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PAGE 7

Teresita Deles, the chair of the peace panel, in tears, declares that there is

PEACE DEAL SIGNING SOUVENIR EDITION

7 PAGES OF REPORTS INSIDETouching: Teresita Deles yesterday

“Today we embrace peace with a crushing might of a people and banished war with the power of a nation united,” Teresita Deles said.

The government under President Benigno Aquino III and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed the Comprehensive Agree-ment on the Bangsamoro on Thursday as the first step in the creation of a new region that would replace the Autonomous Region in Mus-lim Mindanao (ARMM).

Government Peace Panel chair Miriam Cor-onel-Ferrer and MILF lead negotiator Mohager Iqbal signed the five-page, 12-point document that seals previously agreed upon documents and annexes, namely:• Ceasefire Agreement of 1997• Agreement on Peace signed in 2001 in Tripoli• Declaration of Continuity of Ne-gotiations in June 2010• Annex on Transitional Ar-

rangements and Modalities• Annex on Revenue Genera-tion and Wealth-Sharing• Annex on Power Sharing• Annex on Normalization• Addendum on Bangsamoro Waters• Framework Agree-ment on the Bangsamoro

The signing was witnessed by over 1,000 people in the Palace grounds including Aquino, MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, Malay-sian Prime Minister Najib Razak, and Presiden-tial Advisor on the Peace Process Teresita Deles.

The signed agreement is hoped to lead to lasting peace in Mindanao by making legitimate the MILF’s cry for autonomy and end fighting between the rebel forces and the military.

The text contains affirmation of principles shared by both sides of the negotiations such as finding a “solution to the Bangsamoro question”

By Daniel Sta AnaChief Correspondent

Turn to page 7

The OLW Sun, Friday, March 28, 2014

WITH the signing of the Com-prehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro Thursday, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is abandoning its armed struggle for an independent Muslim state in Mindanao.

For the rest of the country and perhaps the world, this is the heart of the peace process with the Moro rebels.

In exchange, the government is committing to redo a 37-year autonomy experiment whose current version, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), has failed to live up to the Moro people’s aspiration for freedom from an overly central-ized government.

The establishment of the Bangsamoro, which has an asym-metrical relationship with the central government, is deemed the remedy for a defective au-tonomy.

For the MILF and its sup-porters, this is the crowning glory of their four-decade struggle.

MILF chief Murad Ebrahim has said that even ordinary Mo-ros consider the present instru-mentalities of the Philippine state—its agencies and local gov-ernments—that they deal with every day as a “government of the aliens.”

17 years of negotiatingAfter four decades of war over

the question of freedom, peace in Mindanao is bought with the grant of greater leeway for the Moro people to decide for them-selves.

The historic moment in Mal-acañang comes after more than 17 years of political negotiations, the last 13 years of which in-volved neighboring Malaysia as a third-party facilitator.

This breakthrough also com-es more than 17 years after the government signed a peace pact with the Moro National Libera-tion Front (MNLF), the origi-nal group from which the MILF broke away in 1984.

The government is confident that the Bangsamoro accord em-bodies most of the measures that adequately deal with Moro politi-cal demands. Hence, its negotia-tions with the MILF will be the last of such processes.

First, it talked peace with the rebels more than 39 years ago, through the undivided MNLF. The meeting took place on Jan. 18, 1975, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, under the auspices of the Organi-zation of the Islamic Conference, now the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), according to the book “Bangsamoro: A Nation Under Endless Tyranny.”

Embrace democratic waysAs a sign of embracing demo-

cratic means to pursue its politi-cal goals, the MILF has agreed to decommission its armed wing, the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF). This will be done in phases, principally following the achievement of milestones defined in a plan for the estab-lishment of a new autonomous region by mid-2016.

Some other conditions for the decommissioning of MILF forces are the redeployment of government security forces with-in Bangsamoro, establishment of the Bangsamoro police force, disbandment of private armed groups, socioeconomic develop-ment aid for former combatants, and the institution of transitional justice and reconciliation meas-ures in a bid to straighten unjust historical narratives, correct his-torical injustices, and repair re-lations among conflict-affected communities and peoples.

“We believe that the formula we have agreed with government is the best formula that can be had. We cannot build our institu-tions in the context of continuing war,” said MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, a veteran of the four-decade Moro rebellion.

Iqbal said that as previously announced, the MILF would re-main a social movement while a political party will be formed as vehicle for its members’ par-ticipation in the electoral arena soon.

Redesign autonomyIn the Framework Agreement

on the Bangsamoro, the prelimi-nary accord signed on Oct 2012, the government and the MILF aimed to establish a new au-tonomous region encompassing predominantly Moro-populated areas in Mindanao.

The two sides concluded that the ARMM lacks the institutional attributes to effectively respond

to the Moro people’s longing for self-rule. It needs to be replaced with another autonomous body imbued with far greater political and economic powers.

The ARMM continues to be dependent on economic and fi-nancial doles from the central government. Its political dynam-ics is largely dictated by the ten-ant of Malacañang; since 1989, those who have become regional governors have been anointed by the President.

The Bangsamoro will have a ministerial form of government. This feature, according to gov-ernment chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, makes for its asymmetric relations with the central government, which fol-lows the presidential setup in po-litical administration.

Bangsamoro constituents will elect the members of the regional legislative assembly, envisioned to compose at least 50 representatives coming from “district, party-list, reserved se-ats and sectoral constituencies.”

A chief minister will run the Bangsamoro Cabinet, to be ele-cted by assembly members from among themselves. The chief m-inister will then appoint a deputy and other ministers.

The chief minister will also preside over a council of leaders composed of provincial gover-nors, city mayors, and “a repre-sentative each of the non-Moro indigenous communities, wom-en, settler communities and oth-er sectors.”

Power-sharingCentral to the autonomy

redesign is power-sharing. Cur-rently, the ARMM charter lists 14 areas that are outside the powers of the regional legislature.

In the power-sharing aspect, they came up with a list of 81 powers categorized into reserved for the central government, ex-clusive to the Bangsamoro and c shared by the two sides.

Moros leave their armies for self-rule


Excited: People pass through a jubilant poster (Inquirer.net)

Mindanaoans hope that this would be the real deal for peace

For ordinary residents of areas that have been identified for in-clusion in the Bangsamoro entity, the signing of the Comprehen-sive Agreement on Bangsamoro on Thursday (Mar. 27) is really a hope for celebration.

They hope it will really signal the end to years of violence that ruined not only their economy, livelihood and chance at progress but separated loved ones as well.

“We shouted for joy, we were jubilant when we heard the news about the signing,” Tato Sum-agka, 47, a farmer from Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, said in Filipino.

Sumagka said he has been liv-ing in a violent environment since he was young.

“I have witnessed war, loss of lives and loss of opportunity for us to improve our lives,” he said.

“Since I was a child, I had al-ready evacuated many times. We return home when news of peace has been restored and we flee again when fighting erupts,” add-ed Tato, who said he had refused to join the Moro Islamic Libera-tion Front.

“The Moro people desires peace more than anyone in Lu-zon. I am tired of war. I flee many times in the past that’s why I now live in Cotabato City where we moved from Datu Piang during the wars. I sold my farm there and do business here because here it’s, at least, safe,” Kautin Suma-lindig, 53, rice trader here, said.

But even as they celebrate the signing, ordinary Moros say fear has not left their hearts because of painful lessons from the past.

“You see we have so many peace agreements in the past and yet we remain poor, underdevel-oped. While I should be celebrat-ing with this latest agreement, I

am also preparing myself for the worst. Who knows, the govern-ment is just changing names of government and but it is still run by the same people who enriched themselves at the expense of Bangsamoro people,” Sumalind-ing said.

Sumagka echoed Sumalind-ing’s line by saying: “I am hopeful this peace agreement will bring us genuine peace in our land. I am crossing my fingers this is the agreement that will really give us true peace.”

“Let”s see what will hap-pen after the signing,” said Odin Latip,who, as a child, experi-enced leaving home many times over.

He said when the 1996 agree-ment with the Moro National Lib-eration Front was signed, there was also jubilation everywhere. “But peace has remained elusive because of the off-and-on skir-mishes,” Latip said.

By Annabelle RosarioChief Correspondent

Hope: They just hope for lasting peace


Clutching on to his rescuers as he is lifted to safety, this is the incredible moment a four-year-old boy was saved from the mud that destroyed his home in the deadly Washington landslide.

Jacob Spillers was at home watching television with his fa-ther, older brother and two sis-ters when the mile-long slide sent his home in Snohomish County plummeting down the mountain-side.

While his father and siblings have still not been found, Jacob’s mud-covered blond hair was vis-ible among the debris when a Snohomish County Helicopter flew overhead soon after.

The footage, shared on the rescuers’ Facebook page, shows the aircraft getting close enough to the boy for a rescuer to hop on to a mound of mud and reach down to him.

He carries the terrified boy to safety and passes him up to an-other rescuer waiting inside the helicopter.

An image shared by the team shows the little boy covered in mud and wearing only his under-pants.

He had been stuck up to his knees in concrete-like com-pressed mud that had pulled his pants off when he was taken to safety, witnesses said.

The rescue team said on Face-book: ‘Our team was conducting a training that morning only 25 miles south of the slide location and, as such, was able to arrive on scene very quickly.

‘Our hearts go out to the fami-lies, friends, and loved ones of all the victims and those still lost.

‘We have been flying each day since the disaster and will be back at it tomorrow to continue the rescue efforts.’

Survivor Robin Youngblood told FOX how she helped com-fort the boy after the helicopter landed by telling him she was a grandma.

‘He was freezing,’ she added, saying she took off his wet clothes and wrapped him in a blanket.

Jacob was one of eight people who were rescued on Saturday. As many as 176 people are still missing and 24 people are con-firmed dead.

Jacob’s father Billy and three siblings, Brooke, Kaylee and Jovon, are still missing. The chil-dren’s mother, Jonielle, was out working as a nursing assistant at the time of the slide.

The International Monetary Fund on Wednesday raised its 2014 economic growth forecast for the Philippines to 6.5 percent, up from its January projection of 6.3 percent, with typhoon recon-struction expected to boost the economy.

It forecasts 2015 growth at 6.5 percent, slightly lower than its 6.6 percent estimate in January.

The economy grew 7.2 per-cent last year despite a string of calamities including Typhoon Haiyan in November, and govern-ment has targeted growth of 6.5 to 7.5 percent this year and 7 to 8 percent next year.

An IMF statement at the conclusion of regular consulta-tion with economic managers also said the need for easy mon-etary policies in the Philippines has waned because of a stronger global outlook.

Monetary authorities have kept interest rates at record lows to spur credit and spending.

IMF called last year’s perfor-mance impressive, adding that “the economy is well positioned to absorb a gradual tightening of U.S. financial conditions and to

implement timely, measured ac-tion on the domestic front.”

But it cited the need for a reduction in bottlenecks to in-vestment and formal sector em-ployment to encourage broader-based business activities and to allow the Philippine to realize its full potential for rapid, sustained and inclusive growth.

It said 2014 inflation was ex-pected to moderate to 4 percent, a lower figure from the 4.4 per-cent it forecast in January. Last year’s inflation rate was 3 percent and the government targets a 3 to 5 percent rate this year.

SP ratingThe Philippine economy is

expected to grow by at least 6 percent for the next three years on the back of global recovery in demand for exports and the sus-tained boom of the local business process outsourcing sector.

Standard & Poor’s in a report on Wednesday said the Philip-pines would continue to outper-form the region amid an expected deceleration of growth in the ar-ea’s two major continents, China and Japan.

“Growth in the Tiger econo-mies will likely pick up this year, in step with global trade im-provements driven by the U.S. and Europe,” S&P said.

S&P sees the Philippines growing by 6.6 percent this year, a revision from the previous pro-jection of 6.4 percent. In 2015,

growth may settle at 6 percent, before climbing back up slightly to 6.1 percent.

All projections are better than the expected growth for Southeast Asia as a whole. In 2014, the region is seen growing by 5.1 percent in 2014, and 5.7 percent in 2015 and 2016.

Projected growth for the Asia Pacific region, which includes China, Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea, was 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent for the same three years.

