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Road rage
Those with sharp memories and local crime story buffs will never forget three road rage cases that hogged print and broadcast news headlines toward the end of the 20th century and into the millennium. These high-profile cases involving detainees Inocencio Gonzales, Rolito Go, and Jason Ivler ended in their conviction and sentencing to long prison terms, with their names forever etched in the annals of heinous crimes recorded in the country. A brief refresher. On 2 July 1991, a De La Salle University engineering student was driving on a one-way street in San Juan City, Metro Manila, when he ran into construction firm executive Rolito Go, plying the road from the opposite direction. After a brief altercation, Go shot Eldon Maguan in the head, who died in the aftermath. Go served 25 years in prison before he was released. Seven years later, in the middle of a heated argument over a parking slot, real estate developer Inocencio Gonzales Jr. lost his cool, which led to the fatal shooting of a pregnant woman and the wounding of two younger children with her and her husband at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City on 21 October 1998. Gonzalez was meted a 14-year prison term. In 2009, a nephew of music celebrity Freddie Aguilar, Jason Ivler, shot dead a son of former Malacañang official Renato Ebarle Sr. after a tiff on a Quezon City road. An earlier road incident in 2004 that snuffed the life of another Malacañang official, Nestor Ponce, also pointed to Ivler as the accused in Ponce’s death. A Quezon City court found Ivler guilty of the murder of Renato Ebarle Jr. and sentenced him to 40 years in jail. There are no available statistics on road rage incidents in the Philippines, but observers have noted an alarming increase in recent years. But in the United States, statistics show 413 people were hurt in road rage shootings in 2022, or a 135 percent increase from 2018. US traffic experts say confrontational driving is more often the case that could be caused by traffic conditions, inconsiderate motorists, and high stress levels among motorists with ages ranging from 19 to 39. Not too long ago, two road rage incidents that have gained public attention because of social media posts that had gone viral involved men in uniform. In the viral video of an incident in Quezon City, Wilfredo Gonzales, a policeman dismissed from the service for grave misconduct in 2018, was shown brandishing a gun and threatening a cyclist in a traffic row. Even more controversial was a press conference conducted by the QC police days later that suggested they were “lawyering” for Gonzales, a former QC policeman. The PNP has no mandate to host such a press conference, it was later learned. In a separate incident, a Pasay City policeman, SSgt. Marsan Dolipas was also shown in a video post holding down an armed Angelito Velasquez Rencio, who said he was an Intelligence agent, after a traffic dispute in Makati City when the latter allegedly sideswiped the policeman. Both incidents prompted the usual calls for an investigation. Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senator Rafael Tulfo have called for a Senate probe into the escalation of road rage cases in the country. It is interesting to note that even President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. filed Senate 2923 when he was still a senator back in 2011. The bill “hopes to once and for all stomp rood rage as on unnecessary and reprehensible evil, and define such as a circumstance that could aggravate, or even qualify, on offense occasioned by it. The incidents involve public order and safety, particularly “road sharing,” a concept that they said is often ignored or alien to many Filipino motorists, added the senators. For his part, Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos, whose jurisdiction includes the control of the PNP, said: “For the sake of a peaceful and orderly society, we cannot allow a culture of impunity. We cannot allow bullies to intimidate people with deadly weapons. There must be consequences here.” Still, the incidents persist. Behavioral scientists attribute road rage to several reasons: A need to control other drivers who violate their space, unchecked anger or aggression, huge egos, or a need to be dominant. Others think the rise in incidents lately came about by the advent of Covid-19 when stress levels reached abnormally unreachable heights caused by depression, the loss of jobs or loved ones to the pandemic, and the inability to cope with such. Solutions have been suggested. Push for continuing driver anger management education. Discard the “it’s the other driver’s fault” excuse. Don’t allow anyone to push your “rage buttons” by staying calm and collected when an altercation appears to be headed your way. Yield to others. These may be easier said than done, but why not take the chance? As an anger management expert said: Realize road rage is ridiculous, life-threatening, and not something you have to participate in — ever. And you can arrive at your destination safe and sure. The post Road rage appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Italian Brown Bear Shooting Sparks Outrage – The Daily Guardia
Title: Outrage in Italy as Beloved Brown Bear Amarena is Fatally Shot Near Village San Sebastiano dei Marsi, Italy – In a devastating incident that.....»»
