltd. to explore a potential partnership to implement waste management solutions by recycling waste paper and plastics as an alternative source of energy called ‘fluff fuel’.
Fluff Fuels are one type of RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) which are produced from shredded and compressed plastics, papers, and fibers. These are used as fuels in cement manufacturing, paper mill companies, or power companies in Japan.
SM Prime Chairman of the Executive Committee Hans T. Sy is positive that a partnership with GUUN will contribute to the waste reduction goals of the country. “Today, Japan’s waste management and recycling technology is among the most advanced in the world,” he said. “There is no better partner for SM because we do not just talk about being big, we make sure we do it; we do not talk about being environment friendly but we do take bold steps to save the environment. I am looking forward to growing with GUUN as among leaders in solving environmental issues in the Philippines.”
GUUN Co., Ltd., founded in March 2001 and headquartered in Yokohama City, Japan, piloted the production of fluff fuel from plastic waste in Inayawan, Cebu in 2014 and recently inaugurated its P200-million, 2,400-square meter waste recycling plant in Tayud, Consolacion, Cebu.
Since then, Japan’s Ministry of the Environment has adopted GUUN’s waste-to-fuel technology as a model for advanced low-carbon technology innovation for further deployment in developing countries.
“This will be a milestone partnership for us,” GUNN Chief Executive Officer Shinji Fujieda said after the signing ceremony. “I understand very much how important waste management is for SM and for the Philippines and we look forward to more projects we can do with the properties of SM Prime.”
SM Prime’s initiatives for waste management include waste reduction and effective waste collection and segregation. Over the years, it has implemented programs such as Trash to Cash, Plastic Waste Collection, and E-Waste Collection that have contributed to reducing the total solid waste generation across its real estate portfolio.
Through its pioneering Trash to Cash recycling market, SM Prime has collected and recycled 1.4M kg of plastics, paper, metals, and others in 2022. “We have saved 16,766 trees from the 986,222 kg of paper recycled,” SM Prime disclosed in its 2022 Integrated Report to shareholders.
Meanwhile, SM’s Plastic Waste Collection program, a partnership with the Plastic Credit Exchange that was launched in February 2021, has accumulated 42,541kg of plastic waste from 14 mall sites. Also present in all its 83 SM Supermalls is the E-Waste Collection program for the responsible disposal of WEEE (Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment). This drive has helped process close to 7,000 kilograms of e-waste. (ENDS)
NEWS
Satisfy your cravings with these best-selling Nanyang drinks

September 15, 2023 3:30 p.m.
Nanyang isn’t only known for its Laksa Prawn, Cheesy Chicken Chop Noodles and Singapore’s best selling Hainanese Chicken Rice and Kopi.
It also has several best-selling drinks to whet your appetite and satisfy your sweet tooth, such as Iced Teh Melaka, Kopi Jelly Milk Tea, Milo Dinosaur and Kopi O.
Head over to your nearest Nanyang branches nationwide.

NEWS
USA back on top; Germany takes Top 3 spot in FIBA World Ranking

September 15, 2023 1:28 p.m.
MIES (Switzerland) – The recent completion of the prestigious FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 has produced some eye-catching positive climbs in the latest FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike.
USA reclaim pole position with 786.6 points after benefiting from their consistency at major tournaments over the last three summers. Finishing in fourth place at the FIBA Basketball World Cup where they outperformed former number one nation Spain, their run to the Semi-Finals came off the back of winning an Olympic title at Tokyo in 2021 and also taking bronze at the FIBA AmeriCup 2022.
Recently crowned FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 champions Germany have another slice of history to enjoy as they step into the top three of the rankings for the very first time after moving up a massive eight places and onto 759.7 points. Their stunning success made all the more incredible because of the fact they made the journey to the top step of the podium without tasting defeat.
Canada also have another reason to celebrate too, with their maiden FIBA Basketball World Cup medal fueling an even bigger rise of nine spots. They now occupy sixth position with 745.5 points.
Serbia performed in outstanding fashion to make the title game and their second-placed finish gave their fans something to be proud of. Those supporters can also now enjoy and reflect on their country being a top five nation again as they move up a place and into fifth position on 755.6 points.
Meanwhile, when it comes to the scale and impact of climbing the rankings in the upper echelon, nobody can match Latvia. They have rocketed up a staggering 22 places and into the top 10 after their heroic underdog displays which ensured they took fifth place at the FIBA Basketball World Cup. They now sit in 8th position on 743.7 points.
There were many other teams who impressed at the flagship event, including Brazil who recorded three wins in five games and moves up a place into 12th in the rankings on 660.5 points. The Americas region can also boast a nice move upwards of five places into 16th for Puerto Rico on 611.1 points, while Dominican Republic rise six spots into 18th place on 561.9 points.
There were also notable improvements for Georgia who move up 10 positions and into 23rd on 465.9 points, Japan jump 11 spots to 26th on 432.2 points and Lebanon claim an uplift of 16 places into 28th on 423.3.
One nation that truly made everyone sit up and take notice at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 were first-timers South Sudan. They made history by beating China to claim a first win at the event, then pushing on to beat the Philippines and Angola. This has resulted in a sensational climb of 32 spots in the rankings. They now find themselves in 31st place with 375.5 points.
For more information about the method used in the calculation of the FIBA World Ranking Men, please refer to the “How It Works” section.
Click here to view the full FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike.