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Norway ends PH campaign in Women’s World Cup with 6-0 rout

July 30, 2023 5 p.m.

AUCKLAND – Fighting for its survival, Norway vented its wrath against the Philippines Sunday night with a clinical 6-0 win that ended the Filipinas campaign in the FIFA Women’s World Cup on a downbeat note at the close of Group A action at Eden Park here.    

Finally living up to their lofty pedigree, the Grasshoppers were dominant from start to finish, with striker Sophie Roman Haug doing most the damage with a hat trick in the sixth, 17th and 95th minutes as they fashioned the much-needed lopsided win.

Celebrated striker Caroline Graham Hansen had a blistering goal for the other marker in the 31st minute while Guro Reiten converted a penalty kick in the 53rd  minute that boosted the former World Cup champions to second place on super goal difference and into the next round.

On a miserable night for the plucky charges of coach Alen Stajcic, defender Alicia Barker came off the bench and  scored an own goal in the 48th minute during a goalmouth while substitute Sofia Harrison was flashed a red card 11th minutes later that left them with only 10 players on the pitch.

Also seeing their bid of advancing to the next round cut short were the hometown Ferns, who were held to a frustrating scoreless draw by Switzerland at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.

Thanks to largely to their 1-0 win over the Philippines in the same venue last week, the Swiss sealed top spot in the group with five points while  the Norwegians took second with four points on superior goal difference as they both made it to the knockout round.    

New Zealand, which finished third, and the Philippines were left out in the cold.       

At the post-match press conference, Stajcic conceded that they played to a much superior team.

“As we said, they are a very classy team. They were favorites to win this group and they showed some of their class today,” he noted. “They really picked us apart in some of the battles in the box early and this allowed them to be more creative as the game went on. “

But he praised his squad for fighting till the end despite being outclassed and outmanned, especially in the second half.

“We tried to fight to the end with 10  players and we kept them out from 25 to 30 minutes.  I am so proud with the heart and spirit of the team. They fought till the end, to the death, and from that perspective it has been an amazing World Cup,” the coach stressed.  

Haug, who plays for AS Roma in the Italian Serie A, Haug, opened the floodgates in scoring two consecutive goals in the first 17 minutes, booting the icebreaker with a left-footed flick inside the box in the sixth minute then did it again 11 minute later with a glancing header almost from the same spot.

A star at Barcelona, Hansen blasted a sizzling roller from the right side of the fringe of the penalty area in the 31st that gave Norway an imposing 3-0 lead.

The Norwegians padded that lead to 4-0 when Barker couldn’t clear the ball in the face of intense pressure that she accidentally drove the ball into the Philippine goal three minutes into the second half, after which Reiten added the fifth with a penalty kick off Anicka Castaneda’s tackle inside the box.

Fittingly, it was Haug who scored the last goal with a stunning strike five minutes into injury time.

Among the changes that the Stajcic made was giving youthful striker Isabella her first start after coming off the bench in the game against New Zealand, giving the squad another option on offense, but apparently went for naught. 

The Filipinas seemed  energized from the huge crowd  of Filipinos, numbering in the thousands, who came out to watch them play and hopefully prayed that they would pull another milestone.  

Just like in Wellington, they paraded around the arena early in the afternoon, wearing the red-and-white and blue national colors and brandishing flags and flaglets, some of them wearing the traditional “salakots”  to identify themselves as coming from the Philippines.

And they just kept on cheering them on even when the outcome was beyond doubt,     

Among those in the huge “hometown” gallery were Sen. PIa Cayetano, the head of the PH contingent, Philippine Sports Commission chairman  Richard Bachmann, who arrived from Manila last Saturday night, and UAAP executive director Rebo Saguisag.

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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)

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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.

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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.

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