Florida gunman driven by racial ‘hate’ kills 3: authorities
A gunman in Jacksonville, Florida driven by racial hatred shot dead three Black people in a discount store Saturday before killing himself after a standoff with police, authorities said. "He targeted a certain group of people and that's Black people. That's what he said he wanted to kill. And that's very clear," Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters told a news conference about the gunman, who was white and in his early 20s. According to the sheriff's office, the shooter, who has not yet been identified, entered the Dollar General store wearing a tactical vest, armed with an AR-style rifle and a handgun. Manifestos discovered by the gunman's family shortly before the attack "detail the shooter's disgusting ideology of hate," Waters said, and at least one of the guns had hand-drawn swastikas on it. The shooting took place near Edward Waters University, a historically Black college in the southern US state. The FBI would investigate the shooting as a hate crime, said Sherri Onks, the bureau's special agent for Jacksonville. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis decried the "horrific" shooting and called the gunman a "scumbag." "He was targeting people based on their race, that is totally unacceptable," said DeSantis, who is competing to be the Republican party's candidate for the 2024 White House race. "This guy killed himself rather than face the music and accept responsibility for his actions and so he took the coward's way out.” The shooting was the latest in a spate of gun violence this weekend in the United States. Mass shootings have become disturbingly common across the United States, with easy access to firearms in most states and more guns in the country than citizens. Earlier in the day at least seven people were hospitalized after a mass shooting at a Caribbean festival in the northeast city of Boston, police said. Meanwhile, two women were shot at a baseball game in Chicago the night before. That same night a 16-year-old was shot dead and four others hurt after an argument erupted at a high school football game in Oklahoma, local police said. The Jacksonville shooting comes after a self-declared white supremacist killed 10 Black people in a live-streamed shooting rampage at a supermarket in the US state of New York in May 2022. Payton Gendron planned the attack for months, targeting Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo because of the large African-American population in the surrounding neighborhood. He pleaded guilty to the killings in November. Saturday's shooting in Jacksonville is five years to the day after a mass shooting in the city when a gunman at a video game tournament killed two and wounded several others before killing himself. nro/acb © Agence France-Presse The post Florida gunman driven by racial ‘hate’ kills 3: authorities appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Wave of violent Indonesia muggings sparks ‘shoot-to-kill’ calls
A spate of violent muggings by machete-wielding thieves in Indonesia has drawn coded calls from prominent politicians for them to be killed-on-sight by police, in comments condemned by rights groups as condoning extrajudicial murders. Last month, police in the northern Sumatran city of Medan shot dead a "begal" -- a term used to describe a type of street thief known for their brutality -- as part of what the force said was a bid to "eradicate" them. Bobby Nasution, Medan mayor and President Joko Widodo's son-in-law, lauded the officers involved, saying such criminals should be shot dead on the spot. "I appreciate this because begal and criminals have no place in Medan," he wrote in an Instagram post on July 9, sharing footage of the suspect's dead body. President Widodo has not commented on Nasution's statements. Other leaders, including the governor of North Sumatra province, have supported the comments. Rights groups want an investigation into the killing, and have condemned the rhetoric as giving officers and citizens the right to take the law into their own hands. "It is inappropriate for public officials to declare support for such extrajudicial actions," Amnesty International Indonesia director Usman Hamid told AFP. "The shooting not only violates human rights principles –- such as the right to life, the right to a fair trial -- but also the regulations." Indonesian police rules state that firearms should only be used as an officer's last resort. Indonesia's Institute for Criminal Justice Reform called Nasution's words "irresponsible". Some public sentiment, however, is on the mayor's side. Under viral videos of the begal attacks, social media users call for the thieves to be shot dead or to face the death penalty. And in a village east of Jakarta, local leaders have issued a 10 million rupiah ($662) bounty for the capture of begals. 