Fitch’s PH rating The Philippines’ “invest-

ment grade” status was affirmed by Fitch on Tuesday, citing the country’s strong macroeconomic

fundamentals.In a statement, Fitch Rat-

ings said its outlook for the Phil-ippines’ sovereign debt rating was “stable,” which meant the country’s grade would likely stay where it has been for the next 12 to 18 months.

Fitch’s BBB- grade for the country’s long-term foreign and local currency IOUs is the firm’s minimum “investment grade” rating.

“The Philippines has main-tained strong economic growth, underpinned by a steady inflow of overseas Filipino remittances, the expansion of the business process outsourcing sector, and low interest rates,” Fitch said.

[email protected]

IMF raises growth forecastfor the Philippines to 6.5%


‘He was freezing’: 4 year old boy scooped out of home in Washington slide

By Daniel Sta AnaChief Correspondent MILF and

Maguindanao in green for deal signing

It’s all green in Maguindanao.A day before the signing of

the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro between the gov-ernment and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the province of Maguindanao, especially the town of Sultan Kudarat where the MILF headquarters are lo-cated, is filled with streamers, small flags and people dressed in green shirts emblazoned with the words “Long Live Bangsamoro Government.”

“Green is the color of the MILF, and green symbolizes peace; this is our way for ex-pressing our desire for peace,” Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF vice chair for political affairs, said in a tel-ephone interview Wednesday.

“We have been longing for this for several decades. Now it is at hand and we are very proud of this victory, victory of our people, the Bangsamoro people,” Jaafar said, adding he could hardly find the words to aptly describe how the Bangsamoro people feel now.

Roads, houses along the road, government buildings and other structures are filled with green flags and streamers.

“Green is the color of the MILF, and green symbolizes peace; this is our way for ex-pressing our desire for peace,” Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF vice chair for political affairs, said in a tel-ephone interview Wednesday.

“We have been longing for this for several decades. Now it is at hand and we are very proud of this victory, victory of our people, the Bangsamoro people,” Jaafar said, adding he could hardly find the words to aptly describe how the Bangsamoro people feel now.

Roads, houses along the road, government buildings and other structures are filled with green flags and streamers.

Jaafar said there would be a large gathering of MILF sup-porters and forces inside their stronghold in Camp Darapanan in the village of Simuay in Sultan Kudarat town, less than a hour’s ride from Cotabato City.

“There are of lot of people go-ing there right now,” he said.

Along the streets leading to Barangay Simuay, green “panda-la” (flags on poles)” and stream-ers are visible.

“People are very excited, peo-ple are anticipating success and victory,” Jaafar said of the “very festive mood.”


The military said on Wednes-day the historic signing of the peace agreement on Thursday (Mar. 27) between the govern-ment and Moro rebels was a “beacon” for communist insur-gents to return to the negotia-tion table.

“The signing of the Compre-hensive Agreement on Bangsam-oro (CAB) is an example that what the armed struggle (aims to pursue) may be done through peaceful means,” said Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public af-fairs office chief.

“I hope the signing of the (peace agreement) becomes a beacon for the CPP (Communist Party of the Philippines) to fol-low and make them realize that the problems of our country can be resolved peacefully,” he told a news briefing at Camp Agui-naldo.

He said the arrest of Benito Tiamzon and his wife, Wilma Austria, believed to be the two most senior cadres of the Maoist rebels, might prompt other CPP leaders to consider resuming the peace negotiations with the gov-ernment.

Despite their ideological dif-ferences, he said the military believed that most of those who joined the New People’s Army had “legitimate concerns.”

“But the solution is not to bring down the government. It’s not the solution to land re-forms, poverty and injustice,” he stressed.

Zagala said the military was delighted with the formal sign-ing of the CAB between the gov-ernment and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as part

of the Aquino administration’s efforts to end the decades-old Moro separatist movement in Mindanao.

He said the AFP has thrown its full support to the “peace ini-tiative by our government.”

“Finally, we will have peace. We’re very optimistic that this (agreement) will be very benefi-cial not only to Bangsamoro, but the security forces who had long fought against them,” he said.

Military troops in Central Mindanao, which covers the provinces of Maguindanao, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani, and the Army’s 6th Infantry Division had been placed on red alert as parts of precautionary measures against “spoilers”.

On the other hand, the AFP

declared blue alert on all govern-ment forces in Western and East-ern Mindanao regions.

“The red alert status is a way for the troops to alert troops against spoilers and ensure no untoward incidents will happen,” he said.

Although military intelli-gence units did not detect any specific threats, AFP units would remain vigilant and alerts dur-ing the signing of the CAB in Malacañang.

As for the Bangsamoro Is-lamic Freedom Fighters, which broke away from the MILF in protest of the peace agreement, Zagala said the military carried out offensive operations against the secessionist rebels to “re-move their capability and capac-ity to carry out attacks.”

Peace deal should be beacon to CPP-NPA

Furious: A rebel points HER gun


SENATE PUTSAGREEMENTIN PRIORITY

Senate President Franklin Drilon on Monday vowed to give “utmost priority” on the pro-posed Bangsamoro law as he hailed the forthcoming signing of the comprehensive agreement on the Bangsamoro between the government and the Moro Islam-ic Liberation Front on March 27.

Drilon said Congress is look-ing forward to scrutinize the pro-posed Bangsamoro law “that will institute the necessary reforms called for in the agreement.

“The Senate is more than ready to work on the new Bang-samoro basic law – one that would be universally fair, practi-cal and Constitutionally-consist-ent,” he said in a statement.

“The public can expect our commitment to the Bangsamoro not only for the sake of national progress, but also for the welfare and future of the entire South-east Asian region,” he said.

Drilon hailed the signing of the comprehensive agreement as a “remarkable triumph of the Filipino towards unity and pro-gress.

“The signing of the Bangsam-oro agreement is not only for our

country, it is also a testament to our Asian neighbors and to the whole world that though shaped by our diversity, we are much more defined by our common dreams of peace, equality and prosperity as a nation,” he said.

“This is a moment of immense pride, relief and joy throughout the entire Philippines, where we have arrived at a new era of un-derstanding, security and op-portunities now available for every Filipino – be they Muslim, Christian or members of our in-digenous groups,” he added.

Drilon said that the coun-try can now better devote its ef-forts towards social, economic, and political development amid growing aspirations for regional strength and inter-state solidar-ity throughout the entire South-east Asian region.

“The success we have made are not limited within our nation, as the Bangsamoro plays an ever- crucial role in ASEAN regional security. The Bangsamoro shall be a beacon of cooperation and tolerance among the major Mus-lim constituencies in Southeast Asia, where it will be an example of what can be achieved when we shun extremism and violence in its every form,” he said.

For the peace to last, Drilon said, the government must “build upon this spirit of recon-ciliation with policies that will ensure good governance, social equity and the thorough rule of law which the people of Mindan-ao have long sought for.”

Neophyte Senators Grace Poe and Nancy Binay both ex-pressed confidence that that the peace pact would finally put an

end to armed conflict in Mind-anao.

“We all are praying and work-ing for a lasting peace in Mindan-ao. It is my hope that the historic signing will end armed conflict as the MILF has decided to lay down arms,” Binay said in a text message.

“It’s a big step by the govern-ment towards the right direc-tion—peace in Mindanao, saving

women and children from war, saving lives, hope and future,” she said.

For her part, Poe said: “As for lasting peace, of course I support it and I am hopeful.”

“True peace is the only way to achieve progress in Mindanao and a strong economic program and political stability are nec-essary to achieve lasting peace which the Bangsamoro accord aims to provide,” she added.


Sealed: The previous signing in January

It will prioritize ‘crucial’ pact


The big outrage:Leftist militantsand metro Morosclash in Mendiola

What was supposed to be a celebration of peace turned awry after some leftist groups clashed with the Muslims along the Men-diola Bridge in Manila Thursday morning.

A radio report said 10 got in-jured when a scuffle took place between members of leftist and Muslim groups who have been staging their programs in cel-ebration of the scheduled sign-ing of the Comprehensive Agree-ment on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

Among the 100-strong mili-tants were the New People’s Army (NPA), Revolutionary Council of Trade Unions-Nation-

al Democratic Front of the Philip-pines (RTCU-NDF), Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and Kabataang Makabayan.

The Muslims were reading verses from the Koran in their own program when the militant groups marched from Bustillos to Mendiola shouting slogans.

A confrontation between the Muslims and the CPP-NDF-NPA ensued, which then led into a brief melee that left 10 militants hurt.

The police, however, said only

one casualty turned into them.PO3 Gilbert Isole, Manil‎a

Police District investigator of the case, said that only a certain Lemuelle Beñar turned to the au-thorities.

The 23-year-old Beñar, who was neither a Muslim nor a mili-tant, sustained injuries to his eyes, nape and ribs while merely taking photos in the middle of the scuffle.

Civil Disturbance Manage-ment units have already re-sponded for crowd control while Manila Police District personnel are still on standby in the area.


Outrage: Muslims and bigoted leftist militants clash in Mendiola yeasterday morning

PM Najib Razak and 500 MILF members attendBangsamoro deal

Around 500 members of the Moro Is-lamic Liberation Front (MILF) will troop to Malacañang on March 27 to witness the historic signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the Philippine government said Tuesday.

Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles, Presi-dential Adviser on the Peace Process, said a total of 1,000 people will attend the signing

of the CAB, which will integrate all major agreements signed by the Philippine gov-ernment and the MILF in the last 17 years.

The Department of Foreign Affairs also confirmed the attendance of Prime Minis-ter Najib Razak of Malaysia, the third party facilitator of the peace talks. President Be-nigno Aquino III, Deles and Al Haj Murad Ebrahim will deliver speeches.


and recognition and enhance-ments of the “rights of the Bang-samoro people.”

“Tama na we are all tired of [war]. A new dawn has come,” Deles said in a speech to open the ceremony.

Murad, meanwhile, said the MILF, a breakaway of the Moro National Liberation Front, will share the “victory” with the origi-nal group.

Coronel-Ferrer had said the crafting of the documents took “18 months” and had a slow start, but eventually picked up speed.

“There is no turning back. Only moving decisively forward. The peace train is on track. Its design is complete. Most of its elements are in place,” she said.

Deles said the “new dawn” after the signing of the historic agreement will ensure that “no family will be forced to drive their children away for fear of being maimed or wounded by conflict.”

During the event, attended by foreign dignitaries, the Secre-tary thanked all those who made the signing possible, especially President Benigno Aquino III.

“Our common intentions will drive us forward,” she told the audience at included almost 500 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Everybody should celebrate

That’s the message Thursday of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to salve restless members of the Moro Liberation Front who were left out of the deal.

“The Comprehensive Agree-ment on the Bangsamoro (CAB) is not only for the MILF (Moro Is-lamic Liberation Front). It is also for the MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) as well,” the MILF declared on Thursday.

MILF chief Al Haj Murad Ebrahim said that the CAB is for the benefit of the MNLF, as well as the other groups in Mindanao.

“I would like to impress upon all of you that the MILF will not and does not ever will claim sole ownership to the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsam-oro. The MILF recognizes…the valiant efforts and sacrifices of countless people for freedom and self-determination,” Murad said before the signing of the CAB at the Malacañang grounds.

He said the MILF will only serve as a gatekeeper during the transition period towards a Bangsamoro autonomous politi-cal entity.

Warm applause greeted Mu-rad as he said, “It will not be a government of the MILF but the government of the Bangsamoro.”

It all makes historyHis country is going through

a harrowing crisis, but Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is flying to Manila Thursday to wit-ness the historic signing of the final peace agreement between the government and the seces-sionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Malacañang on Wednesday confirmed that Najib will attend the signing ceremonies for the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) to be held on the grounds in front of the Kalayaan Hall at 4 p.m. Thurs-day, citing information from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

“We know that Malaysia is undergoing a crisis owing to the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines plane, [but] Malaysia is fully aware of its international commitments, and we thank them that despite the difficulty that they’re encountering, they have accepted our invitation to grace the signing of the agree-ment, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda told a Palace press briefing on Wednesday.

Biggest gatheringAccording to Lacierda,

Thursday’s event will be the biggest gathering so far for the three-year-old Aquino adminis-tration.

“We decided to move it to the Kalayaan grounds where we be-lieve we can hold, in our estimate, over 1,500 [guests],” he said.

