NEWS
PH boxers shift focus on SEA Games, Women’s World Championships

April 10, 2022 4:35 p.m.
The Philippine national boxing team seeks to fine-tune its game as it goes into the final stage of its rigorous preparations for the 31st Southeast Asian Games as well as the 2022 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships next month.
This after a victorious campaign in the recently-concluded 2022 Thailand Open International Boxing Tournament held at the luxurious Angsana Laguna Phuket Resort Hotel where 14 Filipino pugilists joined, with five of them clinching podium finishes.
Rogen Ladon (men’s flyweight), Riza Pasuit (women’s light) and Hergie Bacyadan (women’s middle) snared gold medals while Ian Clark Bautista (men’s feather) and Aira Villegas (women’s fly) seized silvers, resulting in the country’s best finish in the prestigious tournament organized by the Thailand Boxing Association headed by its president and concurrent Asian Boxing Confederation chief Pichai Chunhavajira.
Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) secretary-general Marcus Manalo said the Thailand Open tested the Pinoy boxers’ current mettle and that gave them a clearer view of what to work on after a two-week pre-competition training camp in Muak Lek, just outside Bangkok.
“There’s some catching up to do particularly on the conditioning side. What happened here in this Thailand Open is really a feedback for us. Whether we won or we came up short, it’s feedback,” said Manalo, who led the Philippine delegation along with ABAP president Ed Picson and veteran boxing official Karina Picson.
“‘Yung mga early losses natin it’s an indication lang na some of the boxers are not yet there in terms of their peak performance, which is fine. The reason why we joined here is to know where we are right now,” added Manalo, a mental performance coach and a graduate of sport and exercise psychology from Texas Tech University.
The morning after the Thailand Open, the national pugs immediately went back to Muak Lek where they would resume their training for four to five weeks before flying straight to the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi for the SEA Games scheduled on May 12 to 23.
Meanwhile, Villegas flew back to the Philippines along with coach Reynaldo Galido to arrange visa requirements for the Women’s World Championships on May 6 to 21 in Istanbul, Turkey.
Head coach Don Abnett said the athletes’ base fitness is fine and they will make the most out of their limited time to bring them back to tip-top shape.
“They’ve done general training before they got here so the base fitness is okay. Next week we’re gonna get into the boxing specifics. We’ll see what happens in the next few weeks,” said the Australian tactician, who is getting a lot of help from coaches Roel Velasco, Ronald Chavez, Mitchel Martinez and Galido.
“Would’ve liked to have it (training camp) four or five weeks longer. But we’ll do what we can with the time that we have,” he added.
Manalo lauded the Thailand Boxing Association for hosting the training camp as well as the Thailand Open that drew 14 boxing federations across Asia, Europe and Oceania, including the Philippines’ Southeast Asian rivals in Vietnam, Indonesia and Singapore, besides host nation Thailand.
“Good thing our friends from the Thailand Boxing Association offered this opportunity to train in Muak Lek. That really provides us with the best challenge that can push our boxers to be at their best pagdating ng SEA Games and also the Women’s World Championships,” said Manalo.
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.