'Begal' terror Begals have savagely attacked their victims with sickles, airguns and rocks, terrorising Indonesians in the capital Jakarta, Medan and other urban centres. They approach their victims on scooters, usually in carefully chosen areas that have few security cameras, so that they can rapidly escape after the robbery. "They have to do it quickly and cruelly to make the victim surrender," said Adrianus Meliala, a criminologist at the University of Indonesia. "Begal run away using the city labyrinth they have mastered." Medan, Indonesia's fifth-largest city, has been hit by 45 begal attacks since January, police say, and one brutal case two months ago caused an uproar. Student Insanul Anshori Hasibuan was riding a scooter home when a man hacked him in the head with a machete, stealing his wallet. Hasibuan, 22, died in hospital after the attacker and several accomplices escaped with the contents of the wallet: just 70,000 rupiah ($4.60). Four suspects were later arrested, and face up to 15 years in jail if convicted. Such brutal attacks have been splashed across Indonesian media, raising public fear and allowing Nasution to cast himself as a champion for law and order. According to official data, the rate of robberies has risen in 2023, but experts say Indonesian criminal data is often incomplete due to underreporting. Indonesia's national police force did not respond to an AFP request for comment. The issue is a complex culmination of factors, including rising poverty in one of the world's most unequal countries, the difficulty of countering such quick and violent attacks, weak rule of law and crumbling public trust in the police. "The begal phenomenon cannot be separated from the social economic order of society," said Ida Ruwaida of the University of Indonesia. Rights groups say they are concerned that calls by prominent politicians such as Nasution to kill suspects on sight could lead to chaos on the country's streets. "We are concerned that the statement by the mayor of Medan can serve as legitimacy for more extrajudicial killings," said Hamid. "This is very dangerous." The post Wave of violent Indonesia muggings sparks ‘shoot-to-kill’ calls appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
3 policemen wounded after shooting in Philippine capital
MANILA, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- Three policemen were wounded in a shooting incident inside a police station in the Philippine capital shortly before noon on Monday, the local media reported. The media report said a policeman started shooting after a heated argument with a colleague inside the police station in Taguig City in Metro Manila. Three were reportedly injured in the incident. A video on social media s.....»»
Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years for shooting Megan Thee Stallion
Canadian rapper Tory Lanez, convicted of shooting US artist Megan Thee Stallion in the feet during a drunken argument after a Hollywood party, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison. A Los Angeles judge handed down the sentence after hearing how Lanez had ordered the hip-hop star to "Dance, bitch" as he shot at her several times while she stood on the road. The sentencing follows Lanez's conviction in December for assault with a semiautomatic firearm, discharging a firearm with gross negligence, and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle. Prosecutors had requested a 13-year sentence, claiming Lanez had caused physical and emotional scarring to the "WAP" performer. Lanez's attorneys had asked for him to be given probation or three years in prison, and mandatory rehab, including for alcohol addiction. In a protracted sentencing hearing that began Monday, Judge David Herriford said he had received more than 70 letters on Lanez's behalf, including from his celebrity friends. One was from musician Iggy Azalea, whom he said had requested a sentence that was "transformational, not life-destroying." Another came from Lanez's young son. But the judge ordered Lanez -- who has been in jail since his conviction -- to serve a decade behind bars. He said the prosecution had proven two aggravating factors, involving the use of weapon and a particularly vulnerable victim, but had not proven that the crime involved a high degree of cruelty, viciousness or callousness. Megan Thee Stallion -- whose real name is Megan Pete -- had been in a car with Lanez, his bodyguard and her friend Kelsey Harris after a party at Kylie Jenner's luxury home in July 2020. She and Lanez -- whose real name is Daystar Peterson -- had developed an intimate relationship in the months before the incident. Harris, who only learned of the sexual relationship that night, had a "crush" on Lanez, she told the court, and an argument then erupted in the car, with Megan Thee Stallion demanding to be let out of the vehicle. The "Savage" rapper said she saw Lanez pointing a gun at her and opening fire "after he said, 'Dance, bitch.'" Megan Thee Stallion told the court during the trial she felt she had "been turned into some kind of villain," in the wake of the shooting, with the male-dominated rap world frequently seeming to be against her. In a statement read in court Monday, she said she had not experienced "a single day of peace" since she was shot in July 2020. "He not only shot me. He made a mockery of my trauma," she said. The post Tory Lanez sentenced to 10 years for shooting Megan Thee Stallion appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Taguig cops figure in bloody gunplay