The MILF contingent alone is expected to number almost 500, he said. Officials at Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Wednes-day said about 500 Muslim Fili-pinos arrived at the airport in two batches on Wednesday. They were said to be guests of the Of-fice of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos. The officials said they were told that some were mem-bers of the MILF and representa-tives of the Muslim royal families in Mindanao.

The rest on the guest list in-clude members of the diplomatic corps, congressional leaders, the Mindanao bloc in the House of Representatives, and mem-bers of the international contact group and the international mon-itoring team for the peace talks.

Foreign Assistant Secretary Charles Jose, the DFA spokes-man, said Najib’s working visit will push through even as Malay-sia is coordinating the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which went missing on March 8.

As of Wednesday, a multina-tional search effort had yet to recover what is believed to be debris from the ill-fated jet. Najib earlier announced that the plane, which carried 239 people, had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

The DFA did not release Najib’s flight and arrival details.

Working visitMalaysia served as the fa-

cilitator of the negotiations with the MILF since 2001, hosting ne-gotiations in Kuala Lumpur, the DFA said in a statement. It also heads the international monitor-ing team observing the ceasefire between the government and the MILF rebels.

Before witnessing the signing, Najib will sit down with President Aquino “to briefly discuss mat-ters of mutual concern between the Philippines and Malaysia,” the DFA said.

Najib last visited Manila in October 2012, to witness the signing of the framework agree-ment, a crucial initial document in the peace negotiations.

The Malaysian prime minis-ter and Aquino last met during the state visit that the President made to Malaysia on Feb. 27 and 28.

No perceived threatsLacierda said the signing

ceremony would be beamed live from Malacañang. He said a por-tion of the Kalayaan Hall would serve as a prayer room for the Muslim guests.

He said the Palace was aware of no specific threats intended to disrupt the signing ceremonies.

The Philippine National Po-lice (PNP) has placed the en-tire 148,000 force natiowide on heightened alert for the event.

Senior Supt. Wilben Mayor, spokesman for PNP Director General Alan Purisima, said the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) had been on full alert, the equivalent of red alert in the military, since Tuesday night.

“The NCRPO is also directed to provide mobile cars to foreign ministers who will attend the event and provide civil distur-bance management personnel (to guard against) possible mass action and to initiate counter-measures,” he said.

Who will signThe five-page comprehen-

sive agreement will be signed by members of both negotiating panels. Aside from Aquino and Najib, also witnessing the signing will be Teresita Quintos-Deles, the presidential adviser on the

peace process, and MILF chair Murad Ebrahim.

Signing for the government will be chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, panel members Senen Bacani, Yasmin Busran-Lao and Mehol Sadain, and consultants Zenonida Brosas and Jose Luis Martin Gascon.

The signatories for the MILF will be Mohagher Iqbal, Michael Mastura, Maulana Alonto, Ab-houd Syed Lingga, Abdulla Cam-lian and Antonio Kinoc.

Abdul Ghafar Mohamed, the Malaysian facilitator, will also sign as witness, according to Fer-rer.

Dignitaries Other Malaysian officials

invited to witness the signing include Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, the defense department secretary general and the chief of the Malaysian armed forces, all of whom were to arrive in separate flights Wednesday.

Visiting United Nations De-velopment Program (UNDP) ad-ministrator Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand, will also witness the signing.

The dignitaries attending Thursday’s signing also include Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Ab-dullah, Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Naci Koru of Turkey, State Minister Maria Bohmer of Ger-many, Director Salem Ali Oth-man of Libya, Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman.

Drafting the basic lawThe comprehensive agree-

ment will encompass all the ne-gotiated and signed agreements, including the framework agree-ment signed in 2012 and the four annexes and addenda that came after.

The agreement will be the basis for the drafting of the basic law or constitution of the Bang-samoro region that will be cre-ated for the Muslim minority in

Mindanao. The basic law, which is now being drafted by a transi-tion commission, will be submit-ted for approval by Congress, af-ter which it will have to be voted on in a plebiscite in the regions to be covered by the Bangsamoro autonomous territory to be cre-ated by the agreement.

Increase ARMM budgetSen. Ralph Recto on Wednes-

day called on Malacañang to in-crease the preliminary P20.4-bil-lion budget for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 2015, its final year before it is replaced by Bangsam-oro.

In a statement, Recto said that a higher ARMM budget would benefit the new regional government that will take over once it is in place; its budget may not be less than the last appro-priation received by the ARMM.

Recto said that even if the ARMM’s 2015 indicative budget would be P840 million bigger than this year’s, “in real terms it is still negative growth.”

“This is because if you add the population growth rate and the inflation rate, the sum is bigger than the 4.2-percent hike in the budget,” he said.

He said the national govern-ment has the obligation to give more funds to a region that, though poor, is rich in potential.

“If next year is the ARMM government’s last hurrah, then the best goodbye gift we can give it is a bigger budget, which in turn benefits the successor gov-ernment because it will be using a higher base in asking for subse-quent funds,” Recto said.

That budgetary allocation re-mains government’s most effec-tive equity in the peace project, he said.

“Peace has a price but from a funding point of view an imper-fect peace is still less costly than a just war,” he said.

Exciting: The mood in Malacan~ang

From page one


A leading member of United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction’s (UNIS-DR’s) global private sector part-nership is giving new houses to 1,000 families displaced by Su-pertyphoon “Yolanda.”

In its website, UNISDR said SM Prime Holdings Inc., the country’s biggest mall operator, had started building its first SM Cares Village in Bogo City, north-ern Cebu province, and would soon build more such communi-ties in four areas in Leyte and Sa-mar provinces.

The new houses, 200 in each village, are designed to withstand storms as strong as Yolanda and quakes.

Each location has been cleared and certified safe by the government, and facilities, such as community centers, basket-ball courts and street lights, are being provided.

The houses will be given for free to beneficiaries who would be identified by local govern-ments subject to further screen-ing by SM Foundation.

“A lot is expected from the private sector in the rehabilita-

tion of calamity-stricken areas in the Philippines,” said Hans T. Sy, president of SM Prime Holdings Inc. and member UNISDR’s Pri-vate Sector Advisory Group.

“We, from the private sec-tor, are more than willing to help and are already doing our share in helping the communities,” Sy said in a statement.

Daniel Sta Ana contributed.

Investments on resilience“The Philippines is prone to

natural hazards, such as severe weather conditions and earth-quakes. The more businesses in-vest in resilience, the sooner we can get back to normal after dis-asters,” he added.

In the same statement, UNISDR chief Margareta Wahl-ström said the SM housing ini-

tiative was a leading example of how more businesses in the Phil-ippines were embracing an active role in the recovery after the dev-astation of Yolanda.

Officials of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) recently met with may-ors and other local government representatives for consultation on postdisaster rehabilitation of communities devastated by

Yolanda.In a recent forum, Assistant

Social Welfare Secretary Camilo Gudmalin said community par-ticipation was key to swift reha-bilitation efforts following a dis-aster.

“If the citizens are our bosses, it doesn’t seem right that they should be left behind,” Gudmalin said at the forum.

‘Gargantuan work’Gudmalin said there was a

need to tighten coordination among citizens, local govern-ment units (LGUs) and national government agencies.

“The work is gargantuan, but the way to work around this is to create a stronger link between the government and the citi-zens,” he said.

Evelyn Macapobre, DSWD field office director, expounded on the critical role that LGUs play in postdisaster rehabilita-tion and development.

“LGUs, as basic providers, would like to remain relevant and respond to the needs of their con-stituents, particularly those af-fected by Yolanda,” she said, also at the forum.

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Tacloban’s housesstarts to rise for1,000 families

By Annabelle Rosario

Cedric Lee faces tax evasion case by BIR

The Bureau of Internal Revenue on Thursday filed tax evasion case before the Department of Justice (DOJ) against businessman Cedric Lee, one of the suspects in the mauling of actor-TV host Vhong Navarro.

Lee, as President of Izumo Contractors Inc., together with chief operating officer John K. Ong and Finance Officer Judy Gutierrez Lee, was slapped with a complaint for violation of the In-ternal Revenue Code, specifically for willful at-tempt to evade or defeat tax and deliberate fail-ure to supply correct and accurate information in the annual income tax return for taxable years 2006 to 2009.

Investigation against Izumo stemmed from a confidential information received by the BIR against tax evasion committed by Izumo. A let-ter of authority was issued by the BIR for the ex-amination of its books of accounts and other ac-counting records.

Access letters were sent to Izumo’s clients to determine the true income. Replies from its cli-ents in the form of certification showed that Izu-mo received a total amount of P302.63 million in income payments.

Further investigation showed that Izumo de-clared P5.54 million in its ITR in 2006.


Pres. Aquino’s wifePRESIDENT Benigno Aquino could add another proud achievement to his portfolio.

After 17 years of gruelling work, and after three presidents, President Aq-uino was the one who pushed for the completion of the agreement.

And now, in his reign, the peace deal is signed. His term ends on 2016, the same time where the ministerial elections in the South. And the exit agreement would be signed there.

Here comes the exit agreement. The agreement will be the ultimate test of the whole peace process, this would come to be signed if the two parties are satisfied with what happened. If they did not sign it, it is another epic fail, a flop, a box-office bomb.

This would give more challenge to the peace process. A signature do not end the injustice. The Communists have not yet surrenders. It is the time when the two parties should be like a husband and wife expecting- Aquino should take care of his wife.

Shirley SyCOLUMN ON THE NEWS TODAY... DAILY

I wanna marry Prince Harry: what 12 women do NOT know

And the third party...THE dramatic capture of Benito and Wilma Tiamzon gives an impetus for the National Democratic Front to continue to page the consecutive peace talks.

We believe that if the National De-mocratic Front would really push the Tiamzons as peace negotiators, they would go back to the negotiating ta-ble.

But the whole capture prejudices the peace negotiation. It gives a dent to the toiled talks.

And, for now, we should not push them in. They could act as a spoiler to the peace agreement, seducing the MILF to be back on her vicious ways like on how a mistress seduces a man.

The MILF and the CPP-NPA share something in common: Their leaders are aging.

The communist insurgency is led by men and women who qualify for sen-ior-citizen status. If the MILF leaders could turn the burden of time into a leverage for peace, perhaps those of the communist movement can, too.

Every little girl dreams of be-ing a princess, and 12 bliss-fully ignorant women will get the chance to ‘fulfill’ that dream on a new reality show set to premiere later

this Spring. ‘I Wanna Marry “Harry”’ will

follow a dozen American single ladies as they fight for the chance to marry Prince Harry while liv-ing with the younger brother of Prince William at Englefield House in Berkshire.

But little do the women know that “Prince Harry” is just aver-age English ‘bloke’ Matthew Hicks, made over to look like the redheaded royal.

Hicks will keep up the prince charade for the entire show, and only break the news about his real identity at the very end.

‘Will he be able to convince them he’s regal, and if he does, will they fall for the crown or fall in love with the real him?’ the show’s tagline reads.

The show is being produced by Ryan Seacrest and Zig-Zag Productions and was put into development last August under the secret ti-tle ‘Dream Date’.

‘I wanna Marry “Harry”’ will debut on May 27 at 8pm EST on Fox.

The show is in the same vein as Joe Millionaire, another dating reality show that aired in 2003.

The show is being produced by Ryan Seacrest and ZigZag Productions and was put into de-velopment last August under the secret title ‘Dream Date’.


The show is in the same vein as Joe Millionaire, another dating reality show that aired in 2003.

The show is being pro-duced by Ryan Seacrest

and ZigZag Productions and was put into development last August under the secret title ‘Dream Date’.


The show is in the same vein as Joe Millionaire, another dat-ing reality show that aired in 2003. Joe Millionaire was thought up by Fox producer Mike Darnell, who also ordered ‘Harry’.


Tiamzons troubledby unlicensed guns

The government mea-ns business, and it is making sure commu-nist leaders Benito and Wilma Tiamzon and five others can’t get away.

On Thursday, the Depart-ment of Justice prosecutors approved the filing of criminal charges against top Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).

This is what the Tiamzons would be fighting in court:

Violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Fire-arms and Ammunition Regula-tion Act and Republic Act 9516 or the Illegal Possession of Explo-sives

Assistant Prosecutor Niven R. Canlapan said Tiamzons’ co-horts would also be charged: They are:

• Joel Enano, Arlene Panea,• Rex Villaflor,• Nona Castillo • Jeosi Nepa.They were arrested last

March 22 in Cebu and the police seized a .45 caliber colt pistol, a 9 mm caliber Norinco pistol, one 9 mm caliber Kimber, two hand grenades and a .357 caliber re-volver.