A policeman was shot dead while another was brought to a hospital in critical condition following a gunplay inside the Taguig City Police Station before noon Monday. A third policeman, the alleged assailant, was also wounded. The fatality was identified as P/EMS Heriberto Saguiped, while those who were wounded in the shooting incident were named in a spot police report as P/Cpl. Alison Sindac and P/CMS Alraquib Aguel. Aguel confronted Saguiped inside the Office of the Community Affairs Section of the Taguig police headquarters in Barangay Tuktukan, according to the spot report that said Sindac was hurt while pacifying Aguel and Saguiped. According to Taguig police chief P/Col. Robert Baesa, Aguel went amuck after engaging Saguiped, reportedly a member of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force Batch ‘97, in a heated argument allegedly about food. Saguiped sustained gunshot wounds to the head, police sources said. Listed in critical condition was Sindac, while Aguel was also brought to a hospital for treatment after being shot by a responding policeman. Aguel was tagged a suspect in shooting both Saguiped and Sindac. All three police officers are assigned to the said police station. The incident happened at around 11:30 a.m. in the police station located inside the City Hall compound. Baesa said they were still investigating all other angles. With Glen Jacob Jose The post Taguig cops figure in bloody gunplay appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
China still intractable
On the seventh anniversary of the Philippines’ historic 12 July 2016 arbitration victory in which the Permanent Court of Arbitration or PCA in The Hague that voided China’s sweeping claims, including over the West Philippine Sea which covers the exclusive economic zone stretching 200 nautical miles from Philippine shores, the words of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. strike an uplifting chord in the hearts of all patriotic Filipinos. “I will not preside over any process that will abandon even one square inch of territory of the Republic of the Philippines to any foreign power,” he said with conviction to thunderous applause as he stood before members of Congress in joint session for his first SONA on 25 July 2022. The words of the President serve as the title to the microsite recently launched by the Department of Foreign Affairs, which marks the seventh year of Manila’s victory against China at the PCA. That victory, the DFA said on the site, “authoritatively ruled that the claim of historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the ‘nine-dash’ line had no basis in law and is without any legal effect.” Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo describes the site as a central resource of information regarding the award and its contribution to the rule of law and peaceful settlement of disputes through the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or UNCLOS and international law. China, ironically, was among the first to ratify UNCLOS in 1992. Said Manalo, “Anniversaries remind us of the trajectory we have taken as a nation and as a people. In the decision (by the Philippine government, under then President Benigno C. Aquino III) to file an arbitration case, the Philippines opted to take the path of principle, the rule of law, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. The Tribunal’s decision affirmed the correctness of that course of action.” It took three years from the Philippines’ filing of its case against China until 12 July 2016 for the PCA to issue its ruling that crushed China’s claims over the SCS, including its nine-dash line, denouncing the encroachment in and harassment by armed Chinese maritime elements of Filipino fishermen in the WPS. China has long argued that its claim over the South China Sea is historical in nature, with Chinese scholars and analysts contending that islands in the South China Sea were first discovered by China’s Han dynasty over two millennia ago. In his book Asia’s Cauldron, US scholar and strategist Robert D. Kaplan says that between the 10th and 14th centuries, during the Song and Yuan dynasties, many official and unofficial Chinese accounts show the South China Sea to be within China’s national boundaries. He, however, argued that this “historical rights” argument has been challenged on several fronts. First, there is scant proof that China had controlled the South China Sea after the mid-17th century. “Indeed, after a burst of seafaring exploration during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), China’s emperors largely shut their empire off from the seas,” said Chinese marine geographer Wang Ying who contends that, consequently, there is scarce cartographic proof of China’s rights over the SCS. While the nine-dash line concept has been around since 1947, Chinese maps — for the longest time — hardly gave it any prominence. This changed in 2009 when a map marking the nine-dash line was included in the documents submitted by China to the UN during a dispute with Vietnam. Today, Chinese passports are emblazoned with a map with nine dashes through the South China Sea as well as a 10th dash that counts Taiwan as part of Chinese territory. Still, there exists vagueness over what China’s nine-dash line implies. Wang says the dash lines mean that “the ocean, islands, and reefs all belong to China and that China has sovereign right over them. But it’s discontinuous, meaning other countries can pass through the lines freely.” Notwithstanding the ambiguities over its nine-dash line concept and the quashing by the PCA of its claim over the SCS, China, to this day, refuses to recognize the 2016 arbitral ruling even as nations, including the US, Germany, Canada, Japan, Australia, and the European Union have expressed strong support for the landmark decision that recognized Philippine sovereign rights over its EEZ in the WPS. For the US, the 2016 ruling of the tribunal constituted under UNCLOS is “final and legally binding.” The EU called the ruling a “significant milestone” and a “useful basis for the peaceful resolution of disputes…” even as Canadian Ambassador David Hartman said, “We have always been strong in our position; we have been an active vocal proponent on the enforcement of it, encouraging all parties involved to respect the ruling.” Speaking for President Marcos, DFA Secretary Manalo welcomed “the growing number of partners that have expressed support for the Award. We are honored that the Award stands as a beacon whose guiding light serves all nations. It is a settled landmark and a definitive contribution to the progressive development of international law. It is ours, as much as it is the world’s.” A world, that is, that an obdurate China doesn’t seem to want to be part of nor care for unless it can be bent to its will. The post China still intractable appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Gov’t must crack whip
A full and extensive audit of the electricity backbone’s operations will have to be undertaken and thereafter made public amid the recurring power shortfalls that hound an increasing number of regions. National Grid Corp. of the Philippines blamed unscheduled shutdowns of major power plants for the shortfall consistent with its argument that the lack of supply should be addressed. The Department of Energy, nonetheless, reported after an investigation of the 8 May red alert that the tripping of the Bolo-Masinloc 230kV Line 2 caused the system to fail. Panay’s electricity woes that happened a week before were found to have been the result of the absence of a backup system which is referred to as N-1 in the jargon of the power industry. The Luzon problem was also the result of the questionable redundancy that NGCP claims to have but which energy experts disputed since rotational brownouts, which N-1 seeks to avert, happened on that fateful day. The consequences of delays in resolving the frequent outages are enormous, counted in terms of opportunity losses. According to energy experts in a forum organized by the state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies or PIDS, a five-hour power outage in the Philippines costs the economy some P556 million in losses. The experts said if the frequent power failures are not resolved, the growth momentum will be affected by missed output. The energy sector continues to face problems such as insufficient power supply, congested transmission lines, and recurring damages from disasters, the energy experts indicated. Based on the measurement called the value of lost load, the cost of an outage is about P20.65 per kilowatt hour and for every five hours of electricity interruption, 500 megawatts are missed which translates to P556 million in economic losses. “It’s a hefty amount to lose for a developing country,” a representative of the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association Inc. explained. Another gauge that determines the acceptable number of hours of power interruption, known as loss of load expectation, places the average power outage at 10 days a year for the country compared to Singapore’s one hour in 10 years. PIPPA also identified transmission line issues. “From Luzon to Visayas and vice versa, the lines are utterly congested, which if removed, a vast improvement and a decrease in power interruptions is expected,” a PIPPA official indicated. The problems in the electricity grid are compounded by NGCP’s refusal to acknowledge its shortcomings. For instance, in the recent Luzon outage, NGCP claimed that while “there were grid incidents” these “by themselves ought not to have caused the effects seen.” Its spokesperson pointed out that “before the occurrence of the faults, unplanned outages of plants and the deration of other plants contributed to the situation.” In layman’s terms, the power plants failed to meet the electricity demand which led to the tripping of the NGCP-operated system which was the opposite of the DoE findings that the transmission line failed, forcing power generators to shut down. Only an earnest review of the entire power system, from the power plant to the transmission backbone until the electricity is distributed to each household will the extent of the problems of the power service unfold. NGCP said it welcomes an audit but it attaches several terms for the conduct of such a review. Since it is the subject of the assessment, NGCP should allow the government a free hand for the review. The state, which still owns the electricity grid, should not allow the tenant to interfere since under review is the efficiency or the lack of it in handling a vital public property. The post Gov’t must crack whip appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
2 execs dead in shooting
Two executives of two companies died in a shooting following an argument in Quezon City over the weekend, police reported yesterday......»»