The DOJ prosecutor said the Tiamzons and their companions failed to show proof that they have the authority to possess the firearms.

Also, the PNP Firearms and Explosive Office issued a memo-randum saying that the Tiam-zons are not licensed firearm holder of any kind of caliber.

Enano, Panea, Villaflor, Castillo and Nepa will also be charged with violating RA 1829 or the Penalizing Obstruction of Apprehension and Prosecution of Criminal Offenders.

The cases will be filed in Cebu.

For longtime vendor Roger Mabingnay, life in his typhoon-ravaged village has brightened.

“At least now, I have a liveli-hood again. From zero, now I’m No. 1,” the 42-year-old father of eight told the Inquirer, his eyes as wide as his smile as he tended to his new stall at Fisherman’s Vil-lage in Barangay 88, one of the areas hardest hit by Super Ty-phoon Yolanda.

After some four months of depending on rations, Mabing-nay is back in business, his mami (noodle soup) stall standing on a prime spot at the entrance to the village, where displaced families have been staying in temporary shelters.

Among recipients of liveli-hood assistance from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Mabingnay kick-start-ed his store on Monday with a P4,000 capital, plus a new stall made out of lumber salvaged from coconut trees felled by the Nov. 8 typhoon.

“This is the only source of living for my family. This is a big help…. We used to have none, and sometimes, my wife and I would fight,” said Mabingnay, whose house was completely washed out and now stays in a makeshift hut.

A day’s work earns him P300—about a third of what his three “rolling stores” used to make be-fore the storm.

Mabingnay’s disposition so impressed UNDP Administrator Helen Clark that the official took her own snapshot of the vendor with her smartphone.

Clark, former New Zealand prime minister, visited UNDP projects here for about two hours on Wednesday, the second day of a three-day visit to the Philip-pines.

“For me to see this recovery is very, very encouraging…. I am impressed with what I’ve seen. I know how deep the scars in their hearts are,” said Clark of the ty-phoon survivors she encountered during her visit.

“I think, given the incredible severity of what happened, we can only be amazed at how quick-ly the community has recovered so far,” Clark told reporters in an interview.

While here, the UN official visited a livelihood training site, where workers built coco lumber stalls similar to the Mabingnay’s kiosk.

She also dropped by San Jose Central Elementary School, a public school of some 3,800 pu-pils, where the UNDP supported debris clearing and provided learning kits as well as water and sanitation facilities.

“In that school, listening to those heart-rending stories of the people there, but know-ing that the school was back up again operating in January, that was impressive. So, I think this is a tribute to the resilience of the people by those who have the de-termination… to get things mov-ing again,” Clark said.

Clark also opened a new hub for UN agencies at a local govern-ment office just across from City Hall, an integration of organiza-tions involved in rebuilding work that seeks to “consolidate all our efforts on rehabilitation and con-struction,” said Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez.

Clark’s visit here sought to highlight the agency’s commit-ment to stay and keep working

with local communities through-out the recovery process, as em-bodied in the UNDP’s three-year $65-million program. The plan aims to support the operations of the local government, restart livelihood among the worst-affected and continue cash-for-work activities.

Currently, the agency has some $15.5 million in funds, pooled aid from Japan, Ecuador, Russia, the UN Central Emergen-cy Response Fund plus its own. It requires some $49.5 million more.

Lesley Wright, communica-tion and information specialist of UNDP’s Typhoon Yolanda re-sponse Team in Tacloban, said the restoration of livelihood and providing shelter remained the biggest concerns in the disaster zone.

She cited the “unified ap-proach” of organizations, local officials and the national govern-ment in helping the transition from relief to early recovery, say-ing “the thrust forward has been

quite positive.”“You can pick apart certain

things. You can be critical of cer-tain things of course… I just know on the ground here, the response has been phenomenal and the movement to the next phase has been great,” said Wright.

She was referring to recov-ery efforts in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, following the Indian Ocean quake and tsunami of 2004.

“(I)t’s a testament to how the Philippine government and the Philippine community has been able to really bounce back, whether we’re (UNDP) here or not. I really felt that there’s a strong sense of bounce-back and resilience that isn’t in a lot of places I’ve been to,” she said.

Noodle vendor in Taclobanamaze United Nation head



10,000 peoplesupport dealfor gov’t inBangsamoro

About 10,000 Moro Islamic Liberation Front fighters and supporters gathered under color-ful tents inside Camp Darap-anan in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao as they closely monitored the ceremonies for the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

Nasrullah Abdullah, admin-istrative officer of the operation department of the MILF, said the atmosphere of hope and op-timism has overshadowed the military character of the rebel group’s main camp.

“The mood is very festive. We are so overwhelmed that mem-bers and supporters flocked here at the camp. In fact, the attend-ance today is relatively larger than the attendance during the signing of the Framework Agree-ment on the Bangsamoro (in Oc-tober last year),” Abdullah said.

Local leaders and command-ers gave speeches expressing their joy and their determination to safeguard the agreement to ensure its full implementation.

Local leaders and command-ers gave speeches expressing their joy and their determination to safeguard the agreement to ensure its full implementation.

Meanwhile, “it is another nor-mal day” inside areas influenced by the Bangsamoro Islamic Free-dom Fighters, an MILF breaka-way group, in several towns in Maguindanao and North Cota-bato, said rebel spokesman Abu Misry Mama.

“I am not saying this because we want to criticize the signing, but this is the reality here. There are almost no green flags except for a few houses who are die-hard MILF members,” Mama said.

Mama saw no reason for the people in the communities to cel-ebrate because the agreement “compromised” in favor of the government.

“And they should remember that the signing is not the end. It would still go through many pro-cesses including that of Congress. The celebration today is a waste of money. They should have in-stead used it on social programs that would directly benefit Moro communities,” Mama said.

Mama added that MILF members in their territories should not worry for their safe-ty because they would only be harmed if they participated in military operations.


science

Crabster, the robot-ic crab which will be next big thing in ocean exploration

Space may be the final fron-tier, but there is still an vast ex-panse of uncharted territory deep beneath the sea on our own planet.

But this could be about to change thanks to an unlikely new aid to explorers and scientists: a giant robotic crab.

Makers of the monstrous ma-chine claim that it’s the world’s largest and deepest underwater walking robot.

Weighing in at 1,400lbs (635kg), Crabster CR200 is de-signed to scuttle along the sea floor like a real crustacean and uses complex mechanics to sta-bilise itself.

It is envisioned that the robot could be used in scientific explo-ration projects as well as fixing structures far beneath the waves such as pipes used to carry oil and gas.

In a concept video, the team imagines that robot might be able to pick up objects and stow them in a compartment that looks a bit like a mouth, although the real version does not have these features.

Because of its size and weight, the robot could also be used in-

stead of a scuba diver in strong underwater currents.

It can steady itself on its six legs and in strong currents, puts its ‘head’ down and raises its rear end to face the flow head-on, PopSci reported.

The crab has 11 cameras on board including an acoustic cam-era to see in cloudy waters by using reflected sound waves to make realtime videos composed of between four and 30 frames a second.

A concept drawing reveals the robot has a colour HD camera that can zoom in to inspect items

up close and can send the data back via a 1,640ft (500metre) long tether that also allows human op-erators to control the crab.

According to plans, the ro-bot uses a ‘doppler’ to gauge the speed and direction of mov-ing water and acoustic ‘pings’ to communicate its location on the sea floor.

The robot could use sonar to create 3D maps of its watery sur-roundings and can move at a top speed of 1 mph (1.6 km/h).

It has been built by engineers at the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology and completed its first underwater mission last summer.

By Girlie ManansalaCorrespondent

Crows are asINTELLIGENTas a seven yrold CHILDREN

Crows have a reasoning abil-ity rivalling that of a human sev-en-year-old, research has shown.

Scientists came to the conclu-sion after subjecting six wild New Caledonian crows to a battery of tests designed to challenge their understanding of cause and ef-fect.

The tasks were all variations of the Aesop’s fable in which a thirsty crow drops stones to raise the level of water in a pitcher.

In the ‘water displacement task’, crows worked out how to catch floating food rewards by dropping heavy objects into wa-ter-filled tubes.

They demonstrated an abil-ity to drop sinking rather than floating objects, solid rather than hollow objects, to choose a high water level tube over one with low water level, and a water-filled tube over one filled with sand.

The crows failed on two more difficult tasks, however. One test required understanding of the width of the tube and the other involved displacing water in a U-shaped tube.

Nevertheless, the birds’ un-derstanding of the effects of vol-ume displacement matched that of human children aged between five and seven, claimed the scien-tists.

Lead researcher Sarah Jel-bert, from the University of Auck-land, New Zealand, said: ‘These results are striking as they high-light both the strengths and lim-its of the crows’ understanding.

‘In particular, the crows all failed a task which violated nor-mal causal rules, but they could pass the other tasks, which sug-gests they were using some level of causal understanding when they were successful.’

New Caledonian crows, named after the Pacific islands where they live, are famous for their intelligence and inventive-ness.

They are the only non-pri-mate species known to fashion tools, such as prodding sticks and hooks, which they use to winkle out grubs from logs and branches.

Another recent study also seemed to support the problem-solving ability of the birds.

The experiment, which was devised by Dr Alex Taylor, a Lec-turer in Evolutionary Psychology based at The University of Auck-land, New Zealand, involved a wild crow which had learned to use individual props during three months of captivity.

It successfully managed to work out the order in which to use them to complete an eight stage puzzle in approximately two-and-a-half minutes and get an inaccessible treat. The animal was later released.

The findings appear in the latest issue of the online journal PLOS ONE.


The most common time to have a heart attack or a stroke is 6.30am.

Now scientists think they have found out why this is – and it is all down to the body clock.

Researchers discovered that levels of a protein in people’s blood that slows the breakdown of clots peaks at 6.30am.

The team, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, in Boston, and Oregon Health and Science University, looked into why the number of heart attacks and strokes peak in the morning.

They studied the protein lev-els in the bodies of 12 healthy adult volunteers for two weeks.

The participants were as-sessed while their daily routines were desynchronised from their natural body clocks.

The aim of this was to estab-lish whether it is the natural body clock or the person’s activities that causes protein levels to fluc-

tuate.Researchers specifically stu-

di-ed changes in the body’s level of the protein Plasminogen acti-vator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), which inhibits the breakdown of blood clots.

These are a major contributor to heart attack and some strokes.

The research, published in the journal Blood, found a strict rhythm in body’s level of PAI-1 with a peak at about 6.30am.

Study author Dr Frank Scheer, director of the Medical Chronobiology Programme at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said: ‘Our findings suggest that the circadian system, or the in-ternal body clock, contributes to the increased risk for cardiovas-cular events in the morning.’

His colleague and co-author,

Dr Steven Shea, director of the Oregon Institute of Occupation-al Health Sciences, added: ‘Our findings indicate that the human circadian system causes a morn-ing peak in circulating levels of PAI-1, independent of any be-havioural or environmental influ-ences.

‘Indeed, the circadian system determined to a large extent the PAI-1 rhythm observed during a regular sleep/wake cycle.

‘This morning peak in PAI-1 could help explain adverse car-diovascular events in vulnerable individuals.’

The researchers added that these studies established the cir-cadian control of PAI-1 in healthy individuals and that future re-search is required to test whether this rhythm is amplified, blunted or shifted in vulnerable individu-als, such as those with obesity, diabetes, or cardiovascular dis-ease.

Why heart attacks are more commonat 6:30 am- and it is not the fatigue of going to work!

By Girlie ManansalaCorrespondent

healthCould three peaches a day help you against breast cancer?

Eating three peaches a day could help people beat breast cancer, according to a new study.

U.S. research found that treatments with peach extract in-hibited the spread of breast cancer when tested on mice.

‘Cancer cells were implanted under the skin of mice with an aggressive type of breast cancer cell, the MDA-MB-435, and what we saw was an inhibition of a marker gene in the lungs after a few weeks, indicating an inhibition of metastasis when the mice were consuming the peach extract,’ Dr Luis Cisneros-Zevallos, a food scientist at Texas-based AgriLife Re-search, said in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry.

‘Furthermore, after determining the dose necessary to see the effects in mice, it was calculated that for humans it would be equivalent to consuming two to three peaches per day.’

In the western hemisphere, breast cancer is the most common malignant disease for women, with officials estimat-ing there there were more than 232,000 new cases in the U.S. last year.

‘The importance of our findings are very relevant because it shows in vivo the effect that natural compounds, in this case the phenolic compounds in peach, have against breast cancer and metastasis,’ Dr Luis Cisneros-Zevallos said.

‘It gives opportunity to include in the diet an additional tool to prevent and fight this terrible disease that affects so many people.

By Girlie Manansala


plans for that selection. They’ve offered very few clues.

Coach Bill O’Brien said the team will draft a quarterback ... but that doesn’t mean they’ll draft one first overall. O’Brien said he

doesn’t think any of the top quar-terbacks are head and shoulders above the rest, and maybe that means he doesn’t think any are worth the first pick ... though it might just mean Houston has a tough decision with the top pick.

Maybe general manager Rick Smith had a slip to USA Today when asked about concerns that Manziel would not fit in O’Brien’s offensive scheme.

“That’s not an accurate state-ment at all,’’ Smith said. “Bill O’Brien is a creative coach. He’s an innovative coach. And if he had a guy like Johnny Manziel, he’d figure out a way to utilize his skills.’’ he told USA Today.

Smith paused, then, chuckled. “Now when you write that every-body is going to say, ‘We’re taking him,’’’ he said. “Which I love.’’

Hey, it’s not much, but we have no other evidence at this point.

The Texans met individu-ally with top quarterbacks Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater at their pro days, and will do the same with Manziel. The Houston Chronicle wrote that the team plans to have all three quarter-backs come to Houston for more individual pre-draft meetings.

And at Manziel’s much-anticipated pro day, O’Brien said he’s look-ing forward to seeing how much Manziel has improved since his

season at Texas A&M ended.“Has he improved footwork-

wise, throwing motion, knowl-edge of coverages?” O’Brien said. “You can see a lot in a pro day, but in a private workout, you’re one-on-one, and the prospect is tak-ing your instruction right from what you say. And he’s doing things that you’re going to have him do in your system, whether it’s offense or defense.”

Manziel will have a chance to show off his skills, most nota-bly his arm strength and accuracy, with fellow top prospect

Mike Evans as his main receiv-ing target. The Texans obviously haven’t ruled out taking Man-ziel first overall, but many other teams will be evaluating Manziel on Thursday in case Houston goes in another direction.

One thing is for certain: There will be a lot of people watching Manziel’s workout on Thursday. It might be a while before there’s another pro day like it.

9 PAGES OF SPORTS STARTS HERE

NFL draft: Texans’(admit it, everyone)are excited for Johnny

Manziel’s pro-day

It’s unclear who held the record for the most hyped pro day in NFL draft history, but it doesn’t matter an-ymore. On Thursday, Johnny Manziel is setting that record.

Manziel is having his pro day workout for scouts on Thursday. NFL Network has a 90-minute show sched-

uled to cover it live, starting at 11:30 a.m. ET. And this isn’t your normal pro day, judging by the guest list. Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Gov. Rick Perry and former President George H.W. Bush are among those expected to be in attendance for Man-ziel’s pro day.

All to watch a guy in shorts throw the ball around. But, Johnny Football has never been low key about anything.

While the first freshman to win a Heisman Trophy will have his every move watched by powerful politicians and a live television audience, one group matters above all: the Houston Texans.

Houston has the first overall pick of the draft and the Texans have done a tremendous job concealing their

Hyped day as several politicians are on way to watch Manziel in his pro-day

PLAYING IT COOL INDS JACKSON FIASCOT

he Eagles coach was mobbed here Wednes-day, drawing the larg-est media crowd of the two-day, breakfast-with-coaches eve-nt,

and there was one topic every-one wanted him to address: the future of the favorite receiver of Robert De Niro’s character in the 2012 film about a crazed Ea-gles fan and his blossoming rela-tionship with another troubled soul.

Jackson didn’t appear in the

movie, and he didn’t appear at the Ritz Carlton either. From what Kelly said, he’s not terrified that Jackson won’t appear in an Eagles uniform later this year. There have been trade rumors in-volving the speedy receiver, who asked for a new deal after the Ea-gles’ playoff loss to New Orleans, and Kelly didn’t go too far to dis-pel the drama.

When asked Wednesday if he wanted Jackson on the team, Kelly said: “I like DeSean. DeSe-an did a really nice job for us, but

we are always going to do what’s best for the organization.”

The non-committal com-ments continued from there.

“When we show up on April 21, I’m going to have my first team meeting and we’ll go from there,” Kelly said. “Who’s in that room is entirely up to them at that point in time.”

Jackson, who has three years left on his deal, is a star in the NFL, but the real star in Philadel-phia is Kelly’s offense. So far, that star has shined: Nick Foles and

LeSean McCoy have grown into two of the league’s most excit-ing players, leading Kelly’s fast-paced attack into a playoff ap-pearance in the coach’s first NFL season. The Eagles added Darren Sproles during free agency, which will stretch defenses even more (both on the field and in their cardiovascular systems). Jack-son, himself a master at stretch-ing defenses, was expected to be a key part of that. So rumors of a

disconnect between the Pro Bowl receiver and the team were sur-prising. The question followed: Don’t the Eagles need Jackson?

“I don’t think our offense has ever been predicated on one play-er,” Kelly said flatly. “It’s never been about one guy.”

Kelly did call Jackson this week, though the coach didn’t divulge what was discussed. It was reported that Jackson then contacted teammates to say he was staying in Philadelphia. Kelly wouldn’t say much about the call.

By FRANCIS CRUZ


Normally cautious NFL commissioner Roger Goodell didn’t rule out adding extra play-off games as soon as this upcoming season

when asked about the issue at the owners meetings here. That could help vault the occasional sub-.500 team into postseason contention.

Goodell said the move is “not out of the question” for 2014.

He added the caveat that making the decision this offsea-son is not a sure bet or even likely – “I wouldn’t say that’s the direc-tion we’re heading right now,” he said – but his refusal to stamp out speculation shows the building momentum for the idea, at least among coaches and owners.

The league could add two playoff teams, one in each conference, to make a total of 14 (out of 32 total teams).

More playoff games would theoretically make divi-sion races even more watchable, and of course it would make tel-evision contracts more bankable.

The risks include a dilution of the regular-season product – paging Mark Cuban – and, more important, the heightened risk for injuries and concussions that come with additional games.

Goodell advised that “we have more work to do,” and that work could begin in the form of a discussion with the players’ un-ion, which is scheduled for April.

If the players are in favor, the topic could advance into the next owners meetings, which take place in May in Atlanta.

Goodell said there’s a “tre-mendous amount of interest in this, possibly even to the point of support.”

That makes sense from the owners’ perspective, as the own-ers don’t have to play the games. A borderline playoff team that may be out of luck at 8-8 or even 7-9 would have an extra chance under an expanded system,

which then would mean another shot at postseason stadium rev-enue.

Players could benefit as well, as extra TV money could mean extra sal-ary down the line. The league could also call for extra roster spots

(or at least more wiggle room on inactive lists) to help offset the increased burden on players who are already asked to play Thurs-days, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.

Even if the “more work” Goodell mentioned precludes an expansion this year, it would make a move for 2015 even more possible.

PLAYING IT COOL INDS JACKSON FIASCO

Goodell leaves door open on NFL playoff ex-pansionsBy HERMES CORPUZ

FOXY CHELSEABAKER IS OFF TOBASEBALL CAREER

In Japan, they call Chelsea Baker “the Knuckleball Prin-cess” and even once offered her a $50,000 annual con-tract. But in Plant City, Fla., she’s just another member of the Durant High baseball team.

Baker, who rose to prominence upon throwing a pair of perfect games in Little League four years ago, is now a junior right-handed pitcher starting for the Cougars in Florida’s competitive Class 7A. Needless to say, she’s the only girl on Durant’s 10-3 baseball team. But that’s not the only reason she stands out.

The 5-foot-2, 120-pound Baker throws mostly knuck-leballs, a pitch she learned from two of the best to ever throw it. First, 1979 Major League Baseball All-Star Joe Niekro taught her as a youth and later 2009 MLB All-Star Tim Wakefield helped her perfect it, according to the Plant City Times & Observer.

Baker has started this season 2-0 on the mound with a 0.78 ERA and three strikeouts against only one walk in her first nine innings. The only starting pitcher on the roster to have recorded a win without registering a loss through the first six weeks, she has allowed just seven hits in three appearances.

“When I was little, all my dreams were to be on the USA team and high school baseball, and people always told me, ‘You’ll never play varsity baseball, you’re not strong enough, you don’t have the guts to do it,’” she told The Tam-pa Tribune upon recording the first win of her high school career, “so coming out here today and taking the win was an awesome feeling. It was like, “I got you.’”

NFL DRAFT NEEDS THE COWBOYS

No. 1 Team Need: Defensive End

Silva’s AnalysisCowboys shook up their de-

fensive end depth chart before the draft, releasing DeMarcus Ware to save cap space and sign-ing journeyman Jeremy Mincey, who is currently penciled in as a starter. The Cowboys got posi-tive 2013 contributions from George Selvie, but he should be a role player. Dallas currently pos-sesses the weakest defensive line in the league.

Norris’ OptionsFirst day option: Dee Ford,

Auburn - Ford showcased his burst and flexibility around the corner throughout the season and during the pre-draft pro-cess. His bend takes advantage of the extra space he creates, and from all accounts Ford is a gym rat who feverously works to get faster, stronger and more flexible. Do not pigeonhole him as solely a speed rusher, as Ford

showcased hand use and coun-termoves against Texas A&M and Missouri. He is best suited in a rotation early until he learns how to read reach blocks more ef-fectively.

Second day possibility: Scott Crichton, Oregon State - Crich-ton is a bit of a straight-line play-er in the mold of Charles John-son, but don’t take that as a huge negative. He has strong holds to jolt and converts speed to power at a high rate. Add on his motor to chase down plays, and Crich-ton could generate plenty of buzz in the final few weeks of the pro-cess. He knows where and how he wins.

Third day flier: Will Clarke, West Virginia - Clarke has a tre-mendous frame at 6’6/271 pounds and 34-inch arms, which will come with the upside tag. I liked Clarke’s in-season action more than his all star circuit, the latter of which is less important, and if he learns how to convert a first

step burst with powerful hands… watch out.

No. 2 Team Need: SafetySilva’s AnalysisBarry Church and Jeff Heath

would be the Cowboys’ starting safeties if the season began today. 2013 third-round pick J.J. Wilcox flashed promise as a rookie run defender, but was out of his depth in coverage.Norris’ Options

First day option: Calvin Pryor, Louisville - Pryor was asked to play plenty of single high safety very deep in the secondary.

Second day possibility: Ter-rence Brooks, FSU - Watch for Brooks’ name.Third day flier: Ed Reynolds, Stanford - Reynolds fits the Cover-2 label. Many of his plays in the deeper portions of the field were as a last line of de-fense, even outfield type, leading to interceptions on overthrown passes. If he can track the quar-terback’s eyes and anticipate where they are going with the football based on keys.


GILAS WOULD NOT JOIN PBA GOVNRS. CUPG

ilas Pilipinas will not be a guest team for the upcoming 2014 PBA Governors’ Cup.

Even if PBA Chairman Mon Segismundo was upbeat about the idea, the other PBA Gover-

nors pushed another suggestion as they wanted to further shorten the PBA season to allow Gilas to join the FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan, China this July.

“We’re continuing to explore ways of further compressing our third conference in view of allowing our Gilas team to partici-pate in the FIBA tourney in July,” said PBA Commissioner Chito Salud after the Board of Governors’ monthly meeting at the PBA Office in Libis.

“As you remember, during the last meet-ing we already took a look at our schedule. We adjusted it as we wanted to make sure that Gilas could leave by the tenth of July to be able to participate [in the FIBA Asia Cup].”

Immediately after the first practice of Gilas, head coach Chot Reyes already expressed his intent for the team to join the FIBA Asia Cup.