3 killed in shooting in Florida, child among the dead
Three people including a child were shot dead in a grocery store in Florida on Thursday, the latest in a series of shootings in the southern US state. The shooting occurred in a Publix grocery store in Royal Palm Beach, 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Miami, police said. “Upon arrival deputies located three individuals […] The post 3 killed in shooting in Florida, child among the dead appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
US police shooting of Black man in Minneapolis sparks fresh protests
Protests broke out Sunday night after US police fatally shot a young Black man in a suburb of Minneapolis -- where a former police officer is currently on trial for the murder of George Floyd......»»
Kennard sparks Clippers past Hawks
Los Angeles --- Luke Kennard conjured a perfect shooting display and Terance Mann added 21 from the bench as the Los Angeles Clippers overturned a 22-point deficit to end the Atlanta Hawks eight-game winning streak on Monday......»»
Man shoots to death 10 people in Colorado store
Boulder, Colorado—A gunman killed at least 10 people including a police officer at a grocery store in Colorado on Monday, police said, in the latest shooting to hit a state that was the site of two of the most infamous mass murders in US history......»»
Eyewitness account: Indicted cop fired while daughter looked
Police Senior Master Sergeant Jonel Nuezca and his young daughter walked away from the lifeless bodies of Sonya Gregorio and her son Frank Anthony Gregorio “as if nothing happened,” an eyewitness to the horrific shooting after an argument in a village in Tarlac told ABS-CBN radio on Monday......»»
NBA walkout sparks sports boycott
Orlando, United States—The Milwaukee Bucks led a historic sporting boycott Wednesday (Thursday Philippine time) over the US police shooting of a black man, forcing the NBA to halt its playoff schedule and prompting a wave of walkouts across multiple sports......»»
WNBA games postponed following shooting of Jacob Blake
By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer The WNBA will not play its three games Wednesday night (Thursday in the Philippines) following the shooting of Jacob Blake over the weekend. The move came hours after the NBA decided to postpone its three playoff games with iats players choosing to boycott in their strongest statement yet against racial injustice. In Bradenton, Florida, on Wednesday, Washington was set to play Atlanta, Minnesota was going to face Los Angeles, and Connecticut was going to meet Phoenix. Players from the Mystics, Dream, Sparks and Lynx were talking on the court for about an hour deciding whether to play or not. The decision was announced shortly before the expected 7 pm. EDT tip for the Mystics and Dream. All four teams took a knee at center court right before leaving the court. Atlanta Dream player Elizabeth Williams read a statement on ESPN saying that the “consensus is not to play in tonight’s games. We stand in solidarity with our brothers in the NBA.” Williams is the secretary of the players' union. The Mystics came into the arena wearing shirts that spelled out Blake’s name on the front and had holes in the back to signify the seven bullets that he was hit with by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The league had just passed its halfway mark of the 22-game season. With teams playing pretty much every other day in the bubble the postponed games will most likely have to be made up after the regular season ends on Sept. 12. The WNBA and its players have dedicated this season to social justice. Players have been wearing the name of Breonna Taylor on the back of the uniforms all season long. Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician, was shot eight times by plainclothes Louisville police officers serving a narcotics search warrant at her apartment on March 13. No drugs were found. Her family and protesters around the country have called for swift action against the officers who shot Taylor. Over the course of the season players have worn warmup shirts that read “Black Lives Matter” on the front and “Say Her Name” on the back. The phrase “Black Lives Matter” is featured prominently on the courts where the teams play......»»