Back then, he rued that the PBA schedule would not permit them to do

so as the Governors’ Cup will not finish be-fore the international competitions started. However, the PBA Board has decided to ad-just their schedule once more.

“The Board is fully supportive of the idea of giving Gilas the chance to partici-pate in that tourney in Wuhan, China as a prep tournament,” Salud said.

“With this option then, the Gilas par-ticipation in the third conference may no longer be necessary.”

The game play in the FIBA Asia Cup is more similar to the kind of action Gilas will see in the FIBA World Cup in Spain.

The PBA allows more physical-ity in games, which will not be al-

lowed in FIBA competitions. Playing in the PBA Governors’ Cup will

help Gilas jell together but they might de-velop bad habits before they fly to Spain.

“Coach Chot stressed that the compe-tition the team will get in Wuhan is more suitable as compared to participating in the third conference where he will be play-ing teams lacking key players such as Talk ‘N Text, Rain or Shine, and Ginebra,” Salud added in defense of the PBA Board’s sug-gestion.

The PBA had a one-week break in be-tween the Philippine Cup and the Commis-sioner’s Cup. Some teams strug-gled heading into the second conference because they have not fully adjusted to their im-ports. This is especially true for the teams whose import came in late.

However, the ten PBA teams will need to learn to play with their Governors’ Cup import on the fly as the break between conferences

will be shorter.“We’re looking at a three-day

break between the second and the third conferences,” Salud bared.

“In the compressed schedule, we will be playing ten games a week.”

There will be no change of format. We will still have a best of five finals but that may not be sufficient to allow Gilas to leave early.”

To fit all these games, the PBA Commissioner said they are still weighing their options on whether to have triple-headers for certain days or double-head-ers five times a week.

The Philippines wit-nessed one of the best basketball moments last year when Gi-las Pilipinas defeated South Korea and quali-

fied for the FIBA World Cup in Spain.

With head coach Chot Reyes calling the shots, Gilas was given ample time to prepare for the

FIBA Asia Champi-onship held in Manila.

It bore fruit with the second-place finish for the Philippines but now Gilas is facing another challenge as they race against time to prepare for even stiffer opposition.

“They way it’s coming out now, parang imposible maka-start ng July 1,” said Reyes after the first practice of the 17-man Gilas pool.

The initial plan was for Gilas to start daily practices on July 1 which was initially tabbed as the start of the 2014 PBA Commis-sioner’s Cup Finals.

From their once a week prac-tices, the national team, sans the players playing in the finals will amp up their preparations as July starts. However, this will no longer be the case.

“If we’re lucky we might be able to start practice by July 15 kasi parang dun pa lang mag-s-start yung Finals,” Reyes added.

“The problem is that there is a FIBA Asia Cup from July 11 to 19 that we really wanted to join sana. So that appears to be out of the question. Mukhang malabo na yun.”

Among the 17 players in the pool, only Jeff Chan was not able to attend the first prac-tice of Gilas as he was still in Bacolod with

his family. Reyes however explained

that there will be no further changes in the list of 17.

“This is the final pool. We don’t have enough time as it is for the pool so it will be very hard to change it. This is the pool for the FIBA World Cup and the Asian Games. We don’t know who’s go-ing to play where,” he said.

“But if people are going to miss practice, then we’ll have to drop them. If you miss one or two practices then you’re out of the team. They are aware of that.”

Reyes also addressed the rumors on Gilas joining the 2014 PBA Governors’ Cup to help prepare for the FIBA World Cup.

“Anything that can give us time to practice and prepare, I’m all for it,” he said. Asked whether the teams owners will allow their stars to play for Gilas instead of their home teams, the coach refused to share his thoughts. “Ibang tanong yan,” Reyes re-plied. “That’s not for me to an-swer.”

Practices are not the only thing that Gilas is cram-ming. They are also try-ing to fast track the naturalization of NBA player Andray Blatche.

“(This Wednesday) will be hearing of the justice commit-tee on naturalization,” Reyes ex-plained.

“I don’t have the details yet but Congressman Robbie Puno called me earlier to fill me in on some details.”

Reyes also urged the member of the media to show their sup-port of the process as some per-sonalities, including four-time PBA Most Valuable Player Ra-mon Fernandez, spoke against it.

“I know there are some mem-bers of the media who do not be-lieve in naturalization,” the coach said. “If you think it’s good for us then, you can show your sup-port.”

“Yun ang off-shoot of not starting early. Everything will be crammed,” Reyes closed. “On our end, we’re just waiting, whatever the PBA says, we’ll abide by it.”

After Gilas Pilipinas head coach Chot Reyes tweeted 17 names that were in-cluded in the training pool for the upcoming

FIBA Wold Cup in Spain, fans immediately noticed the exclu-sion of Mark Barroca who was named as the Finals Most Valu-able Player in the recently con-cluded 2014 PLDT myDSL Phil-ippine Cup.

Barroca was the talk of the town owing to his captivating fourth quarter performance that towed the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers to their first back-to-back titles in franchise history.

He was also a vital part of the first Smart-Gilas team under then head coach Rajko Toroman.

“I need size in that back-court,” Reyes said in an interview posted on FIBA Asia’s website.

He said this to explain the idea in selecting the taller Paul Lee and Jared Dillinger over Ba-rocca.

‘What I need right now is size, that’s why I took in Paul Lee and JD,” the coach added.

In the FIBA Asia Champion-ship, Reyes got away with having smaller guards be-cause their Asian counter-parts are also not that tall.

But against the world, Reyes felt he needed to match up better in the backcourt to have a shot at winning some games.

“You should remember that that (Gilas FIBA Asia) team was built for Korea, that’s why I chose small but quick guards to match up against the Koreans’ speedy backcourt,” Reyes said.

The fiery mentor also added that there are no such thing as secured spots heading into the FIBA Asia World Cup in Spain.


GILAS WOULD NOT JOIN PBA GOVNRS. CUP

“There is no such thing as a shoo-in for this team,” said Reyes. “Being in the original Gi-las team is an advantage, but not a guarantee.”

“All the 12 players know that. You can call each one of them and they’ll tell you right now that they don’t consider themselves shoo-ins for the team,” Reyes said.

Jimmy Alapag, LA Teno-rio, Jayson Castro, Larry Fonacier, Jeff Chan, Gabe Norwood, Gary David, Ra-nidel Ocampo, Marc Pin-gris, Japeth Aguilar, June-

mar Fajardo, and naturalized player Marcus Douthit will all be fighting for their spots to Spain even if they were the ones who brought Gilas to its second place finish in the FIBA Asia Champi-onship.

Big men Beau Belga and Greg Slaughter and Marcio Las-siter, Dillinger, and Lee are the latest additions to the pool.

Gilas Pilipinas needs height to contend with the giants of the FIBA World Cup but they will need to look elsewhere as Greg Slaughter de-

clined the invitation to be a part of the 17-man Gilas pool.

In a special press conference held during the second quarter

of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup game between the San Miguel Beermen and Meralco Bolts, Slaughter announced his deci-sion.

“I will not be joining Gilas. I’m very honored that I was selected,” Slaughter said. “But being a part of Gilas for four years, I know how hard to it is when new guys come in and take some spots, having the pressure of not knowing the roster spots.”

Slaughter was one of five additions to Gi-las along with Rain or Shine’s Paul Lee and Beau Belga, San Miguel Beer’s Marcio Lassiter,

and Meralco’s Jared Dillinger.“The thing is they started

back in August,” Slaughter said. “And I think those 12 should be the ones to go on and represent in Spain.”

The Ginebra big man also clarified that he already told Gi-las head coach Chot Reyes of his decision.

“On Monday, he was the first person I talked to. Me and coach Chot go way back. He was even my teacher in Ateneo,” Slaughter explained. “Coach Chot is a very understanding person. He said he respects my decision and said it was okay.”

Although he declined this invitation, Slaughter still hopes to get the chance to represent the country someday.

“Going to the FIBA World Cup could be a once in a lifetime opportunity but I think those 12 really deserve it,” he closed. “Hopefully I could join the next group. I would gladly represent the Philippines in international basketball.”

“Today I would like to inform everybody about my situation with Gilas,” Lassiter said. “It wouldn’t feel good for me to take away a spot from the other guys. They have some unfinished busi-ness to handle in Spain.”

“If I was in the same situation as them, it will be tough for me too,” Lassiter added. “This is not a management’s decision. SMC did not have a say over this. This is a personal decision.”

Lassiter added that anoth-er factor was his health. “I took a fall in my sec-ond year and it pretty much messed up my back. I should have tak-

en the entire conference off for Petron but I decided to try and help them out,” he explained. “I don’t want to put the other Gilas player in a situation where they

will have to cover for me because I’m not 100%.”

However, like Slaughter, Las-siter also expressed his willing-ness to join the RP team in the future. “If ever, down the road, I’ll gladly offer my services but I real-ly don’t want to take away a spot from the players who deserve it more right now.”

The pro league looks at ways to be of more help to the World Cup-bound Gilas Pilipinas as the PBA Board of Gover-nors convenes in anoth-

er meeting at the PBA Office in Libis, Quezon City Thursday.

To be discussed specifically is the idea of Board chairman Mon Segismundo for the league to let Gilas Pilipinas play as the 11th team in the third conference of the current PBA season.

Segismundo asked mem-bers of the Board to digest that option in their most recent meet-ing. But there are other options likely to be put

on the table in their Thursday meeting.

SMC official Robert Non, for one, has sounded off his own idea to just hold a separate tourna-ment involving Gilas at the end of the 2013-14 PBA season.

Apparently, there’s also a group that would just bat for the further compressing of the third conference schedule to free up more time for the training period of the National team.

The PBA would play on almost daily basis in the season-ending tourney under this scheme.

The status of the PBA membership appli-

cations of Team KIA, Blackwater and NLEX is another major topic up for discussion in the meeting.

But it would still be a long process. Some Governors would still report it to their prin-cipals. We would need probably one more

meeting to make a decision on that,” said one Governor. (SB)

MLB draft day dos and don’ts

Do: Know your league set-tings inside and out

I know this sounds painfully obvious to many of you. Of course you know the rules. This isn’t your first rodeo. (Do people really go to rodeos? Looks like a dread-ful way to spend an afternoon.)

That said, I’ve never been in a league where at least one per-son didn’t need a clarification on draft day – and many times I’ve seen someone screw up his or her team because that person didn’t grasp a key nuance to that particular league. It’s perfectly understandable when you think about it – we’re all busy in our lives and many of us play in mul-tiple leagues – but I don’t want to see it happen to you.

Don’t: Tie yourselfup with an inflexible draft plan

To be clear, planning is a good thing. Mock drafts are good. You want to map things out ahead of time – but the key is to sketch in pencil, not permanently mark with ink.

Every draft is going to have ebb and flow to it, surprises and unforeseen circumstances. The flexible owner is willing to change course when opportunities pre-sent themselves. Use every bit of information you can.This prin-ciple is often ignored in auction leagues, sometimes with disas-trous results.

You want to be thinking about a price range with players, not a hard and specific value – and that range might change significantly as the process goes along. Ever see someone sitting in an auction endgame with a boatload of cash and no one to spend it on? That’s stubbornness and inflexibility at play. Don’t be that guy.

Don’t: Get caught unpre-pared for a pick

Nothing’s more frustrating than having your target player snatched up right in front of you. You’ve done everything but stitch the name on the jersey, and now you need a Plan B. (How could the Fleder Mice do that to you?)

It’s easy to get distracted when it’s not your pick. I get it. Draft day is supposed to be fun.


Previews of your favorite NCAA and PBA games again,( )A MASS OF

SPORTS TEXTNCAAUCLA-Florida preview

Scottie Wilbekin has defend-ed the 6-foot-6 Harrison twins of Kentucky and seen his share of tall guards during his four sea-sons at Florida.

Yet nothing really has pre-pared the Southeastern Confer-ence player of the year for UCLA’s Kyle Anderson.

The sophomore plays point guard for UCLA despite being 6-9, tall enough to play forward or center on any other team. Ander-son can stretch his arms out 7-3, allowing him to simply pass over or around any defender in his path helping the Bruins average 81.5 points a game.

Wilbekin will be giving up 7 inches Thursday night to Ander-son in the South Regional semifi-nal at the FedExForum.

‘’Yes, it’s going to be tough,’’ Wilbekin said. ‘’He’s definitely a unique cover.’’

The Gators have been one of the nation’s stingiest defenses all season and now must slow down Anderson and the Bruins in the South Regional semifinal Thurs-day night to extend the longest winning streak in school history to a 29th game. Another win puts the NCAA tournament’s overall top seed into a fourth straight re-gional final.

‘’Every game you get a chance to win, it becomes more difficult,’’ Florida coach Billy Donovan said. ‘’It becomes more challenging, it becomes harder.’’

The Gators (34-2) have won with one of the nation’s stingi-est defenses all season, holding opponents to an average of 57.5 points a game that puts them third nationally. They like to press while smothering teams, and the Gators have held 26 op-ponents to 61 points or fewer. They advanced to their fourth straight regional semifinal by holding Pittsburgh to 45 points last weekend.

In Steve Alford’s first season, the fourth-seeded Bruins (28-8) scoring more points than they have in years. Alford said they will have to keep scoring against Florida.

‘’If the game’s in the 50s, that’s probably not favoring UCLA,’’ Alford said. ‘’We need the thing to be a little bit more up-tempo than that.’’

Anderson is the do-every-thing guard for UCLA, averaging 14.7 points and grabbing a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game. He also leads the Pac-12 with 6.5 as-sists a game.

But he has plenty of help, and the other Bruins are big too. Jordan Adams leads UCLA with 17.4 points a game, and he’s a 6-5 guard. Norman Powell is their shortest starting guard at 6-4.

‘’They’re a unique basketball team,’’ Gators forward Casey Prather said. ‘’They have guards that post up and bigs who can shoot. They do a great job in transition. They’re very good on offense so we’ve just got to do a good job of meeting the chal-lenge.’’

The Gators have scored more than 80 points only five times this season and only twice since the end of November. That makes ratcheting up the defensive in-tensity a must to contain Ander-son.

‘’We just have to build walls, help each other, and try to keep him out of the lane,’’ Wilbekin said.

UCLA can play some defense

as well. The Bruins held op-ponents to 70.1 points a game, and they rank third nationally in steals averaging 9.3 per game. That allows them to get running back the other way for lots of easy buckets.

‘’They’re very fast,’’ Dono-van said of the Bruins. ‘’They’re a great passing team. They’re an unselfish team. Certainly missed shots, turnovers, loose ball turnovers in the middle of the floor, they’re great at taking those plays and turning them into points.’’

The Bruins turned the ball over only three times in beating Stephen F. Austin in the third round. They are expecting the Gators to press, and Anderson said they just have to match their intensity.

‘’I do think we’re the team to take on that press,’’ Anderson said.

This will be the fourth game between these programs with plenty of national championship history. Florida’s two titles have come under Donovan, while Al-ford is busy embracing all that UCLA means at the university where John Wooden dominated with his 10 championships.

But UCLA has yet to beat Florida and Donovan who beat the Bruins in the 2006 national championship and again at the 2007 Final Four and in 2011.

‘’We’ve got a lot of challenges with Florida, so everybody might as well throw in the history too,’’ Alford said. ‘’I don’t know if the history’s going to play much into the game, but it’s just one more challenge that we try to get over.’’

Dayton-Stanford previewMatt Kavanaugh has watched

over the past several years as mid-major programs like Butler, VCU and George Mason have made runs to the Final Four.

The 6-foot-10 Dayton center said the Flyers would be a good addition to that list.

But another upstart double-digit seed stands in the way of that dream.

No. 11 Dayton (25-10) faces No. 10 Stanford (23-12) on Thurs-day in the Sweet 16 of the South Region with the winner earning a shot at playing for a spot in the Final Four.

‘’Every year there’s that one team in the like final eight, Final Four that no one expected to be there, and that’s been our man-tra like ̀ Why can’t that be us this year?’’’ Kavanaugh said.

Both have reached this point by winning games against fa-vored opponents. Dayton top-pled Ohio State and Syracuse. Stanford foiled New Mexico and Kansas.

Now they’re into the second weekend of the tournament and ready to prove the early upsets were no fluke.

Stanford forward Josh Hues-tis says his team has never con-sidered itself a long shot. The Cardinal have had plenty of big wins this season - even before the NCAA tournament - beating teams like UConn, Oregon and UCLA during the regular season.

‘’Coach (Johnny Dawkins) al-ways tells us that there are only a handful of teams that come into this tournament thinking they have a chance to win,’’ Hues-tis said. ‘’The rest of them are just happy to be here. We pride ourselves on being a team that believes we can win this whole thing.’’

Stanford certainly looked ca-pable when it stunned Kansas last weekend. The Cardinal de-fense held the Jayhawks’ fresh-man phenom Andrew Wiggins to just four points on 1 of 6 shooting.

Dawkins said the postseason has brought out the best in his veteran team, which starts three juniors and two seniors.

‘’What we’ve done very well the last several games is we de-fended at a high, high level every possession,’’ Dawkins said. ‘’We always talk about the importance of defending every possession. It’s one thing to say that - it’s an-other thing to go out and execute it.’’

Dayton hopes to use its deep bench to wear down Stanford. Flyers’ coach Archie Miller uses an 11-man rotation to keep play-ers fresh for the team’s aggressive defense, which smothered Ohio State and Syracuse during the opening weekend.

Dayton’s balanced offense is led by 6-4 guard Jordan Sibert, who is averaging 13.1 points and shooting nearly 51 percent in March. But the Flyers’ produc-tion is liable to come from any-where - 11 different players have scored in double figures this sea-son.

Stanford is heavily reliant on just a six-man rotation. Chas-son Randle, the Cardinal’s star 6-foot-2 guard who scored 23 points against New Mexico and 13 against Kansas, has played all 40 minutes in both games.

But Miller said NCAA tourna-ment games - with their frequent TV timeouts - would mitigate much of that advantage.

‘’I’m not sure if depth’s really an issue,’’ Miller said. ‘’I think, once you get late in the year, you’re fresh. You’re not talking about it a lot. When you’re on this stage, it is adrenaline.’’

Stanford’s main advantage over Dayton is its size. Of the Cardinal’s six most-used players, five of them stand at least 6-6 and three are 6-10 or taller. Miller ac-knowledged Stanford would pre-sent some matchup problems, but was confident his team could handle it.

Dayton is the Atlantic 10’s lone representative in the Sweet 16 after six teams received a tour-nament bid. The Flyers have won 12 of their last 14 games.

‘’Ohio State was big. Syra-cuse was really big,’’ Miller said. ‘’We’ve played Gonzaga and Cal and Baylor. They were big. It’s not really about playing against big people. It’s about executing your system versus the different styles you play against.’

NBATrail Blazers-Hawks

Help could be on the way for the slumping Portland Trail Blaz-ers, who haven’t been able to stop the bleeding.

The Atlanta Hawks also ap-pear to be falling apart down the stretch.

The Trail Blazers hope to get LaMarcus Aldridge back as they go for their first season sweep of the Hawks in six years Thursday night.

It’s been a rough three weeks for Portland (45-27), which has dropped eight of 11 to put its playoff hopes at risk. The Blazers are just ahead of Golden State, Memphis, Phoenix and Dallas, who are battling for the Western Conference’s final three postsea-son berths.

Portland’s woes continued in Tuesday’s 95-85 loss at last-place Orlando, dropping to 0-3 on a five-game road trip. Robin Lopez had a season-best 20 points and 13 rebounds against the Magic, who snapped a nine-game losing streak.

“This is a very, extremely disappointing loss and in fact it was a game we needed to have,” coach Terry Stotts said. “We’ve got 10 games left. There’s got to be a sense of urgency every game. Playoff race is tight. We’d like to look forward, but we’ve got four teams that are right on our heels, and every game has a new sense of urgency.”

Damian Lillard is averaging 18.7 points while shooting 29.4 percent during the trek, down from his season marks of 21.1 and 42.3. The Blazers have lost 13 of 17 on the road.

“I think we are just in a new territory for some guys,” Lopez told the team’s official website. “It is late in the season, and the playoffs haven’t started but es-sentially the playoffs have start-ed. We need to realize that.”

With his team struggling, Aldridge is eager to get back on the court. The All-Star forward, averaging team highs of 23.4 points and 11.1 rebounds, has missed the last seven games with back trouble.

“Makes me want to play even worse? Yes it does. But it’s not about me, it’s about the medical staff and them saying I can play,” said Aldridge, who is a game-time decision. “I’ve been wanting to play but obviously if you can’t move then you can’t play.”

Portland held the Hawks to a season-low 33.0 percent shoot-ing in this season’s first matchup, easily winning 102-78 on March 5 behind 14 points and a career high-tying 18 rebounds from Nicolas Batum. Aldridge finished with 10 points while shooting a season-worst 1 of 13.

The Blazers haven’t swept Atlanta since taking both meet-ings in 2007-08.

The Hawks (31-39) had dropped 14 of 15 before putting together a season-best five-game winning streak, but their strug-gles have resumed over the last week. Atlanta is coming off its fourth straight defeat, 107-83 at Minnesota on Wednesday.

Mike Scott had a team-high 15 points as the Hawks were out-scored 42-28 in the paint and 26-13 in transition. Atlanta is cling-ing to the East’s final playoff spot.

“We’re a close team,” Scott said. “We’ve been through a slump before. It’s not good at all. But we know how to do good things, we’re professionals and we’re going to stick together.”

Hawks forward Kyle Korver hasn’t played during the skid due to back spasms, leaving his status for Thursday in doubt. Korver scored five points while shooting 1 of 9 - including 0 for 5 from long distance - against the Blazers earlier this month as his NBA record of 127 consecutive games with a made 3-pointer was snapped.

Lakers-BucksAlthough a long list of Hall of

Famers has led them to 16 NBA championships, the Los Ange-les Lakers’ current cast of little-known players put up a better one-quarter performance than any of those teams.

Now the Lakers are hoping to continue their recent scor-

ing surge on the road against a Milwaukee Bucks team that has struggled defensively during an-other lengthy slide.

With Pau Gasol out again, Los Angeles seeks its longest win-ning streak in four months while sending Milwaukee to a third los-ing streak of at least nine games Thursday night.

The Lakers (24-46) were miss-ing high-profile stars Gasol, Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash on Tues-day, but used a balanced attack to set a franchise record with 51 points in the third quarter en route to a season-high total in a 127-96 home win over New York.

They went 19 for 26 from the field during the historic outburst, shooting 57.8 percent overall and just one 3-pointer shy of the sin-gle-game club record with 18 on 28 attempts.

Xavier Henry finished with 22 points, Nick Young had 20 with five 3-pointers and Kent Bazemore scored 18 to lead the last-place Lakers to consecutive victories for the first time in more than three weeks.

“It feels good, but it only lasts one night,” said Henry, who played well despite a torn liga-ment in his shooting wrist. “We’ve just got to be encouraged for the rest of the season from it.”

Los Angeles, however, will be without Gasol (vertigo) for the second straight game and Nash (nerve irritation) for the 60th time this season when it goes for its first three-game run since Nov. 17-24. Gasol, averaging team highs of 17.5 points and 9.8 rebounds, won’t travel with the team on a trip that also takes the Lakers to Minnesota.

Chris Kaman started at center Tuesday, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds in his first action in nearly a month.

The Lakers have scored 111.5 per game - 9.2 above their sea-son average - while shooting 48.4 percent overall and 44.9 percent from beyond the arc in their last four.

They may be able to main-tain that production against the Bucks, who have surrendered 111.9 points per game during their eight-game skid. NBA-worst Milwaukee (13-58), which also allows a league-high 38.5 3-point percentage, has endured previous losing streaks of nine and 11 games this season.

“It’s been a struggle and con-tinues to be,” coach Larry Drew said. “But the positive of the whole thing is that we’ve got a group of young guys that are will-ing to learn.”

Although former Lakers guard Ramon Sessions had a career-high 28 points Monday, the Bucks dropped their ninth straight and 19th in 20 road games in a 106-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Their only victory away from home during that stretch was a 94-79 win over the Lakers on New Year’s Eve. Young and Gasol had 25 points apiece, but Milwaukee held Los Angeles to 35.8 percent from the floor.

Brandon Knight put up a ca-reer-high 37 points for the Bucks in that contest, but he’s totaled 15 points while missing 19 of 24 shots in his last two games.