WHAT IF... La Salle didn t lose to Ateneo to sweep UAAP 79
History lesson: De La Salle University's Ben Mbala and Jeron Teng-led team was one of the most dominant in the history of UAAP Men's Basketball. The Green Archers lost just one game en route to the championship. More impressive, though, was how they did it. La Salle posted a 17.2 average margin of victory throughout the tournament. They had the Season MVP leading their lineup as Mbala averaged a double-double of 20.6 points on 54 percent shooting from the field and 16.2 rebounds on top of 2.4 blocks, 1.4 steals, and 1.2 assists. Right there with him was Teng who put up per game counts of 16.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.1 assists for a spot on the Mythical Team. Flanking them were then Rookie of the Year Aljun Melecio, "Man of Steal" Kib Montalbo, Andrei Caracut, Jason Perkins, Thomas Torres, and Abu Tratter. And oh, future stars Justine Baltazar and Ricci Rivero were, more or less, benchwarmers for this team. At at the controls of this juggernaut? Youthful mentor Aldin Ayo who had just taken the collegiate ranks by storm as he guided Colegio de San Juan de Letran to a Cinderella championship at the expense of archrival San Beda University the year before. When all is said and done, could those Green Archers have been more impressive? Well, they could have swept the season. Only, their fiercest foes denied them that. Near the end of the elimination round, Ateneo de Manila University upended the Taft-based team, 83-71. That was the green and white's first loss of the season. And it would end up as their only loss of the season as they dispatched Adamson University in the Final Four and then ran roughshod over the very same Blue Eagles in the Finals. Yes, there was one and only one blemish on the face of La Salle in Season 79 - a blemish coming from an Ateneo side they had gotten the better of three times out of four. If those Green Archers didn't have that blemish, would that change anything? Wethinks, yes. If so, Mbala, Teng, and company would have been the first-ever team to sweep both the elimination and championship rounds. If so, they would be the ones to make history - and not the Blue Eagles of Isaac Go, Thirdy Ravena, and Nieto twins Mike and Matt. And if so, La Salle would have done something that would be next to impossible to replicate - a squad to sweep the season that has the Season MVP and the Rookie of the Year. Now tell us, would that turn the tides of the argument for the best team ever in their favor? History. 16-0. Championship. Season MVP. Rookie of the Year. Around 17 points of an average margin of victory. It would be tough to think about another team competing with that. --- Follow this writer on Twitter, @riegogogo......»»
Amazon smart cart lets grocery shoppers skip checkout
Amazon on Tuesday introduced a smart grocery cart that will let shoppers skip checkout queues. Amazon’s latest cashierless shopping innovation comes as merchants and customers strive to do business while reducing risk of exposure to coronavirus. Dash Carts that use discretely embedded sensors and cameras to tally prices of items placed inside will debut in […] The post Amazon smart cart lets grocery shoppers skip checkout appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Rapper Range999 admits to shooting foreigner for being ‘bastos’ to female friends
LAPU-LAPU CITY, Cebu – Rapper-singer Jed Andrew Salera has admitted to shooting a foreign national inside a hotel compound in Cebu City’s early on Sunday morning. Salera, who goes by he professional name “Range999,” said he was angry that Michael George Richey was disrespectful to his female friends and even touched their butts. “Kay katong.....»»