Ersan Ilyasova, who has scored a combined 35 in the last two meetings, could be sidelined for a second straight game be-cause of an ankle injury.

The Bucks have won four of the last five meetings.

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Previews of your favorite NCAA and PBA games again,( )P. 2: A MASS

OF TEXT

W E E K E N D P R E V I E W S

NCAABaylor-Wisconsin preview

Baylor and Wisconsin have never met in a men’s basketball game, and the unpredictable Bears have little in common with the disciplined Badgers at first glance.

Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan and Baylor’s Scott Drew both recog-nized one big similarity as their teams prepared for their match-up just down the street from Dis-neyland.

Although they arrive from different directions, they both know what to do when they get to March.

Sixth-seeded Baylor (26-11) and second-seeded Wisconsin (28-7) went through workouts Wednesday at Honda Center be-fore they play Thursday for a spot in the West Regional final.

While the building is unfamil-iar, the stakes are not: The Badg-ers are in the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years, while the Bears have made it three times in the last five. Those are remark-able runs of consistency for any program, let alone two teams without huge national profiles and the resulting recruiting ad-vantages.

Past postseason success is fine, but the coaches know it could fade in the face of Baylor’s baffling zone defense or Wiscon-sin’s famed intensity.

‘’I think every coach would tell you they would rather have that experience than not have it,’’ Drew said. ‘’But it doesn’t guarantee you anything. That’s what makes March Madness. Even if you play well, it might be your last game because there are so many great teams and great players.’’

The teams studied their un-familiar opponents during the break and emerged with mutual respect. The Bears admire the tenacity displayed all winter by Wisconsin, which beat five of its seven Top-25 opponents while playing one of the NCAA’s tough-est schedules.

They also believe the Badg-ers’ reputation as a walk-it-up team is woefully inaccurate.

‘’Just because of how they play in the half-court, using the whole clock, you would think that they wouldn’t score a lot of points in transition,’’ said Baylor guard Sean Franklin, an Inglewood na-tive and California transfer. ‘’But when you see them on film and see how fast they get out, you can tell they want to score right away.’’

Wisconsin is similarly im-pressed by Baylor’s athleticism and offensive balance. While

knocking off Nebraska and third-seeded Creighton last weekend, Baylor also deployed a matchup zone that flummoxed both oppo-nents and limited Creighton star Doug McDermott.

With most of a week to pre-pare, it’s likely Ryan has cooked up a way to penetrate the scheme.

‘’You have to probe,’’ Ryan said. ‘’But I’ve seen the way they’re playing it. Attacking it and getting people to move a certain direction, and using your angles and misdirection and dif-ferent things that good zone of-fensive teams use, we’re going to have to put all those together.’’

Few teams in recent seasons have been better in March than Baylor, which has won 17 of its 20 postseason games over the last six years.

The Bears haven’t been con-tent with Sweet 16 success, ei-ther: They reached the regional final before losing to the even-tual national champion in 2010 and 2012. They missed the NCAA tournament last year, but went ahead and won the NIT anyway.

Although Drew sometimes struggles to get precision out of his gifted roster, he’s likely to have the players’ attention at this stage. Baylor has an added incen-tive for its weekend in Southern California - and it’s not just the Bears’ late-night trip to Holly-wood’s famed Roscoe’s House of Chicken and Waffles after they ar-rived Tuesday.

With two more wins, the Bears essentially would play the Final Four at home in Arlington, Texas, about 100 miles from their Waco campus. The idea seemed abstract last week, but it’s tanta-lizingly close now.

‘’Obviously that’s our goal, getting back to Arlington and playing in Texas again,’’ Bears forward Cory Jefferson said.

Wisconsin also is trying not to look beyond its Sweet 16 game, but the Badgers clearly would love to book Ryan’s trip to his first Final Four.

Ryan has piled up 702 career victories as a head coach at three Wisconsin schools, but his Badg-ers have reached just one regional final and no Final Fours during 13 consecutive NCAA tournament trips - every season of his tenure in Madison.

‘’Coach Ryan is a teacher, and this is why he’s still rock-ing and rolling,’’ Badgers guard Ben Brust said. ‘’He loves go-ing to work and getting to teach us young kids his knowledge. ... (But) the moment you start to look ahead is when you get your-self in trouble. So we focus on this Baylor team for the 40 minutes we’re guaranteed.’’

NBA76ers-Rockets preview

They are a loss away from be-coming the Philadelphia 26ers.

As in, losers of 26 in a row.A skid that would match the

longest losing streak in NBA his-tory and leave the 76ers one loss of holding the record for the four major professional sports.

“It’s tough we lose them con-secutively, but it’s the NBA,” guard Tony Wroten said. “You play another day.”

With a another loss Thursday night at Houston, the Sixers (15-56) will tie the NBA record of 26 straight losses set by the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers. The poten-tial record setter is Saturday at home against Detroit.

But the 76ers say this seem-ingly infinite skid comes with a purpose: Finishing first.

Philadelphia is losing to win the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft.

Former Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy is among the critics that call Philly’s style of lottery-bound losing tanking. Sixers management simply says it’s old-fashioned rebuilding. Whatever the label, the team with the worst record in the NBA has a 25 per-cent chance of winning the No. 1 overall pick.

But there’s a flaw in the Six-ers’ plan: Even with the ava-lanche of defeats, they still don’t have the worst record in the NBA, Milwaukee does. Entering Thursday, the Bucks are 13-58 and that puts them in the driver’s seat as they plummet toward the top spot.

The Bucks may be serving as motivation for the Sixers; there’s no suspense these days in the outcome of Philadelphia games. The Sixers been outscored by 16.9 points during the losing streak; Cleveland was outscored by 13.7 while setting the record.

Philadelphia coach Brett Brown said the Sixers will be bet-ter off as a result of the losing.

“It’s those short-term, real pains for what we hope will be a bunch of long-term gains,” Brown said. “This period of time is not pleasant for any of us. But it’s necessary.”

The Rockets (48-22) haven’t fallen to a team with a losing re-cord since Jan. 10 at Atlanta, and they’ve won four straight head-ing into this matchup - all against teams .500 or worse.

Houston has shot 52.9 per-cent in that stretch - 42.4 percent from 3-point range - and now heads home, where it hasn’t lost since Jan. 24 and has won its past 10 games by an average of 13.9

points.“We just want to prepare for

the playoffs,” James Harden said after scoring 31 points in Mon-day’s 100-89 win at Charlotte. “Our entire game needs to go to another level, defensively and of-fensively. Being consistent with sharing the basketball, and de-fensively, being consistent with helping each other out.”

Harden sat out with a bruised left foot when the Rockets vis-ited Philadelphia on Nov. 13, and his absence was felt as the 76ers came from 10 down after the third quarter to win 123-117 in overtime.

Jeremy Lin had 34 points and eight assists for Houston, but Philadelphia’s starting back-court was even better. James An-derson scored 36 points - the only time in his career he’s topped 20 - and Wroten recorded his only ca-reer triple-double with 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.

That was the last victory in Philadelphia’s surprising 4-4 start, and now the Sixers haven’t won since Jan. 29 on former guard Evan Turner’s buzzer-beater at Boston. They’ve been crushed (123-78 by the Clippers and 123-80 by Golden State in consecu-tive games) and had a few close calls (losing 93-92 to the Knicks). And this week they were called out by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who said the losing streak was “bad for everyone.”

The 76ers went 0 for February. Lose to the Rockets and they’ll be two away from 0 for March.

Clippers-Mavericks previewDirk Nowitzki and the Dallas

Mavericks continue to fight for their playoff lives.

They’re surely preparing for another tough battle against the Pacific Division leaders.

The Mavericks try to pick up a rare win over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night.

Dallas (43-29) has won five of seven after getting past Okla-homa City 128-119 in overtime Tuesday. Nowitzki led the way with 32 points and 10 rebounds, posting his second 30-point effort this month.

“His emotion and his attitude carried the team. He’s a prideful guy. I think great players are great for a reason,” coach Rick Carlisle said of Nowitzki. “Obviously, we need the win. I’m just real proud of the way the guys battled the whole way through it.”

The Mavericks, who have seen three of their last four games go to OT, are tied with Phoenix for eighth place in the Western Conference.

“I don’t know if we should be thinking too much ahead, I think we got a tough 10 games left,” said Jose Calderon, whose 22 points were one off his season high. “For right now, we’re just thinking next game. It’s another big game for us, and we just got to keep working.”

Dallas now tries to solve the Clippers, who have taken six of eight in the series, including both meetings this season behind re-markable fourth-quarter come-backs. Los Angeles outscored the Mavericks 16-2 over the final 3:51 in a 119-112 road win Jan. 3, then erased a 17-point deficit with 4 1/2 minutes to go in a 129-127 victory Jan. 15.

“It was like a playoff game the last three or four minutes. Eve-rybody was mouthing back and forth and getting techs, and it be-came a brawl out there,” Maver-icks forward Shawn Marion said afterward. “But if you let that take away from what your main focus is - executing at both ends of the floor - then it’s going to take you out of your game.”

The Clippers (50-22) had won 13 of 14 before opening a five-game road trip with Wednesday’s 98-96 loss at New Orleans. Jamal Crawford scored 31 points off the bench but missed a couple late 3s, including one as time expired.

“We didn’t execute the play,” coach Doc Rivers said of the final seconds. “If we had won, I would have taken it, but sometimes the basketball gods punish you for messing around and I though that’s what we did.”

Chris Paul dished out 12 as-sists, but he was held to two points while shooting a career-worst 0 of 12.

“From here on out its just about winning. If I go 0 for 15 or 0 for 20 and we win, I could care less,” said Paul, whose team sits 5 1/2 games ahead of Golden State for first place in the Pacific. “Like I’ve said in the past it’s more than this game. It’s about playing the right way going into the playoffs.”

Los Angeles shot 41.3 percent against the Pelicans, dropping to 0-11 when it’s below 42.0 percent.

“There is a little bit of con-cern, just our sense of urgency,” said Blake Griffin, who has scored at least 20 points in a career-high 30 straight games. “But at the same time this is the NBA, and the best thing about that is that you get another chance to prove yourself.”

The Clippers are 4-8 when closing back-to-backs on the road. They are averaging 102.4 points in those games, 5.0 less than their season mark.


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GILAS WILLNOT JOIN 2014 PBAGOVERNORS

Gilas Pilipinas will not be a guest team for the upcoming 2014 PBA Governors’ Cup. Even if PBA Chairman Mon Segismun-do was upbeat about the idea, the other PBA Governors pushed another suggestion as they want-ed to further shorten the PBA season to allow Gilas to join the FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan, China this July.

“We’re continuing to explore ways of further compressing our third conference in view of allow-ing our Gilas team to participate in the FIBA tourney in July,” said PBA Commissioner Chito Salud after the Board of Governors’ monthly meeting at the PBA Of-fice in Libis.

“As you remember, during the last meeting we already took a

look at our schedule. We adjusted it as we wanted to make sure that Gilas could leave by the tenth of July to be able to participate [in the FIBA Asia Cup].”

Immediately after the first practice of Gilas, head coach Chot Reyes already expressed his intent for the team to join the FIBA Asia Cup.

By HERMES CORPUZ

Full story on page 14

QUICK CROSSWORD

Across1. Refill (9)6. Summarize briefly (5)9. Fall apart (7)10. Habitual (7)11. Comments (7)12. Marjoram (7)13. Pastiche (9)15. Ancient upright stone (5)16. Electronic letters (5)19. Bias (9)22. Failure to be present (7)23. Advocate (7)25. Direct or control (7)26. A sudden desire (7)27. Concede (5)28. Permissiveness (9)

Down1. Repeat (5)2. Drop sharply (7)3. Prevent commerce (7)4. List components (5)5. Bring into consonance (9)6. Relapse (7)7. Montage (7)8. Pierced (9)13. Marauding (9)14. Be a spokesperson for (9)17. Spartan (7)18. A cord worn around the neck (7)20. Tyrant (7)21. Diabetes hormone (7)23. Cool down (5)24. Vassal (5)

The SophomorePioneer has a NEW website.

Lorenzo Holanday III: My BIG previews in basketball, pages 16-18

FOXY CHELSEABAKER IS OFF TOBASEBALL CAREERFull story on page 13

The OLW Sun Friday March 28, 2014

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